ar
expedients, but all in vain, were Alesso Baldovinetti, Pesello, and many
others, not one of whom succeeded in giving to his works the beauty and
excellence that he had imagined. And even if they had found what they
were seeking, they still lacked the method of making their figures on
panel adhere as well as those painted on walls, and also that of making
them so that they could be washed without destroying the colours, and
would endure any shock in handling. These matters a great number of
craftsmen had discussed many times in common, but without result.

This same desire was felt by many lofty minds that were devoted to
painting beyond the bounds of Italy--namely, by all the painters of
France, Spain, Germany, and other countries. Now, while matters stood
thus, it came to pass that, while working in Flanders, Johann[10] of
Bruges, a painter much esteemed in those parts by reason of the great
mastery that he had acquired in his profession, set himself to make
trial of various sorts of colours, and, as one who took delight in
alchemy, to prepare many kinds of oil for making varnishes and other
things dear to men of inventive brain, such as he was. Now, on one
occasion, having taken very great pains with the painting of a panel,
and having brought it to completion with much diligence, he gave it the
varnish and put it to dry in the sun, as is the custom. But, either
because the heat was too violent, or perchance because the wood was
badly joined together or not seasoned well enough, the said panel opened
out at the joinings in a ruinous fashion. Whereupon Johann, seeing the
harm that the heat of the sun had done to it, determined to bring it
about that the sun should never again do such great damage to his works.
And so, being disgusted no less with his varnish than with working in
distemper, he began to look for a method of making a varnish that should
dry in the shade, without putting his pictures in the sun. Wherefore,
after he had made many experiments with substances both pure and mixed
together, he found at length that linseed oil and oil of nuts dried more
readily than all the others that he had tried. These, then, boiled
together with other mixtures of his, gave him the varnish that he--nay,
all the painters in the world--had long desired. Afterwards, having made
experiments with many other substances, he saw that mixing the colours
with those oils gave them a very solid consistency, not only securing
the work,