How Did Artists Manage Before Modern Paint Tubes Were Manufactured?
It was only during the 19th century that industrial manufacturers began to produce a proper range of fine art oil paints. Until then, artists made their own paints, which had to be produced fresh each day. Most Renaissance or Baroque painters, for instance, worked for severals years as a pupil (apprentice) in the workshop (atelier) of a master artist, where they studied the skills of drawing (disegno), painting (colorito) and also how to make and mix paint. Knowledge of colour pigments, their properties (hue, permanence, chroma, lightfastness, compatibility with other pigments, drying attributes), and how to make them into oil paint was an essential part of every painter’s art training. Even the grinding of a pigment required skill as the particle-size needed to be fine and regular, and a small number of pigments can be damaged by incorrect grinding. In addition, it was important to know the correct binder-to-pigment proportions (which may vary from 10 percent or less, to as high as 15
