PALETTE OF HISTORIC PAINTS

by PATRICK BATY

cially as "drab colo

"dead salmon" have or
il
tnee.ve'perhaps,tnantne?3.9^r9vruri3"ul.rr,,,.|,l.l
the eye, perliaps, thantl
sive paint finishes of tl
they are, however, beir
=a-
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
-::-il
4PP(4ralILLUl|all5LJUlIJylLlar--i.^i^""lr-];-.'-^;jl^":;ll_''";
=
rSeO palnt COlOurS, OI tv
-\rr,a1--l rr,-:cr c,c ---
rha r^racr .nn gg* ffig" ffi 5gI vrrLrr rrr! rrrruur( ur Lrru ru(rr

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

ied-not merely Trus

others undeclared-t
E
:

essentialtorefertothedetailedallsuperiorwork''.Thiswas
-
^il
=rn
and heloful explanation printed achieved by a process known as
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,in-
supplied with the paints. frorn Lansdowne llouse, now in the Philadelphia Museurn of Art volvtng an extra operatlon that
' 'The sort of effect achieved added to the cost of the job, was
!y uping a so--called "Palladian" colour on t .- -l unsuitable for vulnerable areas and exterior
tlie doois and architraves together with- one I ,, : ., i. ] surfaces.
based on untinted limewash"on the ceilins, I LI I Distemper was a less expensive matt
and rhen having the walls painted in a coJ- I I| II finish
|I inss. widely used on plaster walls and ceil-
n'r inspired
our inqnired hw"that .,f sun-bleached sugar
by"that of srrerar | It was made,with,whiting,
ings... It.was made with whiting' or ground
Sround
",lrr'-trleached
is no doubt attractive in a room of.the
bags, Isnodoubtattractlvelnaroomollne
bass. bound wltn 4
chalk, uuullu,wrLrr
urlarK, Srus )rzL,rr:o".,t'Y'l'
a glue slze maoe Irom
-iEizoos.NonetheIess,ifthissortofthingffianimalbones,hornsorskin,andtintedwith
*Jil1'i,f,:;'gh'.*t i.:tg;,:'l:i;tiJ* l, , ,,, ,+1, '-
j. :r,
'r'i' '"I
| |
| advantases
ru*fij;JJgr."lJ;i,l:',',:,f;:'*'1i'1":"il:Ai
6f cheapness, the wide range of
tints achfevable in it. the ease with whiih iL
|;J;n#11ffi.',":::',:t,lJ.ll#:u:i,Hl
to the work room
carried out in the drawing
w"ork Carried
l
''i''ri:{s1!iiir*':""- '
roOm IEt jt''r'rry1*:*:l I l:Tiif*'ilx5:'ilJ+l:
could be made and^applied, and ihe speed
oI applrca.tron' 5elng
lts- application.
of its, bound, ll
Ioosely ]founo,
Being loosery
could be. washedoll lor renewal, but lt was
it
from Lansdowne House (Fig l), where the
Philadelphia Museum of Ariwii advised by T l -_1 t--- 1 not particu'larly durable.
Dr lan Eristow and Morgan Phillips. ---_- used for tinting both
fhir is I.,or to Lygg.it that.appealing ' I I | - . Th. pigments
decorative effecrs willi"ot be achieved usin[ | | | some being considerabll lore, expensive
such combinations of colours. Moreover, thE ::::::::=::r:;:r!i::i:::::'-':"ir-'
|
original colour scheme may not n^ecessarily
I

be ?he most attractive. but'it is often more bu-red earths, tended to be more frequently
importantinsigni{icant1Bth-centurybuild-|@*"l|r-lused.
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|:
oi-,i" w-ith its stone-like wall surface and 2-sarnples of "Comrrron Colours": (ctock- hore expensive pigments. These common
"y.r,
colo.irtomatch; butthateffectisexactly zt,isefrimtop left) stone, white, pearl, colours,-whichinclud.edwhite,stone.(inits
what the original designer was trying to chocolate, Laklwainscot, stoneo lead various forms), pearl, lead, crearr\ wainscot
"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

or oak, and chocolate (Fig formed the

21.
basis of most decorative schemes for many
vears.
' In the main, the brighter and more ex-
pensive 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
paiticuiar
-available colour"would not
necesiarily be
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 yel-
Iows, 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.
"IamesIgnorance 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 entabla-
ture 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 break-
ine r;p of ihe architecturai rinity of the
orlgrnaI.
"An
4-staircaseo No. I Greek Streetr Wl. Dr analogy with.the playing of early
Ian Bristow prepared the colour schetne muslc on authentlc lnstruments may De
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-is-
representing one architectural style. purely cussed more widely, instead of relying on
because the reigning monarchs shared the our vague^preconceptions and notions of
same name. During this time, the simple sood taste/
" Photoqraplts:
wainscotted parlour gave way to the spa-^ l, Dr lan Bristow: 2, lhe au-
cious drawing room. whose only vestige of thor/ Papels and Paint Ltd: 3.4. Jutian LYieman'