Mischtechnik or mixed technique is a term spanning various methods of layering paint, including the usage of different substances. The term gained popularity after
Max Doerner's 1921 book ''The Materials of the Artist and Their Use in Painting: With Notes on the Techniques of the Old Masters'' However, Doerner made some conclusions about the usage by painters and ''Mischtechnik'' which today are no longer considered completely accurate.
Egg tempera
Mischtechnik can be a method of painting with egg
tempera
Tempera (), also known as egg tempera, is a permanent, fast-drying painting medium consisting of colored pigments mixed with a water-soluble binder medium, usually glutinous material such as egg yolk. Tempera also refers to the paintings done ...
, used in combination with oil based paints and resins to render a luminous, resonant realism. The egg yolk of the egg tempera is a naturally occurring
emulsion
An emulsion is a mixture of two or more liquids that are normally immiscible (unmixable or unblendable) owing to liquid-liquid phase separation. Emulsions are part of a more general class of two-phase systems of matter called colloids. Alth ...
of water and oil. As such, the
found ways of extending the natural advantages of its emulsion to create lean,
siccative, smoothly transitional, semi-transparent layers of paint. The visual effects created by working in the mixed technique essentially rely upon the phenomenon of light
refracting
In physics, refraction is the redirection of a wave as it passes from one medium to another. The redirection can be caused by the wave's change in speed or by a change in the medium. Refraction of light is the most commonly observed phenomeno ...
through many subsequent layers of paint.
One common approach is to transpose the main compositional elements of a value study onto a panel using
India ink, then slowly build up volume by alternating egg tempera with an overall glaze of
oil paints mixed with
resin
In polymer chemistry and materials science, resin is a solid or highly viscous substance of plant or synthetic origin that is typically convertible into polymers. Resins are usually mixtures of organic compounds. This article focuses on nat ...
, producing a jewel-like effect. The technique can be very time-consuming and demanding. It is unforgiving of
pentimenti
A pentimento (plural pentimenti), in painting, is "the presence or emergence of earlier images, forms, or strokes that have been changed and painted over". The word is , from the verb , meaning 'to repent'.
Significance
Pentimenti may show that ...
, yet full of delightful surprises, since many unexpected colors can naturally arise during the ongoing glazing process.
History
In the twentieth century artists such as
Otto Dix
Wilhelm Heinrich Otto Dix (; 2 December 1891 – 25 July 1969) was a German painter and printmaker, noted for his ruthless and harshly realistic depictions of German society during the Weimar Republic and the brutality of war. Along with George ...
,
and
Egon von Vietinghoff
Egon Arnold Alexis Freiherr von Vietinghoff genannt Scheel (February 6, 1903 in The Hague – October 14, 1994 in Zurich) was a German-Swiss painter, author, philosopher and creator of the Egon von Vietinghoff Foundation. He reconstructed the ...
, as well as
Surrealist
Surrealism is a cultural movement that developed in Europe in the aftermath of World War I in which artists depicted unnerving, illogical scenes and developed techniques to allow the unconscious mind to express itself. Its aim was, according to ...
and
visionary art
Visionary art is art that purports to transcend the physical world and portray a wider vision of awareness including spiritual or mystical themes, or is based in such experiences.
History
The Vienna School of Fantastic Realism, first estab ...
ists such as Philip Rubinov Jacobson,
Brigid Marlin
Brigid Marlin (born 16 January 1936, Washington, D.C.) is an American artist based in Hertfordshire, UK. She studied in Dublin, Montreal, New York City, New York, Paris and Vienna where, under the guidance of the Austrian artist Ernst Fuchs (art ...
or
Mati Klarwein
Abdul Mati Klarwein (April 9, 1932 – March 7, 2002) was a French Painting, painter of German origin best known for his works used on the covers of music albums.
Personal life
Mati Klarwein was born in Hamburg, Weimar Republic, Germany. His ...
, used the technique.
Nicolas Wacker taught his own version of the technique at the
École des Beaux-Arts
École des Beaux-Arts (; ) refers to a number of influential art schools in France. The term is associated with the Beaux-Arts style in architecture and city planning that thrived in France and other countries during the late nineteenth centur ...
in
Paris
Paris () is the capital and most populous city of France, with an estimated population of 2,165,423 residents in 2019 in an area of more than 105 km² (41 sq mi), making it the 30th most densely populated city in the world in 2020. Si ...
during the late 1960s and 1970s. Many contemporary painters credit their knowledge of the technique to him.
See also
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Glaze (painting technique)
A glaze is a thin transparent or semi-transparent layer on a painting which modifies the appearance of the underlying paint layer. Glazes can change the chroma, value, hue and texture of a surface. Glazes consist of a great amount of binding med ...
*
*
Oil painting
Oil painting is the process of painting with pigments with a medium of drying oil as the binder. It has been the most common technique for artistic painting on wood panel or canvas for several centuries, spreading from Europe to the rest ...
References
External links
Brigid Marlin€”The method and formulas of the mische technique
€”The process of mische technique
Painting techniques
PAINTING SEMINARSin the method and formulas of the mische technique
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de:Ölmalerei#Mischtechnik