Quote:
Originally Posted by Jennifer Bogartz
Did the masters of the Renaissance use a final varnish?
|
Yes they did. There is an entire section on varnishing in Cennino d'Andrea Cennini's book "Il Libro dell' Arte" published in the 1400s. Early varnishes were often done from amber or mastic or copal, and sometimes by mixing a solvent with a balsam such as Venice Turpentine. Damar/dammar varnish has come into primary use in the past 100 or so years.