620 
those that are mixed up with common water, 
wall not adhere to the wax, the whole picture 
is to be first rubbed over with Spanish chalk 
or white, and then colours are applied to it; 
when the picture is dry, it is put near the 
fire, whereby the wax melts, and absorbs all 
the colours. 
Mr. J. H. Muntz, in a treatise on this sub- 
ject, has proposed several improvements in 
the art of encaustic. When the painting is 
on cloth, he directs it to be prepared by 
stretching it on a frame, and rubbing one side 
several times over with apiece of bee’s-wax, 
or virgin-wax, till it is covered with a coat of 
wax of considerable thickness. In line linen, 
this is the only operation necessary previous 
to painting ; but coarse cloth must be rubbed 
gently on the unwaxed side with a pumice 
stone, to take off all those knots which would 
prevent the free and accurate working of the 
pencil. Then the subject is to be painted 
on the unwaxed side with colours prepared 
and tempered with water; and when the pic- 
ture is finished, it must be brought near the 
tire, that the wax may melt and mix and fix 
the colours. This method, however, can 
only be applied to cloth or paper, through 
the substance of which the wax may pass ; 
but in wood, stone, metals, or plaister, the 
former method of count Caylus must be ob- 
served. 
Mr. Muntz has also discovered a method 
of forming grounds for painting with crayons, 
and fixing these, as well as water-colours, 
employed with the pencil. On the unwaxed 
side of a linen doth, stretched and waxed as 
before, lay an even and thick coat of the co- 
lour proper for the ground; having prepared 
this colour by mixing some proper pigment 
with an equal quantity of chalk, and temper- 
ing them with water. When the colour is 
dry, bring the picture to the lire that the wax 
may m It, pass through the cloth, and lix the 
ground. An additional quantity of wax may 
be applied to the back of the picture, if that 
which was first rubbed on should not be suf- 
ficient for the body of colour ; but as this 
must be laid on without heat, the wax-should 
be dissolved in oil of turpentine, and applied 
with a brush, and the canvas be again expos- 
ed to the lire, that the fresh supply of wax- 
may pass through the cloth, and be absorbed 
by the colour; and thus a firm and good body 
w ill be formed for working on with the cray- 
ons. If cloth and paper are joined together, 
the cloth must be first fixed to the straining 
frame, and then the paper must be pasted to 
it with a composition of paste made with 
wheaten flour, or starch and water, and 
about a twelfth part of its weight of common 
turpentine. The turpentine must be added 
to the paste when it is almost sufficiently 
boiled, and the composition well stirred, and 
left to simmer over the fire for five or six 
minutes; let wax be dissolved in oil of tur- 
pentine to the consistence of a thin paste; 
and when the cloth and paper arc dry, let 
them be held near a fire, and with a brush 
lay a coat of the wax and turpentine on both 
sides the joined cloth and paper, to such a 
degree of thickness, that botli surfaces may 
shine throughout without any appearance of 
dull spots. Then expose the cloth to the fire 
or to the sun, by which means the oil will 
evaporate, and the wax become solid, and 
be lit to receive any composition of colour 
proper iar aground, which is to be laid on as 
ENCAUSTIC. 
above directed in. the case of cloth without 
paper. 
Almost all the colours that are used in 
oil-painting may be also applied in the en- 
caustic method. Mr. Muntz objects, in- 
deed, to brown, light pink, and unburnt terra 
di Sienna; because these, on account of their 
gummy or stony texture, will not admit such 
a cohesion with the wax as will properly fix 
them ; but other colours which cannot be ad- 
mitted in oil-painting, as red lead, red orpi- 
ment, crystals of verdegris, and red precipi- 
tate of mercury, may be used here. The 
crayons used in encaustic painting are the 
same with those used in the common way of 
crayon-painting, excepting those that in their 
composition are too tenacious; and the me- 
thod ot using them is the same in both cases. 
The' encaustic painting has many pecilliar 
advantages; though the colours have not the 
natural varnish or shining which the)' acquire 
with oil, they have all the strength of paint- 
ings in oil, and all the airiness of water-co- 
lours, without partaking of the apparent cha- 
racter or defects of either; they may be 
looked at in any light and in any situation, 
without any false glare: the colours are firm, 
and will bear washing; and a picture, after 
having been smoked, and then exposed to 
the dew, becomes as clean as if it had been 
but just painted. It may also be retouched 
at pleasure, without any detriment to the 
colours ; for the new colours will unite with 
the old ones, without spots, as is the case in 
common size-painting; nor is it necessary to 
rub the places to be retouched with oil as in 
oil pictures; it is not liable to crack, and 
easily repaired if it should chance to suffer 
any injury. The duration of this painting is 
also a very material advantage; the colours 
are not liable to fade and change; no damp 
can affect them, nor any corrosive substance 
injure them; nor can the colour fall off in 
shivers from the canvas. However, notwith- 
standing all these and other advantages enu- 
merated by the abb6 Mazeas and Mr. 
Muntz, this art has not yet been much prac- 
tised. Many of these properties belong to 
a much higher species of encaustic painting 
afterwards discovered in England, the colours 
of which are fixed by a very intense heat; 
nor are the colours or grounds on -which they 
are laid liable to be dissolved or corroded by 
any chemical menstruum ; nor, like the glassy 
colours of enamel, to runout of the drawing 
on the fire. This method is described in the 
second part of the xlixth volume of the Phi- 
losophical Transactions, No. 100. Yet, not- 
withstanding the ingenuity of this communica- 
tion, we find the antient or some similar me- 
thod of painting in wax remained a desidera- 
tum upwards of 25 years; and till a method 
was communicated to the Society of Arts by 
miss Greenland, in 1787. The ground of 
her information she received at Florence, 
tiu ough the acquaintance of an amateur of 
painting, who procured her the satisfaction 
of seeing some paintings in the antient Gre- 
cian style, executed by signora Parenti, a 
professor at that place*, who had been in- 
structed by a Jesuit at Pavia, the person who 
made the farthest discoveries in that art. 
Miss Greenland’s friends, knowing she was 
fond of painting, informed her what were the 
materials used, but could not tell her the pro- 
portions of the composition ; however, from 
her anxiety to succeed in such an acquisi- 
tion, she made various experiments, and a* 
last obtained such a sufficient knowledge of 
the quantities of the different ingredients, a* 
to- begin and finish a picture, which she af- 
terwards presented to the society for their in- 
spection. 
Her method is as follows: “Take an 
ounce ot white wax, and the same weight of 
gum mastich powdered. Put the wax in a 
glazed earthern vessel over a very slow fire; 
and when it is quite dissolved, strew in the 
mastich, a little at a time, stirring the wax 
continually until the whole quantity of gum 
is perfectly melted and incorporated ; then 
thiow the paste into cold water, and when it 
is hard, take it out of the water, wipe it dry, 
and beat it in one of Mr. \\ edgewood’s mor- 
tars, observing to pound it at first in a linen 
cloth to absorb some drops of water that will 
remain in the paste, and would prevent the 
possibility of reducing it to a powder, which 
must be so fine as to pass through a thick 
gauze. It should be pounded in a cold place, 
and but a little while at a time, as after long 
beating the friction will in a degree soften the 
wax and gum, and instead of their becoming 
a powder they will return to a paste. 
“ Make some strong gum arabic water, 
and when you paint, take a little of the 
powder, some colour, and mix them together 
with the gum water. Light colours require 
but a small quantity of the powder, but more 
ol it must be put in proportion to the body 
and darkness of the colours; and to black 
there should be almost as much of the powder 
as colour. 
“ Having mixed the colours, and no more 
than can be used before they grow dry, paint 
with fair water, as is practised in painting 
with water-colours, a ground on the wood 
being first painted ot some proper colour 
prepared in the same manner as is described 
tor the picture; walnut-tree and oak are the 
sorts of wood commonly made use of in Italy 
for this purpose. The painting should be 
very highly finished ; otherwise, when var- 
nished, the tints will not appear united. 
“ When the painting is quite dry, with ra- 
tner a hard b.rusn, passing it one way, varnish 
it with white wax, which is put into an 
earthen vessel, and kept melted over a very 
slow' fire till the picture is varnished, taking 
great care that the wax does not boil. After- 
wards hold the picture before a fire, near 
enough to melt the wax, but not to make it 
run ; and when the varnish is entirely cold 
and hard, rub it gently with a linen cloth. 
Should the varnish blister, warm the picture 
again very slowly, and the bubbles will sub- 
side. When the picture is dirty, it need 
only he washed with cold water/’ 
I lie opinion given by the society upon 
the above is, “ the method made use of by 
miss Greenland provides against all incon- 
veniences; and the brilliancy of the colours 
in the picture painted by her, and exhibited 
to the society, fully justifies the opinion, that 
the art of painting’ in wax, as above describ- 
ed, highly merited the reward of a gold pallet 
voted to her on this occasion.” 
ENCEIN 1 E, in fortification, is the wall 
or rampart which surrounds a place, some- 
times composed of bastions or curtins, either 
faced or lined with brick or stone, or only 
made of earth. 1 he enceinte is sometimes 
only flanked by round or square towers, 
which is called a Roman wall. 
