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 pigments mixed with a water-soluble binder medium, usually glutinous material such as egg yolk. ''Tempera'' also refers to the paintings done in ...
, 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 Miscibility, 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 colloi ...
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 transmission medium, 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 commo ...
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
India ink (British English: Indian ink; also Chinese ink) is a simple black or coloured ink once widely used for writing and printing and now more commonly used for drawing and outlining, especially when inking comic books and comic strips. In ...
, then slowly build up volume by alternating egg tempera with an overall glaze of
oil paints
Oil paint is a type of slow-drying paint that consists of particles of pigment suspended in a drying oil, commonly linseed oil. Oil paint also has practical advantages over other paints, mainly because it is waterproof.
The earliest surviving ex ...
mixed with
resin
A resin is a solid or highly viscous liquid that can be converted into a polymer. Resins may be biological or synthetic in origin, but are typically harvested from plants. Resins are mixtures of organic compounds, predominantly terpenes. Commo ...
, producing a jewel-like effect. The technique can be very time-consuming and demanding. It is unforgiving of
pentimenti
In painting, a ; from the verb , meaning 'to repent'; plural ''pentimenti'') is "the presence or emergence of earlier images, forms, or strokes that have been changed and painted over". Sometimes the English form "pentiment" is used, especiall ...
, 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 Printmaking, printmaker, noted for his ruthless and harshly realistic depictions of German society during the Weimar Republic and the brutality of war. Alon ...
,
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 Germany, German-Switzerland, Swiss Painting, painter, author, philosopher and creator of the Egon von Vietinghoff Fo ...
, as well as
Surrealist
Surrealism is an art movement, art and cultural movement that developed in Europe in the aftermath of World War I in which artists aimed to allow the unconscious mind to express itself, often resulting in the depiction of illogical or dreamlike s ...
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 establis ...
ists such as,
Robert Venosa, Philip Rubinov Jacobson,
Brigid Marlin or
Mati Klarwein
Abdul Mati Klarwein (9 April 1932 – 7 March 2002) was a German painter best known for his works used on the covers of music albums.
Personal life
Mati Klarwein was born in Hamburg, Weimar Republic. His mother Elsa Kühne was an opera sing ...
, used the technique.
Nicolas Wacker taught his own version of the technique at the
École des Beaux-Arts
; ) refers to a number of influential art schools in France. The term is associated with the Beaux-Arts architecture, Beaux-Arts style in architecture and city planning that thrived in France and other countries during the late nineteenth centu ...
in
Paris
Paris () is the Capital city, capital and List of communes in France with over 20,000 inhabitants, largest city of France. With an estimated population of 2,048,472 residents in January 2025 in an area of more than , Paris is the List of ci ...
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 me ...
*
*
Oil painting
Oil painting is a painting method involving the procedure of painting with pigments combined with a drying oil as the Binder (material), binder. It has been the most common technique for artistic painting on canvas, wood panel, or oil on coppe ...
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
{{art-technique-stub
de:Ölmalerei#Mischtechnik