The Old Master's Mische Technique
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From my simple painting of the baker´s daughter I am going to demonstrate the Old Master´s mixed technique of oil and egg tempera. The "Mischtechnik" “Mische Technique" was discovered by Dutch Old Masters at the end of the 15th century.
It is a slow and complex painting technique but it gives better effects of depth, transparency and a smoothness of colors and contours than any other painting technique. It is necessary to differentiate between two steps:
theunderpainting ("Untermalung") and the final painting.
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First step: the gesso panel
As painting surface serves a plywood board, you can use a pure linen canvas as well. For beginners the wooden ground is easier to handle. First we sand the surface with fine sanding paper, than a thin layer of Perleim (or glue solution) is applied to the wood or the linen cloth previously warmed up. In an old casserole and on small fire gesso is prepared: on one third part of Perleim (100grs. to 1 litre of water) add step by step another third part of very fine worn out chalk* and another third part of white pigment (titanium white or zinc white) move the mixture moves on very low fire with a wooden spoon, crushing all the grumps, if the mixture remains very thick add a little water. Attention: the mixture must be hot but never boiling! It is necessary to apply several fine layers, sandpapering smoothly between any layer. * The chalk consists of worn out dull plaster. For that reason it is called "gesso" that means plaster in Italian.
The Underpainting :
Basically it consists of the application of several glazes, which are transparent painting layers. The glazes are prepared with oil painting mixed with medium . Between the glaze layers the whites are highlighted using for such aim the egg tempera
The necessary tools:
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• 1 fresh egg
• a glass plate or a mirror
• a spatula
• dammar varnish
• linseed oil
• turpentine essence
• turpentine evaporated or Venetian turpentine
• pigment in powder (titanium dioxide)
• Chinese ink, liquid or in bars
• 1 soft pencil of nº B ! |
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• 1 cane pen (it is made by hand of a piece of cane of about 8 mm of diameter and 20 to 25 cm. in length).
• brushes and oil colors (the necessary thing will be specified in each step)
The drawing:
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All painting begins with the drawing.
We can transfer a drawing on paper in real size by coal paper or draw directly on our gesso panel with a smooth pencil of nº B. Never use hard pencils (h) because there can be engravings left in the surface which could make impossible to paint on the glazes properly. It is necessary to work with the minimum pressure of the pencil so that the imprimatura does not stain too much. |
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the cane pen:
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With very a well sharpened knife we carve the tip of a pen in our stick of fine cane as it is seen in the drawing beside. 12 mm from the end we make a small hole with a nail drill and open a crack from the center of the tip towards the hole.
It is advisable to make every time a new pen of a green cane, but I´m used to work with a dry cane pen and I use it a lot of times.
With the help of our cane pen we draw along the most important lines of the pencil drawing and mark the darkest shades. The Chinese ink is used, if it is real Chinese ink, neither the oilcolor nor the egg tempera will dissolve it. |
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The cane pen needs practice because it´s not due to make any pressure on the surface to draw. When the ink is well dry we go on with
the imprimatura: (or red glaze)
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We prepare the medium, mixing half of linseed oil with another half of damar varnish.
The Old Masters knew three different variants of underpaintings. I have chosen the one that´s using the primary color glazes. It is the best one for portrait and the human figure because it produces those skin tones we admire in the old master´s paintings. |
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We chose one or two red oilcolor tones. Ideal is cadmium red or Indian red.
In the example I have used alizarin crimson for the darkest zones and cadmium red for the ground (Italian: imprimatura). The glazes are painted on with a brush of the cat tongue type or a flat brush of very smooth hair of nº 24 or above. It is necessary to use little of the medium, a 20% maximum. The transparency is obtained combing with the brush extending well the painting, which never should be too liquid. Let it dry to the tact of a finger.
the first white highlighting: reduction- or overpainting with egg tempera
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According to the possibilities our gesso panel allows us, we decide if we will use the scraper to reduce or the egg tempera to raise the whites and lights.
As scraper serves a knife or a scalpel with a well sharpened end slightly cleared. With little pressure we draw with it, scratching the surface and leaving the gesso ground discovered.
Attention!
When raising or highlighting the whites, never draw along the contours, it is rather like modelling: the lights are marked white and the shadows are left free. |
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the preparation of the egg tempera
With a wide thorn we open two holes in each side of a fresh egg and empty it into a little glass bottle. In continuation we fill the empty egg with medium through the one of the holes, covering other with a finger. When the egg this full of medium, empty it into the bottle (there may be other methods to guarantee that medium and the egg have the same relation). A spoonful of water is added. Now it is necessary to shake the mixture very well, and our base for the tempera is ready. We put it in the refrigerator were it will stay fresh for a year.
On a mirror or a piece of glass we put a little bit of titanium dioxide and in continuation the same amount of egg tempera base and with a fine spatula we mix everything very well until there is no grain left. The egg tempera is ready when it has the consistence of yogurt. With the spatula we put it in a small jar with spiral tap and add two drops of water without mixing. It is necessary to keep the egg tempera always in the frige, because at room temperature it only lasts one day.
In order to highlight with egg tempera brushes of red marder hair are used.
• round of nº 8 to 10
• flat of nº 2
• flat of nº 6 and 10 to stump.
the second glaze: (yellow)
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When tempera and oil is well dry, which can take several days; we follow with the second glaze in primary color.
We use a luminous yellow as cadmium lemon and we mixed it with very little of white. Preferably white of zinc. We apply a uniform layer throughout the canvas.
Now the former white zones shine yellow and the red zones become orange.
We take a fresh look on the picture to see what it is possible to be improved, corrected or changed. |
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Esperamos 12 a 24 horas para
the second white highlighting:
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Upon the humid yellow glaze we use our egg tempera for the second ascent whites. We put a little bit on the trowel; right what we are going to spend within 3 hours so that it doesn´t dry out. The rest we put back to the fridge, if we maintain it always cold it lasts one or two weeks and it gives us to finish the picture.
It is important to have in mind that the second white highlighting is not pure repetition of the first one. Rather it gives us the possibility to improve and correct details. We even can change totally some details. |
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In the example I have changed the position of the earring.
When egg tempera up and oil color are well dry, we apply
the third glaze: (blue)
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Due to the medium, the glazes sometimes take much in drying and to avoid yielding to the temptation to touch the painting before it´s dry, it is a good trick to work simultaneously in several pictures.
Depending on the effect that we want to obtain we look for one or two blue oil color tones. Cerulean blue gives good base us for a luminous sky. Prussian blue is ideal for the very dark shades or to give a nocturnal effect. The blue glaze has not to be painted on uniformly like the yellow one, but more opaque in the dark zones and the shades and very light and transparent in the luminous or clear zones. |
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The next day and on the still humid glaze we apply
The third white highlighting:
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It allows us to correct and to improve again. Now we must try to get all the details of the picture to their right site and make sure that clear and dark areas have the desired values.
When we finish our underpainting we see our painting in which it is called "optical greys": at the first view it can seem to us as a black and white painting, nevertheless we can see all the colors of the rainbow shining through.
Our underpainting is now ready - we begin to paint! |
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Glazes in real color:
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Let us wait until the underpainting is hand-dry. Afterwords we mix the actual colors on the trowel and we apply them in fine glazes. We can increase the intensity of the dark shadows that shine through the glazes with just a little bit of raw umber, or another natural earth-pigment. It is necessary to avoid the use of the black color to avoid erasing the effect of the optical grays. |
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The last white highlightings:
When the glazes in real color are half dry, we increase again the intensity of lights using our egg tempera. The Old Masers recommended an average of six white highlightings in a picture; though we go on progressively with glazes of oil color and white egg tempera.
When the result seems to us sufficiently satisfactory we begin to use
The semi opaque painting:
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The photo came out a bit blurred but it is the only one I have of this nearly last step. Great part of the picture is finished as we have left it by means of glaze layers. In other parts, where we need very pure colors and targets we work with dense oils without diluting or just a little bit of Venetian or evaporated turpentine. In order to stump the contours we use a dry brush of synthetic hair or marder hair, in cat tongue form of nº 6.
If we see it opportune we can intensify the clearest lights with egg tempera. |
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Last glazes:
When all this touch dry, we can give some effects with glazes:
In my example a blue glaze on the background gives the effect of more distance.
The girl´s face is covered with a clear rose glaze to make it look sweeter and make the shadows lighter.
Before finishing the picture you must make sure that all the egg tempera is covered with medium to avoid that it turns yellow in contact with the air.
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