Venice Turpentine and what I now know

[Michael Georges]

I use Venice Turpentine in my medium. I have bought two brands and they were dramatically different - causing me no end of headaches and some fair amount of research - here is what I found.

Venice Turpentine is the resinous sap from the European Larch tree. It is called Venice Turpentine because it was traditionally shipped from the port of Venice. Sources I found seem unclear as to when it first saw use in painting, but sources suggested between 1400 and 1500.

Venice turpentine is added to painting mediums, and it is a component in certain natural glues and varnishes - specifically for horses hooves - still in wide use today.

Added to paint, or in a painting medium, it imparts a definate enamel like gloss to the paint and strengthens the paint film. Care must be used not to add too much of the stuff or cracks and yellowing may occur.

I bought two brands of Venice Turpentine - Talens and Sennelier.

The Talens stuff is called Venetian Turpentine. It is straw colored and thick. The ingredients list it as Oil of Turpentine. It dries somewhat slowly, but not too bad. This is because it has very little actual Venice Turpentine in it, but is actually thinned down with Oil of Turpentine or in plain english speak - Gum Spirits of Turpentine.

The Sennelier stuff is called Venice Turpentine. It is a darker color - sort of amber and also very thick. The ingredients list it as Pure and Natural Balsam. It dries very, very slowly, such that you really need to add a dryer like Cobalt Drier to it - 10-12 drops per 6 ounces of medium. It appears to be the real stuff - not diluted or thinned at all.

My medium with the Talens stuff dried in about 3 days. When I started using the Sennelier VT, the drying time went out past 5 days - hence the drier.

Given a choice, I am still using the Sennelier VT. It seems to me to be the real stuff and I like knowing what I am using.

Hope that helps someone.

[Karin Wells]

Thanks for the info. Michael. Someone once told me that Venice turpentine was a "secret" of Vermeer's...and that is how he made those little dots of light so interesting. However, I never tried it and do not know if this is true...what do you think? Possible?

To what medium are you adding Venice turpentine? And in what proportion?

I've found stand oil to have an "enamel like appearance." How does this compare to Venice Turpentine?

[Michael Georges]

Karin:

I have only seen one Vermeer. It was indeed enamel like. Although, I find that Rembrandt and other master paintings have the same sort of sheen. As to whether he used VT or not, I really don't know, sorry. Certainly Stand Oil does help contribute to the enamel quality of an oil film.

I use Venice Turpentine in the following medium:

5 parts Damar Varnish
5 parts Rectified Turpentine
3 parts Stand Oil
1 part Venice Turpentine
Cobalt Drier - 10-12 drops per 6 ounces

If you use the Talens VT, then you don't need the drier. Mayer also offers several medium recipies that include VT.

[Jeanine Jackson]

Thank you for sharing your tips on Venetian Varnish... The yellowing and cracking risk has kept me using Damar retouch varnish alone to finish, but I think the rich enamel effect is worth experimenting with... I shall try your recipie!

[Michael Georges]

... I shall try your recipie!

Jeanine: Glad you will try the recipe. Just a note on how it is used. For glazing, I crush paint into a small amount of medium and paint it on very thinly. For opaque passages, I spray the medium from a PreVal sprayer and paint into it. I don't mix it with my paint at all. This ensures that my paint film is at least 80% paint to medium except in the glazed passages. I think the medium is strong enough to hold the glazes over time, but I use just enough medium to get a brushable fluid and I apply it very thin as I said.

[Jeanine Jackson]

Beautifully described. Still, I wish I could see you do it!