Historical Painting Techniques, Materials, and Studio Practice

Summary

We can conclude after this preliminary investigation that many differences
between the two pulpits are present, although they both date from the same
period. Two types of grounds were fo und; in the Nurmuizha pulpit, chalk­
glue ground is used, while in the Burtnieki pulpit a ground of ochre in oil
is present. The pigments are similar in that they are probably the most com­
monly used pigments in Latvia during that period. During previous investi­
gations of blue colors in the polychromy of seventeenth-century Latvian
churches, two pigments were always present: indigo and smalt. Natural ultra­
marine has been fo und in very few cases.

Details in the decoration of the Nurmuizha church are executed using a
water-gilding technique. It is impossible to determine if a varnish or glaze is
present, as the next gilding layer is applied in an oil-based mordant technique
that fully blends with the first gilded layer.

The decorative wood carvings of the Burtnieki church are silvered and in

some places covered with colored glazes.

Different hands are present in both churches, as during the seventeenth cen­
tury in Latvia there was a continuous migration of craftspersons. A gilder­
painter could have been called from any workshop, especially in rural areas,
introducing that workshop's typical techniques and materials. It is not sug­
gested that the described methods were the most common in Latvia. Any
concrete conclusions can only be made after fu rther investigations in Latvia,
and after a comparison with methods used in other parts in Europe.

Acknowledgments

The authors are grateful to polychrome wooden sculpture restorers S. Rugevica and

1. Pukse for the samples and for their help with the work. Thanks are due to M.
   Harris for editing the manuscript.

Notes

1. Grosmane, E. 1981. Ventspils koktelnieki 17 .gs otra puse- 18 .gs.sakums. Riga, Zinatne,
   46-61.


2. Microscope MBI-15 (USSR), magnification x160.


3. Emission spectroscopy was carried out by A. Deme, an assistant of the spectroscopy
   laboratory of Latvia University.


4. Striegel, M. E, and D. Stulik. 1993. High performance thin-layer chromatography
   for the identification of binding media: techniques and applications. In AIC Pre­
   prints.


5. Infrared spectroscopy was carried out by 1. Gudele, an assistant at Riga Technical
   University.


6. Martin, E. 1977. Some improvements in techniques of analysis of paint media.
   Studies in Conservation 22:63-67.


7. The definition is in process.

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