THE TECHNIQUE OF PAINTING
By Hilaire Hiler
Those who do not paint and many of those who do probably have no idea of the pitfalls which are prepared for the art it by the unaccountable behaviour of pigments and media. A complete remedy for such ignorance and methods for avoiding the evil results arising from it are offered by Mr. Hilaire Hiler in his Notes on the Technique of Painting (Faber, 12s. 6d.). Mr. Hiler writes primarily for the practising painter and as he himself suggests, his book might be com- pared with a good cookery book. It is based on a great many years' practical experience of painting and on a careful study of the writings which embody the experience of others, so that it includes many formulae which are little used today but which might profitably be revived more extensively. The book opens with a short introductory account of techniques used at different periods in history. The first chapter describes the various materials which can be used to paint on, together with the appropriate methods of preparing them. There follows a chapter on pigments, in which, amongst other matters, the question of permanence is carefully considered. Mr. Hiler analyses the various causes which may produce change or decay in different pigments such as the action of the atmosphere and of light, or the indiscriminate mixing of pigments. The other main chapter of the book deals with the different media used in painting, and here Mr. Hiler gives formulae for their composition, adding discussion of the advantages and disadvantages of each. The whole book is written in the most businesslike manner, clearly and concisely.
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