f the old masters, he so used it; but nothing
occurred to him about water. We suggested that if this, his medium,
resembled the old, it was probably miscible with water, as water would
seem to have been introduced into the Venetian practice. Upon this we
tried it, and found we could at pleasure dip the brush in this medium,
or in water, and then into the paint, and work with great facility, the
greater use of the water giving that _crumbly_ appearance so often
perceptible in the Venetian school; and this effect we found might be
increased or omitted at pleasure. And this medium, made by mixing water
with the oil through the agency of borax, when dry might be washed even
with warm water with perfect impunity. _When dry it did not fear water_;
though a saponaceous medium, it was not again soluble in water. What
does Vasari mean by "che accende i colori"--"which heightens the
colours?" Borax is an alkali. Alkalis are known to heighten colours, "e
gli fa lucidi;" now, linseed and nut oil _alone_, particularly the
former, takes away the _lucid_ character from paint. Had Vasari been
describing the working of this vehicle of P. Rainier, he could not have
better described it than in the very words "gli unisce mirabilmente;"
for it is astonishing how nicely to the hand, and to the degrees
desired, these repugnant liquids unite the colours. It is singular
enough that soda, which is a form of borax, is the actual constituent
part of some of our most permanent colours--we need but mention
ultramarine; and here we are tempted to transcribe a passage from the
translator's preface, which exactly falls in with this our view.--"The
use made by the early Italian artists of lyes (lisciva) is deserving of
our notice and consideration. Cennino does not inform us how this lye
was prepared; but it has been ascertained that lyes produced from
pouring water on wood-ashes, from solutions of borax, and also of soda
in water, were then used. We find from Cennino's book that ultramarine
(of which soda is a constituent part) was prepared with it; that it was
also used in preparing _azzuro della magna_, (an ore of cobalt,) and
_zafferano_. It has been likewise ascertained that soda has a preserving
influence on red, yellow, and black pigments; and the result of
experiments on these colours has been so satisfactory, that a certain
quantity of soda--or, to speak more correctly, of _soap_, which is a
compound of soda with fat or oil, (but not drying oil)-