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How can I mix my own paints like the old Dutch masters?

Asked by HungryGuy (16044points) May 1st, 2011

I know that the old Dutch masters like Vermeer, Rembrandt, etc. didn’t just drive down to the Craft Shop to buy their oil paints in disposable tubes. They had to shop around to find oil and the various pigments to mix together to make their own paint. If I wanted to exactly reproduce their tools and supplies of their period, what type of oil would I need (I assume that petroleum based oil didn’t exist yet, so it would have had to be vegetable oil or animal oil)? And what materials did they use for pigments, and where did they get them from?

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