Charlotte Hobson

Whipping up a masterpiece: painters and their materials

Martin Gayford finds artists from Rembrandt to De Kooning mixing pigment, egg and oil together with all the skill of an accomplished chef

Untitled III, by Willem de Kooning, c.1978. De Kooning approached painting in the style of an innovative chef. One critic described watching him prepare his materials: ‘He mixes his colours in glass salad bowls with safflower oil and water emulsified with a little kerosene, and beats them to a fluffy consistency’. [© The Willem de Kooning Foundation]
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  • How Painting Happens (and why it matters)

    Martin Gayford

    Thames & Hudson, pp. 384, £35

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