 |
António João Cruz, "Os materiais usados em pintura em Portugal no início do século XVIII, segundo Rafael Bluteau", Artis – Revista do Instituto de História da Arte da Faculdade de Letras de Lisboa, 7-8, 2009, pp. 385-405 |
| Abstract |
The work of Rafael Bluteau (1638-1734) entitled Vocabulario Portuguez e Latino is a large encyclopaedia (published, in 10 volumes, between 1712 and 1728) with detailed information about what is described by each Portuguese word or expression. Consequently, it presents useful information regarding the painting's materials employed in the beginning of the 18th century. However, until now, this data remains underused, although other detailed original documentary sources about the subject, namely technical treatises, are not known for that period. Here, the information extracted from that work is systematically presented in an organised way. In the first place, the colours mentioned by Bluteau, that is, the pigments and the dyes used by painters, are listed and described with their words and, where archaic or obscure names were used, they are discussed and an identification is proposed. In a second part, other materials employed in paintings and polychrome sculptures and also some tools of the painter's workshop, cited by Bluteau, are mentioned and its use is described in relation to the relevant technical procedures. Concerning the pigments, the volumes of Bluteau show a diversity of materials greater than the one disclosed through scientific analysis of works of art and also show some uses and disuses of several pigments that can be interpreted as signs of archaism. |