DOI Seite / Zitierlink:
https://doi.org/10.11588/diglit.62783#0121
ANDREA POZZO.
53
such an imitation of truth, as to render credible what Vitruvius, Book
vn. c. 5. and Pliny, Book lxxxv. c. 4. wrote respecting the skill
of the ancients in this respect. Although well acquainted with the
theory of optics, as is proved by his two volumes on perspective, he
accustomed himself never to draw, without having previously made
models, and distributed the lights and shades. When he had to
paint on canvass, he gave it a thin couch of glue, without gesso,
which he would not use, because it appeared to him, that when the
colours were applied, it prevented the proper blending of the lights
and shades. He was born in 1642 and died 1709. Lanzi.—The
following precepts on fresco painting were appended to his great
work, familiarly called the “Jesuit’s Perspective.”
DIRECTIONS AND OBSERVATIONS OF ANDREA POZZO.
Of THE PREPARATION OF THE WALL. ArRICCIATO AND InTONACO.
—The arricciato is the first coat of mortar which is given to a wall or
place on which it is required to paint; this should be rather rough.
The painter must take care never to begin his painting on walls on
which the rough-cast has been recently applied, particularly if in
interiors ; because, besides the damp, which is very injurious to the
health, the lime exhales a bad smell, which is equally prejudicial.
When the arricciato is laid upon the wall, and so free from all
dampness, as to appear quite dry, it is necessary to wet it sufficiently
and to give it a thin coat of mortar, which is laid evenly over the
wall, and this is called laying on the intonaco. The lime selected
for this purpose, should have been slaked for a year, or at least six
months, in countries where the lime is strong; but where the lime
is milder, it can be used sooner. It must be mixed with river sand,
not too coarse, nor yet excessively fine. At Rome, the painters use
Pozzolana, but as the grains of this are of very unequal size, it is
extremely difficult to levigate mortar composed of it, and still more
difficult to work out the cracks and crevices which appear, if it stand
for some hours; it is therefore necessary to stir it continually with
the trowel. The mortar should be laid on by an expert and active
mason, in order that the intonaco may be spread evenly, and that
the painter may have sufficient time to paint upon it during the
whole of that day, or more, according as the weather is hot or cold,
or the place damp or dry.
53
such an imitation of truth, as to render credible what Vitruvius, Book
vn. c. 5. and Pliny, Book lxxxv. c. 4. wrote respecting the skill
of the ancients in this respect. Although well acquainted with the
theory of optics, as is proved by his two volumes on perspective, he
accustomed himself never to draw, without having previously made
models, and distributed the lights and shades. When he had to
paint on canvass, he gave it a thin couch of glue, without gesso,
which he would not use, because it appeared to him, that when the
colours were applied, it prevented the proper blending of the lights
and shades. He was born in 1642 and died 1709. Lanzi.—The
following precepts on fresco painting were appended to his great
work, familiarly called the “Jesuit’s Perspective.”
DIRECTIONS AND OBSERVATIONS OF ANDREA POZZO.
Of THE PREPARATION OF THE WALL. ArRICCIATO AND InTONACO.
—The arricciato is the first coat of mortar which is given to a wall or
place on which it is required to paint; this should be rather rough.
The painter must take care never to begin his painting on walls on
which the rough-cast has been recently applied, particularly if in
interiors ; because, besides the damp, which is very injurious to the
health, the lime exhales a bad smell, which is equally prejudicial.
When the arricciato is laid upon the wall, and so free from all
dampness, as to appear quite dry, it is necessary to wet it sufficiently
and to give it a thin coat of mortar, which is laid evenly over the
wall, and this is called laying on the intonaco. The lime selected
for this purpose, should have been slaked for a year, or at least six
months, in countries where the lime is strong; but where the lime
is milder, it can be used sooner. It must be mixed with river sand,
not too coarse, nor yet excessively fine. At Rome, the painters use
Pozzolana, but as the grains of this are of very unequal size, it is
extremely difficult to levigate mortar composed of it, and still more
difficult to work out the cracks and crevices which appear, if it stand
for some hours; it is therefore necessary to stir it continually with
the trowel. The mortar should be laid on by an expert and active
mason, in order that the intonaco may be spread evenly, and that
the painter may have sufficient time to paint upon it during the
whole of that day, or more, according as the weather is hot or cold,
or the place damp or dry.