Historical Painting Techniques, Materials, and Studio Practice

Figure 4. Infrared reflectogram detail if
Lamentation, showing the dark undermodel­
il1g strokes if Nicodemus's turbal1 in the up­
per background. I'!frared reflectography by M.
Faries.

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Figure 5. Cross sectiol1 fr om Maarten van.

Heemskerck's St. Luke with measuremen.ts in

microns: layer 1, possible trace of ground;

layer 2, gray intermediate layer; layer 3,

compact layer if black with black particles;

layer 4, admixture if white, black, and red;

layer 5, white layer with one large azurite

crystal; layer 6, varnish. Photograph by M.

Faries (after J. R. J. van Asperen de Boer).

138

considered a kind of technical signature, although not of an individual hand:

It is the signature of Scorel's shop. Most of the pigments used in completing

the image are, of course, also common to those fo und in Scorel's paintings.

No ultramarine has been fo und, however, and the blue used throughout the

painting is azurite. This no doubt proves not only that Jan van Scorel is the

only north Netherlandish artist documented to have used natural ultramarine

in his works, but that he also used it selectively, saving it fo r his most im­

portant commissions (10). It was, therefore, not available to his assistant, or at

least not fo r this painting. Not unexpectedly, the blue-over-rose paint layer

structure is also lacking in Lamentation.

Other ways in which the painting practice in Lamentation deviates from Sco­

reI's standard require a different explanation, since these differences fo rm crit­

ical links with other paintings that can now be considered early Heemskerck.

Dark modeling strokes executed with a brush have been detected in the

finishing stages of Lamentation. Some strokes that underlie the surface colors

can be disclosed by infrared (Fig. 4). Other black-colored modeling is applied

in the final paint layer, especially in reds. The cross section fr om John the

Evangelist's drapery clearly shows the black particles in the vermilion and red

lake admixture (11).

Although Scorel's Baptism and Heemskerck's Lamentation are the fo cus of this

study, their techniques may be compared to a substantial amount of related

technical material. Ample evidence proves that the paint-layer structure de­

scribed above typifies the Scorel group paintings during Scorel's time in Haar­

lem. In addition, since nine paintings now attributed by some scholars to the

early Heemskerck period have also been examined by various technical

means, the evolution of Heemskerck's painting technique can be surveyed

(12). Of the nine paintings, only fo ur have been studied with the binocular

microscope and sampled so far. At least three paintings use the blue-over­

rose structure typical of the Scorel group although, in each case, the blue

pigment is azurite. Other aspects of the paint layer structure can be docu­

mented by X-ray or infrared reflectography. The infrared vidicon distinguishes

pure colors that look black to our eyes but are transparent to the eye of the

vidicon from "true" blacks, which remain opaque in reflectograms. This in­

strumental technique can therefore locate black modeling or under modeling

in the same way it locates underdrawings. Dark modeling strokes used to

block in fo rms can also be fo und in at least three other works in the hypo­

thetical early Heemskerck group. The technique is unknown in the Scorel

group. The presence of a thin layer of lead white over the ground can be

verified in cross sections, as well as by X-radiography where it appears as

broadly-brushed streaking. This practice is evident in a majority of works in

the early Heemskerck group. It is the coupling of underdrawing with this

layer, however, which undergoes a change; and finally, the character of the

layer itself changes. In Lamentation, the black chalk underdrawing is supple­

mented by dark modeling and undermodeling in paint. Several other paint­

ings have a fo rm of underdrawing, but it is executed in a dark, paintlike

substance rather than chalk. In fo ur works, the underdrawing is undetectable.

No underdrawing could be detected in the St. Luke Painting a Portrait of the

Virgin and Child (1532), an indisputable early Heemskerck, and no under­

drawing appeared in samples. In this work Heemskerck used a gray inter­

mediate layer, a very different basis upon which to build up the fo rms of his

painting (Fig. 5) (13).

Conclusion

Heemskerck must have worked in Scorel's studio fo r all or part of the period

from 1527 to 15 30, and after Scorelleft Haarlem in September 15 30, Heem­

skerck continued to paint in the city as an independent master until he him­

self left fo r Rome in 15 32. The artist moved from a graphic black-on-white

layout to more subtle fo rms of shading and undermodeling; based on changes

in painting technique, an evolution is proposed fo r Heemskerck in this period.

Historical Painting Tech niques, Materials, and Studio Practice