Those of us lucky enough to visit the small but rather lovely exhibition of paintings of Iona by Cadell and Peploe at the Scottish Gallery in 2014 saw several of the works exhibited naked so to speak and not under glass.
The painting below was sold by Bonhams in2014. They have sold many Cadells in their time.
There are instructions in Cadell's hand on the back of many paintings, including this one, which say,
"Absorbent ground. NEVER varnish".
So why would he say this?
It must be that Cadell preferred a chalky, matte appearance in these works. The look of the paint surface matters to him. He does not want the buttery, glossy effect of an oil rich painting medium. He wants the painting to have a more matte and less reflective surface.And he certainly does not want varnish puddling in the crevices of his impasto, or perhaps altering the colour of any of the ground which might show through. Reflections from varnish are another possibility.There is also the possibility that Cadell liked the drag which an absorbent ground gives to ground: the paint stays in place and does not want to be pushed about!
And a final reason could be one of practicality. An absorbent ground will suck the oil out of paint which will then harden a little more quickly.There is no need to squeeze out your paint onto newspaper before working on an absorbent ground-as some have suggested, that would remove too much of the oil and render the paint very fragile after drying.In modern times we particularly associate it with Lautrec's peinture a l'essence technique on cardboard. OIl removed before painting and painting onto an absorbent ground would also make the paint almost unworkable in any normal way. Cadell and Peploe were professionals who would have known this and acted accordingly.
The Iona paintings are quite small and probably travelled back in Cadell's luggage-or maybe in that of acquaintances who were, so the stories go, inclined and encouraged to purchase newly finished work straight from the artist's abode on the island.
Christian and Stiller* give credit for the introduction of gesso grounds among the landscape painters to John Duncan who worked in tempera. This is a very reasonable explanation and tempera paintings are usually made on a gesso ground.
One final speculation. Gesso is a cheap and very permanent form of ground for painting. It is basically glue size and some form of white pigment. Such a paint was well known to our country ancestors. Whiting and glue size were in the past very cheap and easily available in town and village.They would be used by farmers who wanted to paint the interior of a barn or dairy.They do not make the whitest of grounds but it is pretty good and a stronger pigment can be added. Could such a surface have been improvised on location, out in the country? It wouldn't be a gesso sottile but it would work.Gesso has never been a common ground for oil painters but it has been used and on the right support it is very stable. The so called acrylic gesso is not the same thing.it has its uses but I would raather not use it myself.
We may never know anything more on this topic-but what would the alternative have been? Lead white as a ground would have been pretty usual in those days.
It too dries quickly.
(see also my later analysis of two paintings in the Fleming-Wyfold Foundation here.)
*Iona Portrayed: The Island through Artists' Eyes 1760-1960.by Jessica Christian and Charles Stiller, New Iona Press,2000.page 56.
Updated June 2019.
The painting below was sold by Bonhams in2014. They have sold many Cadells in their time.
 |
| Iona(The white sands looking East) by F.C.B Cadell. |
"Absorbent ground. NEVER varnish".
 |
| Back of the painting with Cadell's inscriptions including the address of the purchaser and specification for the usual white frame with gold fillet |
It must be that Cadell preferred a chalky, matte appearance in these works. The look of the paint surface matters to him. He does not want the buttery, glossy effect of an oil rich painting medium. He wants the painting to have a more matte and less reflective surface.And he certainly does not want varnish puddling in the crevices of his impasto, or perhaps altering the colour of any of the ground which might show through. Reflections from varnish are another possibility.There is also the possibility that Cadell liked the drag which an absorbent ground gives to ground: the paint stays in place and does not want to be pushed about!
And a final reason could be one of practicality. An absorbent ground will suck the oil out of paint which will then harden a little more quickly.There is no need to squeeze out your paint onto newspaper before working on an absorbent ground-as some have suggested, that would remove too much of the oil and render the paint very fragile after drying.In modern times we particularly associate it with Lautrec's peinture a l'essence technique on cardboard. OIl removed before painting and painting onto an absorbent ground would also make the paint almost unworkable in any normal way. Cadell and Peploe were professionals who would have known this and acted accordingly.
The Iona paintings are quite small and probably travelled back in Cadell's luggage-or maybe in that of acquaintances who were, so the stories go, inclined and encouraged to purchase newly finished work straight from the artist's abode on the island.
Christian and Stiller* give credit for the introduction of gesso grounds among the landscape painters to John Duncan who worked in tempera. This is a very reasonable explanation and tempera paintings are usually made on a gesso ground.
One final speculation. Gesso is a cheap and very permanent form of ground for painting. It is basically glue size and some form of white pigment. Such a paint was well known to our country ancestors. Whiting and glue size were in the past very cheap and easily available in town and village.They would be used by farmers who wanted to paint the interior of a barn or dairy.They do not make the whitest of grounds but it is pretty good and a stronger pigment can be added. Could such a surface have been improvised on location, out in the country? It wouldn't be a gesso sottile but it would work.Gesso has never been a common ground for oil painters but it has been used and on the right support it is very stable. The so called acrylic gesso is not the same thing.it has its uses but I would raather not use it myself.
We may never know anything more on this topic-but what would the alternative have been? Lead white as a ground would have been pretty usual in those days.
It too dries quickly.
(see also my later analysis of two paintings in the Fleming-Wyfold Foundation here.)
*Iona Portrayed: The Island through Artists' Eyes 1760-1960.by Jessica Christian and Charles Stiller, New Iona Press,2000.page 56.
Updated June 2019.
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