Painting materials : a short encyclopaedia
Rutherford J. Gettens (Author), George L. Stout (Author)
"The combined training and experience of the authors of this classic in the varied activities of painting conservation, cultural research, chemistry, physics, and paint technology ideally suited them to the task they attempted. Their book, written when they were both affiliated with the Department of Conservation at Harvard's Fogg Art Museum, is not a handbook of instruction. It is, instead, an encyclopedic collection of specialized data on every aspect of painting and painting research. The book is divided into five sections: Mediums, Adhesives, and Film Substances (amber, beeswax, casein, cellulose nitrate, dragons blood, egg tempera, paraffin, lacquer, gum arabic, Strasbourg turpentine, water glass, etc..); Pigments and Inert Materials (over 100 entries from alizarin to zinnober green(; Solvents, Dilutents, and Detergents (acetone, ammonia, carbon tetrachloride, soap, water, etc.); Supports (academy board, dozens of different woods, esparto, grass, gesso, glass, leather, plaster, silk, vellum, etc); and Tools and Equipment. Coverage within each section is exhaustive. Thirteen pages are devoted to items relating to linseed oil; 11 to the history and physical and chemical properties of pigments; two to artificial ultramarine blue; 11 to wood; and so on with hundreds of entries. Much of the information - physical behaviour, earliest know use, chemical composition, history of synthesis, refractive index, etc. - is difficult to find elsewhere. The rest was drawn from such a wide range of fields and from such a long span of time that the book was immediately hailed as the best organized, most accessible work of its kind. That reputation hasn't changed. The author's new preface lists some recent discoveries regarding pigments and other materials and the pigment composition chart has been revised, but the text remains essentially unchanged. It is still invaluable not only for museum curators and conservators for whom it was designed, bit for painters themselves and for teachers and students as well" - Publisher
Print Book, English, 1966
Dover Publications, Inc, New York, 1966