Table Of Contentevisecf
\ott
Artisfs
Handbook
and
of Materials
Techniqu
OilsTempera-Mural Painting
Pigments-Mediums Grounds-Water Color
•
Prints-Sculpture
New Chapter on Synthetic Materials
Ralph Mayer
HANDBOOK OF /
THE ARTISTS
ANDTECHNIQUES
MATERIALS
Since 1940, when it was originally published,
The Artist's Handbook has become indispen-
sable for thousands of practicing artists. In the
last decade, however, new art movements have
ledtounprecedented changesinthetechnology
ohfasarntiostws'domanteeraiamlsa.joArccroervdiisinognlyo,f RhiaslpbhooMka.yHeer
has made extensive changes in every section
bysupplyingtheverylatest information.Achap-
ter has been added on the synthetic resins,
luminescent pigments, and other new materials,
with detailed technical advice, and Mr. Mayer
has added notes on new print-making trends
and on collage, and even asection on rubbings.
The author assumes that this encyclopedic
volume will be referred to frequently. He there-
foreconsistentlygivesspecific, practical advice
on every aspect of his subject, be it the com-
pounding of mediums, the selection of pig-
ments, or the preparation of canvas or wall.
Tphiegrmeentiscaatlailstogoufe,reatanidl saonurexcteesnsoifvemaateprpieanld,ixa
giving conversionfactors,figuresforoil absorp-
tion etc Thedetailed index makes all the infor-
mation immediately accessible to the reader.
Completely updated, expanded, and reset
thethird edition ofthisdefinitive referencework
now morethaneveran invaluableaidtowork-
iisng artistHsa.nTdhbeoofikrstweanntd sinetcoonnidneedpirtiinotnisngofs Tahned
Artist's
were translated into three foreign languages,
attracting users all over the world.
JACKETDESIGNBYHALSIEGEL
0870
THE
ARTIST'S
HANDBOOK
of Materials and Techniques
By Ralph Mayer
THIRD EDITION
/ Revised and Expanded
NEW YORK THE VIKING PRESS
Copyright 1940, renewed 1968, Copyright © 1957, 1970 by Ralph Mayer
All rights reserved
Newly revised and reset edition issued in 1970 by
The Viking Press, Inc.
625 Madison Avenue, New York, N.Y. 10022
Published in Canada by
The Macmillan Company of Canada Limited
Originally published in 1940, with a revised edition issued in 1957
SBN 670-13665-4
Library of Congress catalog card number: 56-9222
Printed in U.SA. by Vail-Ballou Press, Inc.
To Bena
Preface
This book has been prepared for the purpose of giving the artist a com-
plete and up-to-date account of the materials and methods of his craft. It
is based on my experience in the paint, varnish, and pigment industries,
where I was engaged for a number of years in chemical research and in
the manufacture of most of the basic materials used by painters; and on
my experience as a lecturer and consultant to artists and as a painter. It
is because the last is my chief interest that I have endeavored to present
the subjects from the viewpoint of the artist and arrange the material in a
mannermost useful to him.
The artist studies his materials and methods in order to gain the great-
est possible control over his manipulations, so that he may bring out the
best characteristics of his chosen technique and express or convey his in-
tentions properly, and in order to insure the permanence of his results.
Haphazard departure from approved methods will often involve a sacri-
fice in one of these directions, but those who have acquired a complete
and intelligent grasp of underlying principles are usually able to vary the
established procedures successfully, to suit their individual requirements.
At present there are numerous materials and methods the use of which
is well established by painters, but which are in an unstandardized state
as regards scientifically correct knowledge or procedure. For instance,
few modern investigators are in a position to pass judgment on the dura-
bility oftraditional mural-painting methods under present-day conditions
or to evaluate the merits of newly developed materials as definitely as
viii Preface
such decisions may be made in other technical fields, where materials
and methods have been more completely studied for their applications to
modern requirements. There are still many gaps in our knowledge which
well-directed investigation could fill in.
I have included few notes on matters that are not ordinarily classified
with materials and methods but that bear a similar practical relation to
the artist's technique. I have also departed from conventional procedure
in the rather frequent mention of trademarked names, commercial prod-
ucts, and names oftheirsellers. These widely available standardized prod-
ucts have in many instances taken the place of the ungraded materials of
former times, and they have been referred to here solely from the view-
point of the retail purchaser, as they are discussed among artists. It
seems to me to be just as important to know where one may obtain a raw
material and what to ask for as to know the Latin name of the tree from
which it comes or how it is dug out of the ground. Because I have found
from experience that a fairly large proportion of inquiries deals with ob-
solete or discredited materials and methods, I have mentioned some sub-
jects which might ordinarily be omitted from a work of this nature. On
the other hand, certain subjects which are of greater concern to the
theorist than to the active practitioner have been given less attention
than they customarily receive. In reviewing the techniques of the past, I
have confined my remarks to periods or schools rather than considered
the specific methods and materials ofindividual masters.
The reader will find fewer instructions on the specific application of
materials and methods to plastic and graphic arts than are customary in
books on these subjects, because I believe that many such instructions
are beyond the scope of a technical work, particularly since they are
often open to divergent opinions or criticisms from a purely artistic view-
point. In each case one must determine just where the discussion leaves
the field of technology and enters the field of aesthetics, and I have at-
tempted to confine technical data to their general application to artists'
techniques and to avoid either criticism or approval except on technolog-
ical grounds.
Ingeneral, each ofthe various processes has beenpresented first in out-
line form, and then given step-by-step detailed treatment, the degree of
completeness varying with the nature and importance of the process. Al-
lusions to chemical and other scientific principles have been subordi-
nated to a clear understanding of the subjects, and the reader has been
referred to a separate chapter for the chemical aspects of the various top-
Description:It is designed as a reference guide to the materials necessary for the modern artist. Techniques for watercolour, oil and acrylic painting are included.
