Robert Frederick Blum painting techniques

The following is posted on behalf of Laura Fravel, curatorial
intern:

Recently, I noticed an interesting use of a combing technique on the
surface of Robert Frederick Blum's Reverie, ca. 1883-84, oil on
canvas. The artist has applied a 5 or 6-prong comb to the wet paint
surface.  The comb pattern appears only on the figure's dress,
probably to enhance the fabric texture.  We have another painting in
the collection, a portrait by Frank Duveneck (1879) that has a
somewhat similar combing pattern in the background, though the tool
used appears to be a wider comb.  I am wondering, do any other
artists use this technique around the 1870s and 80s?  Has anything
been written on this technique (either then or now)? Was this
combing popular, and if so how/where was it taught?  What kind of
tool was used in this process? Any help would be much appreciated.

William Brown
Chief Conservator
North Carolina Museum of Art
Mailing Address:
4630 Mail Service Center
Raleigh NC 27699-4630
Street Address:
2110 Blue Ridge Road
Raleigh, NC 27607-6494
919-664-6812
Fax: 919-733-8034


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                  Conservation DistList Instance 25:22
                 Distributed: Monday, October 31, 2011
                       Message Id: cdl-25-22-015
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