Palette Of Historic Paints

PALETTE OF HISTORIC PAINTS BATY

by PATRICK

cially

as "drab colo "dead salmon" have or

il

=a-

eye, perliaps, thantl tnee.ve'perhaps,tnantne?3.9^r9vruri3"ul.rr,,,.|,l.l the sive paint finishes of tl

they are, however, beir

-::-il

3#iT':til,l'.i:illl'T the l8th and early l9th

tneqecoI.ator:paleI[ellJSG#e.=-f-fli,,.-,'-,,-rrrrytrrirrrr.rrrfruvrl been extended with tl

=

4PP(4ralILLUl|all5LJUlIJylLlar--i.^i^""lr-];-.'-^;jl^":;ll_''"; rSeO palnt COlOurS, OI tv rha r^racr .nn -\rr,a1--l rr,-:cr c,c

--gg* ffig" ffi 5gI may result if the Trust i(oil.{er-R.'....-,*.*F:1ocrcquc:;!aUIc:,il,g]:,]I.,

-: :

ied-not merely Trus others undeclared-t

E

vrrLrr rrr! rrrruur( ur Lrru ru(rr

^il

=rn

essentialtorefertothedetailedallsuperiorwork''.Thiswas achieved by a process known as and heloful explanation printed on the'r.u..i. of the'leaflet 1-A trial for the repainting of Adarn's drawing-roorn ceiling "flatting", which, as we.ll as,infrorn Lansdowne llouse, now in the Philadelphia Museurn of Art volvtng an extra operatlon that supplied with the paints. ' 'The sort of effect achieved added to the cost of the job, was -l for vulnerable areas and exterior unsuitable colour on a so--called "Palladian" uping !y t .surfaces. tlie doois and architraves together with- one I ,, i. ., : ] Distemper was a less expensive matt based on untinted limewash"on the ceilins, I LI I finish widely used on plaster walls and ceiland rhen having the walls painted in a coJ- I I| II |I inss. made with whiting' or ground Sround ings... It.was It was made,with,whiting, n'r inspired inqnired hw"that .,f sun-bleached sugar srrerar | by"that of our ",lrr'-trleached a glue slze maoe Irom chalk, uuullu,wrLrr urlarK, bound wltn 4 is no doubt attractive in a room of.the bass. bags, Isnodoubtattractlvelnaroomollne Srus )rzL,rr:o".,t'Y'l' -iEizoos.NonetheIess,ifthissortofthingffianimalbones,hornsorskin,andtintedwith j. :r, 6f cheapness, the wide range of | advantases ru*fij;JJgr."lJ;i,l:',',:,f;:'*'1i'1":"il:Ai *Jil1'i,f,:;'gh'.*t i.:tg;,:'l:i;tiJ* l, , ,,, ,+1, '|

|;J;n#11ffi.',":::',:t,lJ.ll#:u:i,Hl

l

Dr lan Eristow and Morgan Phillips. fhir is I.,or to Lygg.it that.appealing decorative effecrs willi"ot be achieved usin[

'

'r'i' '"I jt''r'rry1*:*:l

''i''ri:{s1!iiir*':""- ' roOm IEt room from Lansdowne House (Fig l), where the Philadelphia Museum of Ariwii advised by T l

to the work w"ork Carried carried out in the drawing

such combinations of colours. Moreover, thE

| original colour scheme may not n^ecessarily be ?he most attractive. but'it is often more

|

l:Tiif*'ilx5:'ilJ+l:

I

-_1 t---

::::::::=::r:;:r!i::i:::::'-':"ir-'

I I | |

tints achfevable in it. the ease with whiih iL could be made and^applied, and ihe speed it Being loosery Ioosely ]founo, bound, ll oI lts- application. applrca.tron' 5elng of its, could be. washedoll lor renewal, but lt was not particu'larly durable. used for tinting both - . Th. pigments

---_-

1 | |

some being considerabll

lore,

expensive

I

importantinsigni{icant1Bth-centurybuild-|@*"l|r-lused.

bu-red earths, tended to be more frequently

injs,wherethEdecoratio,1and,th6archi-ffil|-l^.l1.:.*|:.jli:'1^y11l..1.'^."9l'*: ^pp..i'o.".*t'atauste.eand'td1oi'rl,esst6T-^._--,=probI9m:1:::i1:T9yi,h'T^1ry^:l|: w-ith its stone-like wall surface and 2-sarnples of "Comrrron Colours": (ctock- hore expensive pigments. These common oi-,i"

"y.r, butthateffectisexactly zt,isefrimtop left) stone, white, pearl, colours,-whichinclud.edwhite,stone.(inits colo.irtomatch; chocolate, Laklwainscot, stoneo lead various forms), pearl, lead, crearr\ wainscot what the original designer was trying to

"t".ri,

Choice ofpaints

for historic interiors is a subjectfraught utith controaersJ,

Where noiriginit schente suruiues, knouledge of the paints auailable in the past, and th. rul." that guided their use, utill help to ensure infornted decisions.

3-This recently restored and redecorated hallway in a house of about 1720 shows the stone colour favoured for such roorns in the early lBth century. By courtesy ofPelharn Galleries formed the basis of most decorative schemes for many

or oak, and chocolate (Fig

21.

vears.

' In the main, the brighter and more expensive colours tended io be more fugitive ind liable to discoloration, especially in an oil medium. Some pigments would react adversely with otheri, or be affected by the atmosphere or the alkalinity of plaster walls.

Severai colours could be achieved only in one or other of the two mediums, so that there was no universal use of colour. Equallv. aithoueh possible in a paint, a necesiarily be paiticuiar -available colour"would not in a fabric, or vice versa. A good, clear blue, for example, was for many years possible only in distemper, and would not have been used on woodwork. Bright yelIows, too, presented a problem -in an oil paint u.ntilihe lB20s, and even then were expenslve. -

In the past there was a definite hierarchy of colour, rtlating to the cost of the pigme.nts

used and the nature of the area being oainted. There is a tendencv to ienore this

ind, in so doing, use colours ihat tiight h^rre been found in the public rooms of the srandest houses in the back bedrooms of more humble terraces.

the earlv days was the chair rail planted on the plasfer #alh. The austerity ofihe colours of the Baroque and Palladian periods are somehow confused with the neo-Classical "cheese cakes and raspberry tarts", which Peacock wrote about in 1785. "Iames Ignorance of the symbolic purpose of the wboden cornice in a wainscotted room leads to it beins painted in with the ceiling, instead of witli ihe wall. This makes little sense, represenlinS, as it does, the entablature of an implied architectural order. with the main rnail area susgesting the column, and the dado the pedestal. Combined with the pickins out of the stiles and rails oIthe vrall'paneli. the result is a complete breakine r;p of ihe architecturai rinity of the orlgrnaI. "An analogy with.the playing of early 4-staircaseo No. I Greek Streetr Wl. Dr authentlc lnstruments may De muslc on schetne colour the prepared Bristow Ian drawn. Although that argument is by no There is also enormous confusion about means resolved,"our understanding has bcen the oast itself. The inclination is to treat the increased bv the debate. Is it time, perhaps, wh6le of the period from 1774 to 1830 as lor the oueition of historic colour to be d-isrepresenting one architectural style. purely cussed more widely, instead of relying on because the reigning monarchs shared the our vague^preconceptions and notions of taste/ same name. During this time, the simple sood " Photoqraplts: l, Dr lan Bristow: 2, lhe auwainscotted parlour gave way to the spa-^ cious drawing room. whose only vestige of thor/ Papels and Paint Ltd: 3.4. Jutian LYieman'