Mastering 17th-Century Painting Techniques: Lessons from the Old Masters

Seventeenth-century painting stands out as an era of innovation, particularly in material depiction. Lisa Wiersma’s work, Painting by Numbers: Evolution and Standardization of Colouring in the Seventeenth Century, offers a detailed exploration of how Netherlandish artists standardized their methods, enabling the creation of lifelike paintings that remain unparalleled in their realism. This blog highlights the findings in the sections “Reenactment” and “Process of Standardization,” providing modern artists with valuable insights into techniques and materials that revolutionized painting.

The Mastery of Material Depiction: Lessons from the 17th Century

Seventeenth-century painters were driven by the desire to replicate the natural world accurately. Wiersma highlights that Dutch artist Willem Beurs’s standardized painting recipes, outlined in his 1692 manual The Big World Painted Small, epitomize this pursuit. These recipes detail the layering techniques and color combinations required to produce lifelike effects, particularly in still-life compositions.

The grape, a recurring motif in 17th-century still-life paintings, is an illustrative example. Through the meticulous application of nine distinct color mixtures, artists like Jan Davidsz de Heem rendered grapes that appeared translucent, juicy, and tactile. This process involved painting lit and shaded sides, adding internal reflections, and scumbling an opaque bloom layer—all techniques that modern painters can incorporate into their work to elevate the realism of their subjects.

The Standardization of Painting Techniques

Wiersma’s analysis reveals that the success of 17th-century Netherlandish painting lay in its systematic approach to technique. By the mid-1600s, artists had refined a common language of painting methods that transcended individual workshops and influenced practices across Europe. This standardization was pivotal in achieving what Wiersma calls the “tangible style,” characterized by the convincing depiction of materials.

The development of these methods was fueled by technical experimentation and the exchange of knowledge through treatises and manuscripts. Painters utilized oil paints’ unique properties to layer and juxtapose colors, creating depth and texture that mimicked reality. For instance, Beurs’s instructions for painting white grapes involved strategic layering of pigments like ultramarine, white, and yellow lake to achieve a lifelike sheen and translucency.

The 17th century witnessed a significant transformation in painting practices, as described in Lisa Wiersma’s analysis of the process of standardization. This evolution was not merely a refinement of techniques but a systematization that bridged the gap between experimentation and codification. The result was a unified approach that artists across Europe could adopt, leading to the creation of highly realistic and technically sophisticated artworks.

Codifying Techniques: Recipe Books and Manuals

One critical driver of standardization was the proliferation of recipe books and instructional manuals. These texts provided detailed methodologies for painting various objects and materials, ensuring consistency across workshops and artists. Wiersma cites Willem Beurs’s The Big World Painted Small (1692) as a landmark in this tradition. The book broke down complex techniques into manageable steps, allowing even less experienced painters to replicate the visual effects achieved by masters like Jan Davidsz de Heem.

This trend toward documentation marked a departure from earlier, more secretive practices. Manuals included specific guidance on layering, glazing, and colored grounds, offering practical solutions to the challenges of material depiction. By following these standardized methods, artists could achieve the nuanced effects of transparency, texture, and depth that defined the period’s “tangible style.”

The Role of Collaboration and Knowledge Exchange

The process of standardization was not confined to isolated workshops. It was a collaborative and dynamic exchange of knowledge facilitated by increasing mobility among artists and the dissemination of manuscripts. Wiersma highlights how painting techniques traveled across geographic boundaries, blending regional traditions into a broader European style.

This collaborative ethos extended to scientific advancements. Artists incorporated findings from contemporary natural philosophers, such as Isaac Beeckman and Robert Boyle, who explored the properties of light and color. The integration of these insights enabled painters to refine their methods further, ensuring that their works resonated with viewers as lifelike and immersive.

Efficiency Meets Excellence

Standardization also addressed the economic realities of the burgeoning art market. As demand for paintings grew, artists needed methods that balanced efficiency with artistic integrity. Wiersma emphasizes that standardized techniques allowed for a more frugal use of materials without compromising quality. For example, the careful layering of pigments not only enhanced the visual appeal of a painting but also reduced waste.

Moreover, the systematized approach made it easier for apprentices to learn and contribute to a master’s work, streamlining production while maintaining consistency. This balance of efficiency and excellence was a hallmark of the 17th-century Netherlandish school, setting a precedent that would influence artistic practices for centuries.

A Legacy of Precision

The process of standardization in the 17th century was a turning point that transformed painting from a craft into a discipline of scientific precision. By codifying techniques and fostering collaboration, artists achieved a level of realism that inspires awe. For today’s artists, the lessons of this era are clear: mastery is not just about creativity but also about the disciplined application of proven methods.

Lisa Wiersma’s exploration of this process sheds light on how the systematic approach of 17th-century painters laid the groundwork for modern realism. By revisiting these practices, contemporary artists can connect with a legacy of excellence that remains as relevant today as it was centuries ago.

Reenactment as a Research Tool for Artists

Wiersma conducted reenactments using digital simulations and traditional oil paints to understand and replicate these historical techniques. These experiments demonstrated the effectiveness of Beurs’s recipes in producing the desired visual effects. For contemporary artists, such reenactments offer a way to connect with historical methods while adapting them to modern contexts.

Wiersma’s findings also emphasize the importance of foundational practices, such as preparing a colored ground and employing controlled lighting. These techniques enhance the material depiction and streamline the painting process, making it more efficient and predictable.

This is a reenactment of the author’s painting of white grapes using digital reproduction based on Willem Beurs’s recipe for white grapes. (Image from Wiersma, 2024) 

Reenactment of Willem Beurs’s Recipe: Unlocking the Secrets of 17th-Century Grapes

In her comprehensive analysis, Lisa Wiersma reenacts Willem Beurs’s 17th-century recipe for painting white grapes, offering an invaluable glimpse into the precision and craftsmanship of Netherlandish still-life painting. The process, documented both digitally and with traditional oil paints, demonstrates the meticulous layering techniques that contributed to the realism characteristic of the era.

Step-by-Step Digital Reconstruction

The reenactment began with a digital simulation, isolating each layer of Beurs’s method. This step allowed for detailed visualization and analysis of the process:

Base Layers: The initial step established the lit and shaded sides of each grape, using a mix of English ash, yellow lake, and white for highlights, and ash, yellow lake, and black for shadows.
Internal Reflections: Subtle internal reflections were rendered using carefully balanced translucent mixtures, capturing the interplay of light within the grape’s pulp.

Bloom Layer: An opaque scumbled layer combining ultramarine and white created the characteristic “bloom” seen on grape skins. This layer was applied with precision to maintain the translucency of the underlying paint.

Final Details: Highlights and reflections were added to enhance the illusion of roundness and sheen. Seeds were depicted by mixing light ochre with ash and white, visible through the translucent pulp.

Oil-Paint Reenactment and Cross-Referencing

The recipe was then executed in oil paint, replicating the steps outlined above. By studying paintings such as Jan Davidsz de Heem’s Festoon of Fruits and Flowers, Wiersma compared the reenactment with historical works. Advanced imaging techniques, including macro-XRF scans and OCT analysis, were used to verify layer stratigraphy and pigment distribution, confirming the alignment of the reconstruction with historical examples.

The oil-paint reenactment underscored the strategic application of translucent and opaque layers to achieve lifelike effects. The deliberate layering, combined with precise glazing techniques, demonstrated the success of Beurs’s methods in creating a luminous, tactile appearance.

Ideas for Contemporary Artists

The reenactment highlights the importance of systematic approaches to material depiction. By deconstructing the steps of Beurs’s recipe, Wiersma provides modern artists with a roadmap to achieve similar results. The careful attention to light, layering, and texture underscores the depth of technical knowledge that shaped 17th-century painting—a legacy that contemporary artists can continue to explore and adapt.

This experiment confirms the efficacy of historical methods and bridges the gap between past and present, offering valuable insights into the enduring art of still-life painting.

What Modern Artists Can Take Away

Wiersma’s study underscores that mastery in painting requires a balance of technical skill, systematic methodology, and artistic vision. For today’s artists, revisiting the practices of 17th-century masters offers more than historical insight—it provides actionable strategies for improving their craft. These time-tested methods can enrich contemporary works, whether through layered glazing or the deliberate application of highlights and shadows. By blending historical knowledge with modern creativity, artists can continue to push the boundaries of realism, much like their Netherlandish predecessors.

Bibliography

Wiersma, Lisa. “Painting by Numbers: Evolution and Standardization of Colouring in the Seventeenth Century.” In Alla Maniera: Technical Art History and the Meaning of Style in 15th to 17th Century Painting, edited by Anne Dubois, 289–301. Leuven: Peeters Publishers, 2024.
Last access on December 1, 2024. Available online: Link to PDF.

 What Colors Did Beurs Use For White Grapes?

In Willem Beurs’s The Big World Painted Small, he describes the colors to be used for white grapes:

“White grapes are laid in with English ash, yellow lake, and white for the lit side. But for the shadows, ash, yellow lake, and black have to do the work. The reflections however, require only a little ash but somewhat more yellow lake.

After white grapes have been painted in this way the bloom can be created with ultramarine and white, or with a little lake mixed into a white oil, which is scumbled over the grapes. But to render the bloom in shadows, black, lake, and white are needed. Once all this has been done, the grapes have to be given a sheen on the lit side (where there is no bloom) with white that is gently blended in, and the reflections glazed with only yellow lake, as the occasion demands.”

English ash is a light bluish-grey, most likely ultramarine ash. It is the pigment remaining from the process described by Cennino Cennini of purifying lapis lazuli stone to produce a fine, deep blue — ultramarine blue. English ash may also designate the pigment indigo. Yellow lake is the precipitated colorant from buckthorn berries or quercitron. For more information about yellow lake, please read Pink—A Pseudo Lake Pigment? and When Pink Was a Yellow Color. Black is likely carbon black, ivory black, bone black, or earth black. The white used in the 17th century was lead white.

Analysis of Lisa Wiersma’s Painting by Numbers

Lisa Wiersma’s Painting by Numbers compellingly examines the standardization of coloring techniques in 17th-century Netherlandish art. By focusing on Willem Beurs’s recipes and their impact on artistic practice, Wiersma highlights how systematic methods shaped the realism of the Baroque period.

Strengths

Wiersma skillfully integrates technical art history with broader stylistic trends, presenting standardization as both a practical and cultural phenomenon. Her use of interdisciplinary methods, including digital reconstructions and imaging techniques, validates the historical accuracy of Beurs’s recipes while offering replicable models for research. The emphasis on collaboration and knowledge exchange as drivers of artistic innovation is particularly insightful, demonstrating how standardization balanced efficiency with creativity.

Areas for Development

The paper could benefit from a broader comparative context, examining standardization in other European art traditions. The paper primarily celebrates the benefits of standardization but could delve deeper into its potential constraints. For example, did rigid methods limit experimentation or the expression of regional styles within the Baroque framework?

Wiersma’s work significantly contributes to understanding the technical underpinnings of 17th-century painting. Her detailed analysis bridges historical practice and contemporary relevance, making it an essential resource for art historians and practitioners alike. However, further contextual and critical engagement could broaden its impact.