Sir Charles Eastlake, a former president of the British Royal Academy and director of the National Gallery, was one of the world's foremost experts on the techniques of painting. A painter of considerable renown himself, he devoted years to traveling throughout England and Europe, where he searched through museums, monasteries, universities, and libraries, gradually amassing a collection of rare manuscripts from which he was able to reconstruct the technical secrets of the great painters of the past. In this comprehensive treasury (two volumes bound as one), Eastlake presents the results of his researches. He offers detailed discussions of Greek and Roman art methods, medieval techniques, tempera painting, the revolutionary use of oil paints by Hubert van Eyck, Flemish methods of preparing colors, and the methods of Reynolds and other 18th-century British masters. The second volume focuses on the technical secrets of members of various Italian schools, including such masters as Leonardo, Raphael, Perugino, Correggio, Andrea del Sarto, and many others. Rounding off the book are more than 100 pages of professional essays covering a wide range of subjects—from "Life in Inanimate Things" and "Neutral Tints in White and Other Draperies" to "Venetian Process" and "How to Compose and Paint a Single Head." Students, painters, art historians, and any lover of fine art will find Eastlake's work invaluable, both for its source material and its painstaking coverage of the technical evolution of painting. Dover (2001) unabridged republication in one volume of the work originally published by Longman, Brown, Green, and Longmans in two volumes in 1847 as Materials for a History of Oil Painting.

Greek and Roman art methods, medieval techniques, tempera painting, van Eyck's revolutionary use of oil paints, Flemish methods of preparing colors, methods of 18th-century British artists, technical secrets of Italian schools, including such masters as Leonardo, Raphael, Correggio, Andrea del Sarto, and more.

Unabridged and unaltered republication of the first edition originally published in 1847, under title "Materials for a history of oil painting."

Easy-to-follow instructions and carefully executed illustrations make it possible for anyone to learn the basics of an age-old art form and fashion beautiful, lasting objects. Author discusses tools and techniques, use of gems and enamels, wire inlay, casting, and other topics. 72 line illustrations and diagrams.

This original compilation gathers together four of Charles X. Carlson's finest art instruction books and presents them in one comprehensive volume. A well-known artist, author, and teacher, Carlson offers clear, uncomplicated methods of drawing for aspiring artists at every level. Chock-full of step-by-step illustrations, this compendium expertly covers the fundamentals of drawing figures, portraits, still-lifes, and landscapes for a wide variety of mediums. An all-in-one guide for art students, it includes: Simplified Ink, Pen and Brush Drawing opens the door to a number of drawing techniques, including spattering, stippling, cross-hatching, accented strokes, and the use of chalk and crayon. Simplified Drawing teaches artists the ABCs of free-hand drawing and features the basic principles of an object's construction using the easy "block method." The Simplified Essentials of Charcoal Drawing discusses charcoal materials and how to use them, and includes various techniques of charcoal drawing with application to cast, life, and outdoor sketching. Simplified Pencil Drawing presents the various methods of pencil drawing, step by step, while building students' knowledge of the subject and encouraging them to develop their own individual pencil techniques.

The "Illustrator's Illustrator" presents fundamentals of improvisation, lighting, style, and technique. Thorough examinations of the human figure and landscapes feature 100 illustrations and stress the importance of design and composition.

Rich in tradition and history, the art of batik has been a deeply integrated facet of Chinese folk art for over 2,000 years. Using molten beeswax, skilled artisans paint patterns onto white cloth, which is then dipped into indigo dye. When the wax is removed with boiling water, unique designs of great harmony and beauty remain. The themes depicted in batik decoration have a strong native flavor, and are distinctive of the Chinese provinces and districts where they were created. In Huangping, mountains, trees, and birds are represented. In the Miao district, the concentration is on flowers and butterflies, while in the Yunnan Province, designs of peacocks, monkeys, and elephants abound. In this stunning pictorial archive, more than 110 authentic designs have been carefully reproduced from a rare, early collection of batik art. Collected from the remote areas of China's southwestern provinces, each decorative pattern is rich in beauty and meaning. This royalty-free volume will be an invaluable resource for artists, designers, craftspeople, and any lover of traditional Chinese folk art.