The Practice of Oil Painting and Drawing (Dover Art Instruction)

Everything on oil painting you need to know is contained in this concise book.

'The Practice of Oil Painting and Drawing' by S.J.Solomon is another in the genre of books which strive to elucidate how the old Masters arrived at their station and status, and what one should do to put yourself on the same artistic path.It runs the same course as most of the others like it and can be summed up by this excerpt from the book:'However imaginative or otherwise gifted the painter may be, he has first of all to be a painter, a sound craftsman. The knowledge of his medium of expression and its capacities are his first essential requirement; without it he is dumb--dumb as a thinker who is incapable of properly reducing his thoughts to words.'An interesting facet to Solomon's formal education is his education at the Royal Academy, which education he then declared virtually valueless, as the 'R.A. [Royal Academy] had 'little or nothing to teach; its students, as soon as they have passed the curriculum it imposes on them then make haste to betake themselves to France to learn, not only how to paint and draw, but to forget as much as they can of the practice and theory acquired at its schools.'' This is the exact same position the R.A. found itself early on in the 19th century, and here it is still floundering, still uncorrected circa 1885. (See 'American Painters on Technique, The Colonial Period to 1860,' by Lance Mayer and Gay Myers, giving an interesting historical perspective on the R.A. and the plight of students.)Solomon obviously still adheres to some of the old beliefs propounded earlier in the 19th century by teachers and Masters in the R.A., such as the use of asphaltum by Titian to achieve the beautiful 'toning' of his canvasses, and declaring the French school after Watteau, whom he declares the 'finest product of French art,' to be 'artificial and over sweet.' He mentions the Wallace collection, but only in reference to Watteau and Lancret. This seems to be a carry over from the very late 18th century to almost mid 19th century, a general despising of art engendered by the French ancien regime, particularly of leading Masters such as Francois Boucher and Fragonard. Solomon mentions the Wallace Collection, but nary a word about Boucher who figures prominently in the collection. (I have a particular fondness for Boucher and have several books re Boucher, one of the best being 'Francois Boucher, Seductive Visions,' by Jo Hedley, The Wallace Collection.)Yet, Solomon doesn't shirk his duty to exposing poor practices, even by a leading light of the R.A., such as Reynolds for his use of destructive materials such as wax in his painting. He gives an interesting anecdote (which I have read elsewhere) about a Reynolds painting warmed in the sunlight causing one of the portrait's eyes to slide down from its proper place towards the chin.This book was published in London in 1911, so I didn't have very high hopes for a spot on analysis of Master's painting techniques, given where conservation and real knowledge about such things wasn't to significantly surface until the late 1960's. However, his exposition on technique of the Masters is actually simply a critique of various paintings in the National Gallery, not really about technique, so that was a wash for me.Coming from other similar books, my favourite in this genre, still, is 'The Materials of the Artist,' by Max Doerner, professor in the Academy of Fine Arts, Munich. This isn't to say that the books coming from people like Parkhurst and Solomon aren't valuable or their content lacks worth; they are grounded in sound atelier working principles and methods and are certainly worth a read. If you are reading treatises that were formulated in the 19th century and speak to the working methods and practices of even earlier Masters, then you and I are on the same page. If, however, you eschew the Masters in their preparation and careful craftsman-like qualities of earlier centuries and embrace the laissez faire conventions of the present day, then none of these books mentioned will probably be to your ilk or liking, however much I think they should be the core of any competent art curriculum.One last note: One nice thing this book did have which others did not, was the inclusion of colour photographs of the National Gallery art works under consideration, unlike some of the other books which, however good, however packed with valuable information, had photographs resembling 10th generation Xerox copies, which certainly diminishes their impact and legibility.

I bought this book after reading about it on James Gurney's art blog. The book is excellent! I own both Harold Speed's books on drawing and painting, and Solomon's Practice of Oil Painting is a wonderful addition to my small art library.The problem with painting reproductions, as described by another reviewer, has been solved. I own the latest 2012 paperback edition with an introduction by James Gurney. Not only does this book have all the black and white images which were present in the original and are reproduced here in very high quality, it also has a full set of high fidelity classical painting reproductions in the middle of the book.The prints are done in full color on glossy paper and quality of the color inserts is good enough for scanning and doing master copies.I am very happy that this book has been made available and, with so much attention to quality and detail, I'm sure it will soon reach the must-own classic status which it so richly deserves. Thanks to the good people of Dover Publications, I now own this wonderful manual which was all but lost until recently.

We are so lucky that Dover reissues teaching texts such as this. What makes Solomon Solomon's book particularly valuable is the back half of the book, in which he discusses paintings in London's National Gallery. Each painting appears in black and white and now in color plates. His insights into why and how painters from the renaissance forward made their works in the way they do are fascinating. They lift my appreciation into a new level of understanding. I purchased this book after an appearance by the author of the foreword, James Gurney, at the Portrait Society of America. His enthusiasm for the serious study of art was energizing.

Originally published in 1911, but still relevant. James Gurney wrote in the introduction: "his strategy was to equip his students with universal scientific principles and practices that provided a basis by which an aspiring artist could pursue an individual vision." Now I want to go to the National Gallery in London with this book in hand.

This book hardcover, because I like books, this book is literally garbage. The pages are photocopied, and printed from photocopies their curvy Warby, some of it you cannot read the page cuts are terrible, just a joke. This is probably not even a legal copy of the book it was printed from a university of Illinois copy of the book.

I had high hopes for this book but it fell far short of expectations. There are a few good drawings but the instruction boils down to this: pay attention to negative shapes. That is the takeaway lesson here and nothing more. More than half of the book is analysis of paintings and it is not enlightening. You'd do far better to buy Harold Speed's "The Practice and Science of Drawing". Speed's book is a treasure of information that you can read again and again, absorbing something new every time. If you are aware of negative shapes in drawing, and even if you aren't, you can ignore this book. Buy Speed's book and you won't miss a thing.

It is a very good book but mine came with lots of mistakes in the impression.

Apesar de ter sido escrito há um bom tempo, o livro é repleto de informações importantes para artistas. Ensinamentos sobre a arte e o ofício do artista, uma coisa que parece ter sido esquecido pela maioria das escolas de artes, em todos os lugares!

Édition d'un pdf, passez votre chemin et attendez une offre sur l'édition Dover.

Amazing book full of information. It examines different traditional schools of painting and their approaches to painting as well as beliefs. Very interesting information. Most valuable pages especially for those interested in art history. Definitely recommend this book, a must have for the academic and practical artist, especially oil painters. It includes colorful images to make its point clear and concise, as well as many black and white images throughout the book. All in al, this is a great book that i am very happy to have purchased and found for its information.

* N.B. the one-star previously given by another reviewer in 2010 pertains to a very different, poorly made edition without images, NOT the one issued recently (oct 2012) by Dover books, at which you are most likely looking now. Amazon unfortunately merged the reviews for the other, poorly OCR'd edition with this one.* * *As for this new edition, re-issued by Dover books and with a foreword by James Gurney - it is a gem of a book. A wealth of drawing and painting wisdom awaits within its pages. Victorian master painter Solomon J. Solomon shows you how to start drawing and slowly progress to successful painting. His methods are, it seems to me, logical, easy to understand and his advice and guidelines eye-openers.Solomon gives an overview on how one should practice and progress in drawing and painting (most of which was really eye-opening for me) in the first part of the book, with some practical methods and steps to consider in both drawing and using color. I particularly liked his tried-and-tested method of "drawing by the masses" (in short, measuring form by the negative shapes). This method, which he outlines with practical examples instantly appealed to me. It's very intuitive and it may be one of those things that you were already doing, subconsciously, but now that you're aware of it, can nurture it and develop it into a great skill.The second and largest part of the book is a vast study of some of the greatest paintings by the old masters. He breaks it down, discusses their techniques, colors, etc. - it's a real treat.Recently there have been a few books that have been trying to fill the void of study material for academic or classical atelier painting and drawing. I'm thinking of the books by Juliette Aristides (both Classical Drawing Atelier and Classical Painting Atelier) and for example Figure Drawing by Anthony Ryder. I own all these and think they are good books, filled with useful information and methods. But Solomon's book just stands out for its clarity, logical methods, and concise information. I believe he has managed to say much more with fewer words. Studying Solomon's book feels like really coming close to the very essence of classical atelier training, a tradition that goes back to the Renaissance.To conclude, it's one of the few books out there that are really valuable for professional artists and hobbyists alike. No matter what level you are, there's something in here for you. My only complaint - if any - would be that the size does not accommodate for large images, so that some of the larger paintings reproduced are a bit too small to get all the detail. But that would be criticism towards the publisher, not the author. Still, this doesn't take away anything of the book's content value. I would give this 10 stars if possible. Very recommended.

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