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DOI Artikel:Kriegseisen, Anna: Colour schemes in façades of Gdańsk burgher houses of the second half of the sixteenth and early seventeenth centuries
DOI Seite / Zitierlink: https://doi.org/10.11588/diglit.66965#0149
their physical or chemical properties or their colour. It was known that the
uneven absorbency of the surface was a factor in its deterioration. The mosaic
of the colour tones of individual bricks was also jarring, especially in the red and
white composition of the faęade, where the brickwork was the background for
a grid of stone architectural divisions. “Exposing the natural look of construc-
tion materials was not in keeping with the spirit of the times”, as Friedrich Thum
commented in his doctoral dissertation (1914) on Gdańsk tenement houses.2
The most common way to finish a brick weave was to cover it with a very
thin layer of lime plaster coloured throughout the mass or painted, or even with
lime or casein-lime paint. This layer unified the brick in colour, provided protec-
tion to the surface of the brickwork, and evened out its absorbency. It was often
smooth, and closer in appearance and texture to paint than a plaster finish. Otto
Rollenhagen (1910-1915) names three types of such treatment: plaster, lime
paste coloured throughout the mass (dyed), and “slushy lime paint”.3 This type
of thin finishing evened out the surface of the wall, while keeping the texture
and layout of the bricks visible. It gave the wall a uniform, matt colour with
the “velvety” appearance characteristic of lime plasters. It was applied to the
entire faęade.
The colour consistency of lime-based handmade paints and mortars with
mineral pigments is quite different from that of modern paints containing syn-
thetic pigments with particles that reflect light uniformly.4 Unground lumps of
lime and pigments, combined with the marks left by the broad brush or trowel
used to apply the layer, resulted in an uneven surface and a shimmering colour.
Uneven fading from exposure to sunlight, and leaching and oxidation of the
pigments further enhanced this impression.
The pigment in most common use was iron red. When used in lime mortar,
this gives a characteristic shade of dark, extinguished red. A mineral pigment
whose main ingredient is iron oxide has been known since antiquity.5 This pig-
ment was popular because of the ease of colouring and the good coverage of
the structural material it offered, and was inexpensive because it was relatively
easy to obtain. The use of pure pigment produced a more intense red effect.
The addition of black lent the mortar a cherry to purple hue. In addition to iron
red, another iron oxide pigment was used, caput mortuum, giving a deep purple
to purple-brown shade.6
2 Friedrich Thum, Die konstruktive und künstlerische Entwicklung der Danziger Wohnhaus-
giebel, Berlin 1914, p. 13.
3 Otto Rollenhagen, Untersuchung und Beschreibung der Danziger Bürgerhäuser. Edition der
nicht veröffentlichten Dissertation (1910-1915) / Analiza i opis gdańskich kamienic mieszczańskich.
Edycja nieopublikowanej dysertacji (1910-1915), Hg. Ewa Barylewska-Szymańska, Elke Bauer,
Dietmar Poppe, Wojciech Szymański, Marburg-Gdańsk 2008, pp. 111, 158.
4 Katrin Trautwein, Naturpigmente und die Urpalette der Architekturfarben, Uster 2011, p. 3.
5 Bohuslav Slänsky, Technika malarstwa, t. 1: Materiały do malarstwa i konserwacji, War-
szawa 1960, p. 45.
6 Max Doerner, Materiały malarskie i ich zastosowanie, Warszawa 1975, pp. 34, 56, 62.
Colour
Schemes...
147
uneven absorbency of the surface was a factor in its deterioration. The mosaic
of the colour tones of individual bricks was also jarring, especially in the red and
white composition of the faęade, where the brickwork was the background for
a grid of stone architectural divisions. “Exposing the natural look of construc-
tion materials was not in keeping with the spirit of the times”, as Friedrich Thum
commented in his doctoral dissertation (1914) on Gdańsk tenement houses.2
The most common way to finish a brick weave was to cover it with a very
thin layer of lime plaster coloured throughout the mass or painted, or even with
lime or casein-lime paint. This layer unified the brick in colour, provided protec-
tion to the surface of the brickwork, and evened out its absorbency. It was often
smooth, and closer in appearance and texture to paint than a plaster finish. Otto
Rollenhagen (1910-1915) names three types of such treatment: plaster, lime
paste coloured throughout the mass (dyed), and “slushy lime paint”.3 This type
of thin finishing evened out the surface of the wall, while keeping the texture
and layout of the bricks visible. It gave the wall a uniform, matt colour with
the “velvety” appearance characteristic of lime plasters. It was applied to the
entire faęade.
The colour consistency of lime-based handmade paints and mortars with
mineral pigments is quite different from that of modern paints containing syn-
thetic pigments with particles that reflect light uniformly.4 Unground lumps of
lime and pigments, combined with the marks left by the broad brush or trowel
used to apply the layer, resulted in an uneven surface and a shimmering colour.
Uneven fading from exposure to sunlight, and leaching and oxidation of the
pigments further enhanced this impression.
The pigment in most common use was iron red. When used in lime mortar,
this gives a characteristic shade of dark, extinguished red. A mineral pigment
whose main ingredient is iron oxide has been known since antiquity.5 This pig-
ment was popular because of the ease of colouring and the good coverage of
the structural material it offered, and was inexpensive because it was relatively
easy to obtain. The use of pure pigment produced a more intense red effect.
The addition of black lent the mortar a cherry to purple hue. In addition to iron
red, another iron oxide pigment was used, caput mortuum, giving a deep purple
to purple-brown shade.6
2 Friedrich Thum, Die konstruktive und künstlerische Entwicklung der Danziger Wohnhaus-
giebel, Berlin 1914, p. 13.
3 Otto Rollenhagen, Untersuchung und Beschreibung der Danziger Bürgerhäuser. Edition der
nicht veröffentlichten Dissertation (1910-1915) / Analiza i opis gdańskich kamienic mieszczańskich.
Edycja nieopublikowanej dysertacji (1910-1915), Hg. Ewa Barylewska-Szymańska, Elke Bauer,
Dietmar Poppe, Wojciech Szymański, Marburg-Gdańsk 2008, pp. 111, 158.
4 Katrin Trautwein, Naturpigmente und die Urpalette der Architekturfarben, Uster 2011, p. 3.
5 Bohuslav Slänsky, Technika malarstwa, t. 1: Materiały do malarstwa i konserwacji, War-
szawa 1960, p. 45.
6 Max Doerner, Materiały malarskie i ich zastosowanie, Warszawa 1975, pp. 34, 56, 62.
Colour
Schemes...
147