The art of painting after the Italian manner: with practical observations on the principal colours and directions how to know a good picture

Abstract

~ A rare work, plainly written and free from “rhetorical flourishes.” “Take then these instructions... do not reject them because they are not derived from a Stately Fountain; because the Water falls not from the Mouth of a Serpent, the Jaws of a Dragon, or the Nostrils of a Sea-Monster, for he that is dry will be glad to quench his thirst from a Leaden Cistern, or an Earthen Pitcher.” Elsum provides practical instuction on the importance of sound draughtsmanship, the making and use of grids for squaring up drawings, the variety and use of colour, and the various techniques of oil and drypainting. He also advises the artist to consider the ‘quality’ of the client and argues that painters should ‘suit their works to the quality of the place and person.’ For the client he provides short-lists of suitable works for display in libraries, halls, palaces, town-houses, and publick schools. This is one of the earliest treatises to include such information of the positioning of pictures within the house.