The Materials and Techniques of Painting by Kurt Wehlte

translated by Ursus Dix from the 1967 German edition
originally published by VanNostrand Reinhold Company

Have you ever wondered about coach builder's varnish? Keim mineral colors, Jackson Pollock's enamel painting, methods of back painted glass, cloisonne plaster, scagliola, fresco or the technique of bismuth painting? Kurt Wehlte's artists manual, many years out of print, covers all these rare topics, as well as offering the definitive recipes for all the traditional painting techniques.

Kurt Wehlte, whose teacher and "fatherly friend" was the professor of painting at the Academy of Fine Arts in Munich and author of "The Materials of the Artist", Max Doerner, founded the Institute of Painting Technology at the Art Academy in Stuttgart, Germany. Published originally in 1967, Kurt Wehlte's "The Materials and Techniques of Painting" revises and adds to Doerner's book. In the introduction he writes: "While Max Doerner continues to be appreciated as a pioneer of painting technique, it cannot be ignored that experienced practitioners, art historians interested in techniques, and well-known restorers can no longer wholly share his views. Painting research, with its modern instruments and methods, has in the last decades led to new knowledge, which has not only affected practical conservation of paintings and ancient monuments, but also continues to serve the techniques of painting today."

In itself monumental, Wehlte's book has never been surpassed by any other artists' manual - his information remains up-to-date, in-depth, and, above all, is written in a lucid and uncluttered style which is preserved in Ursus Dix' translation.

Out of print for many years, artists and restorers will find in this KREMER reprint a well-organized and easy to use tool for the studio. The index and chapters make infromation easy to find, countless recipes are clearly offset from the text, and an exhaustive bibliography as well as many appendices (among them a chapter on color theory) complete this unique resource.

Contents are organized into supports, pigments and media, and include: wall painting (secco, fresco, Keim mineral colors, mosaic, care and preservation), easel painting (oil, tempera, watercolor, apastel encaustic, glass, lacquer, casein, etc.), special techniques (gilding, other metallic paints) and examination of paintings (technical, physical and chemical analysis methods).

Cloth bound, hardcover edition, 672 pages, smyth sewn 60 lbs. paper, Kremer 2001 edition of 2500 copies      € 38.50