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24
did sink, however, he suggested applying with a small sponge a layer of nut
oil mixed with a siccative befo re continuing to paint. He added that although
this layer should dry before adding fu rther details, it was possible to paint fine
lines of architectural elements while the layer is still wet (12).
Learned journals and periodicals
Colbert's establishment of the Academie Royale des Sciences in 1666 stim
ulated the growing interest in technology, and consequently publications of
new scientific discoveries increased in number.
The prodigious growth of the dyeing and textile industries in the eighteenth
century was a contributing influence. Porcelain manufacture, too, was indi
rectly responsible fo r many publications concerning materials, especially pig
ments, that could be used fo r painting. The diffusion of this material was
sometimes effected through official publications such as the Imprimerie Royale
or Royal Academy of Science's Descriptions des arts et metiers (13). A few articles
of interest were even privately published (14). From 1737, Salon exhibitions
of the Academy began to be reviewed by newspapers such as Mercure de France;
these reviews sometimes included technical information.
The Journal des Sfavans was a fu ndamental journal fo r the dissemination of
scientific information in the seventeenth and eighteenth centuries, appearing
from 1665 until 1825, with a few lapses in publishing. Information relevant
to the history of painting techniques was often included; the treatises by
Antoine Raphael Mengs and Gerard de Lairesse, fo r example, were discussed
at length (15).
By the mid-eighteenth century there were many periodicals in which articles
on painting materials or techniques could be fo und: Observations periodiques
sur la physique, et les beaux-arts, Annales de chemie, the Bibliotheque physio-econ
omique, instructive et amusante, the Magasin encyclopedique, and the Journal des
Sciences, to mention a fe w of the most important periodicals (16). The in
creased economic interaction between France and England in the later half
of the eighteenth century is reflected in articles in the Journal Oeconomique
(17). Many articles in these French journals were translated from English
publications, including those of the royal societies in London. In fa ct, the flow
of information had increased all over Europe (18).
Dictionaries and encyclopedias
The increasing number of publications in France in the eighteenth century
reflects the general opening up of society in France. An important step fo r
ward in the dissemination of craft "secrets" was the publication of Diderot's
encyclopedia. During the period from 1751 to 1772 the Encyclopedie ou Dic
tionnaire raisonne des sciences, des arts, et des metiers first appeared in thirty-nine
volumes edited by Denis Diderot (1713-1784) and Jean Ie Rond d'Alembert
(Figs. 3, 4) (19). It was a heroic task with articles by 160-odd contributors
and 2,885 plates. Diderot's encyclopedia was a landmark in the recording of
knowledge, and remains one of the greatest literary enterprises in human
history.
There were precedents fo r the Encyclopedie of course, although the early dic
tionaries were much smaller, usually two volumes. In the field of the arts, the
important sources were Thomas Corneille, Dictionnaire des Arts et Sciences (Par
is 1694); Antoine Furetiere, Dictionnaire universels (The Hague-Rotterdam
1690); and the Dictionnaire de Trevoux issued by the Jesuits (Aix 1704). These
sources were pillaged by Diderot, fo llowing the usual practice of the time
(20). While Diderot's encyclopedia was fo r the enlightened rather than the
multitude, other authors tried to make the information more accessible. Both
Lacombe (1752) and Macquer (1766) wrote "portable" dictionaries, as did
many others (21). In the preface to his Dictionnaire portatif de peinture, sculpture
et gravure (Paris 1757), Pernety even apologized fo r producing yet another
dictionary. He wrote (22):
Historical Painting Tech niques, Materials, and Studio Practice