093v - - - - - Faces in distemper
Because colors in distemper dry quickly & one would not have leisure to perfect the shadows & touches on the face, one wets the reverse of the face which is on canvas with a wet sponge. Then, with a small pinceau, one makes the shadows, which do not come undone. Next, one lays the flesh color, which does not prevent the already painted shadows from appearing. And again with a more lively flesh color, one touches the more prominent areas. And with another pinceau one does the shadows again by hatching. The shadow strokes do not come undone because they are made of bistre, which stains the canvas like rust. The said bistre is good with for making shadows in distemper mix, for in oil it has no body & would not dry but with great difficulty. One mixes in the said bistre, for shadow, ocre de ru & a little sap green. The best bistre is the greasy & shiny kind from the fireplaces of large kitchens. It is difficult to grind & screeches on the marble.
Azure
Azur d’esmail always wants to be cleaned because the filth that can be seen in the laveures makes it die. One needs to coat it two times, & the first very thick, moving the pinceau by laying it first lengthwise then across. It is better used on canvas, where it is imbibed immediately, than on wood. Varnish returns it to its vigor, because being imbibed, it becomes dark. To try it, painters bring their palette to the grocers, & distemper & alloy it with a little white ground in oil, for in this way, the beautiful shows its turquine vivacity, but the bad is lavender grey. The most delicate is the best for working. It is thinned working by washing it.
Violet and lake
It is made of azure & lake which is also assayed on the palette with white. It is deemed beautiful that which which, on a polished knife or on glass gives a clear red color of red rose, tending a little towards violet. The kind which is blac dark red is not as pleasant.