This study is based on a collection of varnish recipes in an 18th-century manuscript in a Milan library. Based on this manuscript, Gheroldi, Stefania Vitale and Luciano Colombo provide the cultural background to the amateurs who wrote artistic recipe books and their preferences and technical skills in preparing varnishes for paintings, as well as ‘Chinese varnishes’ and varnishes for miniature paintings. Two further essays deal with 18th-century varnishes for violin making and restoration.
This is a fascinating document for understanding the techniques of the ‘Golden Age’ of Cremonese instruments, and to further experimentation for contemporary violin makers.
Paperback in hard box. 251pp; text in English and Italian.
