Albrecht Dürer (1471-1528), Tuft of Cowslips or Primula (1526), gouache on vellum, w16.8 x h19.3 cm (overall), National Gallery of Art, Washington, DC, The Armand Hammer Collection, Image source: Wikimedia Commons in public domain.
In studying this image, I am impressed with the rich color and fine detail. Unfortunately, I do not understand what gouache actually is, so today’s post will take a brief detour to answer that question.
Gouache has been used in art
for over 600 years, and the earliest modern
examples are nature paintings by the 16th century
German artist Albrecht Dürer.
Albrecht Dürer (1471-1528), Tuft of Cowslips or Primula (1526), gouache on vellum, w16.8 x h19.3 cm (overall), National Gallery of Art, Washington, DC, The Armand Hammer Collection, Image source: Wikimedia Commons in public domain.(detail).
What Is Gouache?
Gouache is one type of water-soluble paint consisting of natural pigment, water, a binding agent (usually gum arabic or dextrin), and sometimes additional inert material. Gouache is designed to be used with opaque methods of painting. The term ‘gouache’, also refers to paintings using this opaque method. (3).
Brief History of Gouache
Gouache first appears in decorative and pictorial embellishments to medieval illuminated manuscripts. However, medieval Persians employed opaque painting techniques in Persian miniatures as early as the 9th century, and the practice spread to Europe by the 14th century.
“Guazzo”, Italian for “mud”, is originally a term applied to the early 16th century practice of applying oil paint over a tempera base,[5] which could give a matted effect. In the 18th century in France, the term gouache was applied to opaque watermedia. Through history, artists have typically made gouache by mixing water colours, based on gum arabic, with an opaque white pigment. In the nineteenth century, manufacturers s began to produce water colour in tubes, and a “Chinese white” tube was added to boxes for mixing.
Albrecht Dürer (1471-1528), Tuft of Cowslips or Primula (1526), gouache on vellum, w16.8 x h19.3 cm (overall), National Gallery of Art, Washington, DC, The Armand Hammer Collection, Image source: Wikimedia Commons in public domain.(detail).
Gouache, also called bodycolour, is simply water-based paint rendered opaque by the addition of white paint or pigment (e.g. Chinese white) or a white substance, such as chalk or even marble dust. It is an evolved form of tempera paint, descended from distemper.
According to Tate, bodycolor has been “used by artists from the late fifteenth century. Lead white was used until the introduction of zinc oxide, known as Chinese white, in the nineteenth century.” Today the term ‘gouache’ “is often used loosely to describe any drawing made in body colour” which is “any type of opaque water-soluble pigment.”
Albrecht Dürer (1471-1528), Tuft of Cowslips or Primula (1526), gouache on vellum, w16.8 x h19.3 cm (overall), National Gallery of Art, Washington, DC, The Armand Hammer Collection, Image source: Wikimedia Commons in public domain.(detail).
Compare and Contrast
Gouache is similar to watercolor in three ways:
Gouache can be re-wetted,
Gouache dries to a matte finish.
Gouache can become infused with its paper support.
Gouache differs from watercolor in nine ways:
Gouache particles are typically larger,
Gouache ratio of pigment to binder is much higher,
Gouache has additional inert white filler such as chalk for greater opacity.
Gouache is similar to acrylic or oil paints in three main ways:
Gouache is normally used in an opaque painting style.
Gouache can form a superficial layer.(Does that mean it can be layered?)
Gouache colors must be lightened by adding white pigment
Goache is different from oil paints
Gouache paints are not applied in glazes or tints. (5)
Albrecht Dürer (1471-1528), Tuft of Cowslips or Primula (1526), gouache on vellum, w16.8 x h19.3 cm (overall), National Gallery of Art, Washington, DC, The Armand Hammer Collection, Image source: Wikimedia Commons in public domain.
Practical Advantages and Disadvantages
Many manufacturers of watercolor paints also produce gouache, and the two can easily be used together.(3) According to Tate , gouache “is often used to create highlights in watercolours.”
However, gouache generally dries to a different value than it appears when wet (lighter tones generally dry darker and darker tones tend to dry lighter), which can make matching colors over multiple painting sessions difficult.
On the other hand, the quick coverage and total hiding power mean that gouache lends itself to more direct painting techniques than watercolor.[3] “En plein air” painters can take advantage of these properties.
Click for Enlarged Detail:
Albrecht Dürer (1471-1528), Tuft of Cowslips or Primula (1526), gouache on vellum, w16.8 x h19.3 cm (overall), National Gallery of Art, Washington, DC, The Armand Hammer Collection, Image source: Wikimedia Commons in public domain.(detail).
Albrecht Dürer (1471-1528), Tuft of Cowslips or Primula (1526), gouache on vellum, w16.8 x h19.3 cm (overall), National Gallery of Art, Washington, DC, The Armand Hammer Collection, Image source: Wikimedia Commons in public domain.(detail).
Albrecht Dürer (1471-1528), Tuft of Cowslips or Primula (1526), gouache on vellum, w16.8 x h19.3 cm (overall), National Gallery of Art, Washington, DC, The Armand Hammer Collection, Image source: Wikimedia Commons in public domain.(detail).
Albrecht Dürer (1471-1528), Tuft of Cowslips or Primula (1526), gouache on vellum, w16.8 x h19.3 cm (overall), National Gallery of Art, Washington, DC, The Armand Hammer Collection, Image source: Wikimedia Commons in public domain.(detail).
Albrecht Dürer (1471-1528), Tuft of Cowslips or Primula (1526), gouache on vellum, w16.8 x h19.3 cm (overall), National Gallery of Art, Washington, DC, The Armand Hammer Collection, Image source: Wikimedia Commons in public domain.(detail).
Albrecht Dürer (1471-1528), Tuft of Cowslips or Primula (1526), gouache on vellum, w16.8 x h19.3 cm (overall), National Gallery of Art, Washington, DC, The Armand Hammer Collection, Image source: Wikimedia Commons in public domain.(detail).
Albrecht Dürer (1471-1528), Tuft of Cowslips or Primula (1526), gouache on vellum, w16.8 x h19.3 cm (overall), National Gallery of Art, Washington, DC, The Armand Hammer Collection, Image source: Wikimedia Commons in public domain.(detail).
Albrecht Dürer (1471-1528), Tuft of Cowslips or Primula (1526), gouache on vellum, w16.8 x h19.3 cm (overall), National Gallery of Art, Washington, DC, The Armand Hammer Collection, Image source: Wikimedia Commons in public domain.(detail).
Albrecht Dürer (1471-1528), Tuft of Cowslips or Primula (1526), gouache on vellum, w16.8 x h19.3 cm (overall), National Gallery of Art, Washington, DC, The Armand Hammer Collection, Image source: Wikimedia Commons in public domain.(detail).
Albrecht Dürer (1471-1528), Tuft of Cowslips or Primula (1526), gouache on vellum, w16.8 x h19.3 cm (overall), National Gallery of Art, Washington, DC, The Armand Hammer Collection, Image source: Wikimedia Commons in public domain.(detail).
Albrecht Dürer (1471-1528), Tuft of Cowslips or Primula (1526), gouache on vellum, w16.8 x h19.3 cm (overall), National Gallery of Art, Washington, DC, The Armand Hammer Collection, Image source: Wikimedia Commons in public domain.(detail).
Albrecht Dürer (1471-1528), Tuft of Cowslips or Primula (1526), gouache on vellum, w16.8 x h19.3 cm (overall), National Gallery of Art, Washington, DC, The Armand Hammer Collection, Image source: Wikimedia Commons in public domain.(detail).
Albrecht Dürer (1471-1528), Tuft of Cowslips or Primula (1526), gouache on vellum, w16.8 x h19.3 cm (overall), National Gallery of Art, Washington, DC, The Armand Hammer Collection, Image source: Wikimedia Commons in public domain.(detail).
Albrecht Dürer (1471-1528), Tuft of Cowslips or Primula (1526), gouache on vellum, w16.8 x h19.3 cm (overall), National Gallery of Art, Washington, DC, The Armand Hammer Collection, Image source: Wikimedia Commons in public domain.(detail).
Albrecht Dürer (1471-1528), Tuft of Cowslips or Primula (1526), gouache on vellum, w16.8 x h19.3 cm (overall), National Gallery of Art, Washington, DC, The Armand Hammer Collection, Image source: Wikimedia Commons in public domain.(detail).
Albrecht Dürer (1471-1528), Tuft of Cowslips or Primula (1526), gouache on vellum, w16.8 x h19.3 cm (overall), National Gallery of Art, Washington, DC, The Armand Hammer Collection, Image source: Wikimedia Commons in public domain.(detail).
Albrecht Dürer (1471-1528), Tuft of Cowslips or Primula (1526), gouache on vellum, w16.8 x h19.3 cm (overall), National Gallery of Art, Washington, DC, The Armand Hammer Collection, Image source: Wikimedia Commons in public domain.(detail).
Albrecht Dürer (1471-1528), Tuft of Cowslips or Primula (1526), gouache on vellum, w16.8 x h19.3 cm (overall), National Gallery of Art, Washington, DC, The Armand Hammer Collection, Image source: Wikimedia Commons in public domain.(detail).
Albrecht Dürer (1471-1528), Tuft of Cowslips or Primula (1526), gouache on vellum, w16.8 x h19.3 cm (overall), National Gallery of Art, Washington, DC, The Armand Hammer Collection, Image source: Wikimedia Commons in public domain.(detail).
Albrecht Dürer (1471-1528), Tuft of Cowslips or Primula (1526), gouache on vellum, w16.8 x h19.3 cm (overall), National Gallery of Art, Washington, DC, The Armand Hammer Collection, Image source: Wikimedia Commons in public domain.(detail).
Albrecht Dürer (1471-1528), Tuft of Cowslips or Primula (1526), gouache on vellum, w16.8 x h19.3 cm (overall), National Gallery of Art, Washington, DC, The Armand Hammer Collection, Image source: Wikimedia Commons in public domain.