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Apprenticeship of the painter

First, one gives him an egg to do in which one has him make
half a face, then a whole one with the ears, next the neck, then the
parts of the body separately, next joined, then one figure, then two
& three, finally a history, teaching him how to hold the
charcoal by the end, & also the pinceau.
Once he knows how to draw, one teaches him how to layer colors.


One also presents him with these strokes & lines

CThe figure of the egg is the
main pattern for faces and for bent bodies, as the cross is
the model for a straight & whole figure.
Without these strokes you will never do well.


Softening

To soften well, one ought not to layer the colors thickly, but
rather layer them twice, except for azur d’esmail.



All colors that have no body in oil have none in
distemper, and but in distemper they sink to
the bottom. Distemper colors want to be greasy, which is
recognised when they gel on the palette once distempered in
oil.


Straight lines

You can use the ruler, but do not lay it flat on the panel,
but as if lifted off, & resting on the edges of the panel. Otherwise
you would smudge everything, & also you would not see the stroke
well.


Distemper

Distemper colors need to be kept darker
pr while you temper them, because they whiten
while drying. But oil colors remain the same in color.

