Medium of the Masters

Flemish Maroger is an all-in-one painting medium. Both an oil and varnish medium, it was discovered by Jacques Maroger, painter and former curator of the Louvre in the early 20th Century. Maroger worked to uncover the secret formulas used by Old Masters such as Titian, Rubens, Van Dyck, Velasquez, as well as others. Consisting of Black Oil and Mastic Varnish, this medium comes in the form of a soft jelly, and is used for its great versatility in oil painting.

"The jelly is of an amber color ... It is like a liquid glass with which the painter invests his pigments. It possesses the extraordinary property of congealing in the air and of becoming ductile again at the touch of the brush. Drawn by the brush, it moves fluently over the canvas. As soon as the brush is removed, it becomes firm and congeals immediately - ready, again to become every bit as ductile at the next touch of the brush.*"

Sculpting     with       Paint

With Maroger's medium the artist can paint wet into wet, wet over dry, or glaze in layers with surprising facility. As the painter continues to work, the Maroger gradually sets up (or stiffens) within the paint, creating a slight ‘pull’ or dragging texture. Moving and sculpting paint with the brush or palette knife, dragging one piece of paint into another creates incredibly luminous passages so often achieved by the Old  Masters. Maroger medium generally dries overnight, allowing the artist to continue working without having to wait days for passages to dry.  

Poorly  manufactured alkyd mediums set up too quickly, and make painting those subtle passages impossible. Using cheap, synthetic mediums also sacrifices the strength and durability of the paint and can cause delamination of paint layers. Wikipedia states, "There are extant pictures of at least two centuries painted with the documented use of Maroger medium that have been very well preserved, something probably attributable to the presence of litharge in the paint film."

Old Masters Flemish Maroger is the most versatile medium on the market. It allows the artist to produce thick and lustrous brushstrokes for more intense lights (see detail above), as well as thin and transparent glazes for shadows and dark passages (see detail left). These two elements combined increase depth and visual impact bringing your paintings more to life with each application!

Order Flemish Maroger

 * "Secret Formulas and Techniques of the Masters,"
by J. Maroger.

 _______________________________________________________________

Contact Us    About OMM   General Help    Schools & Stores   All About Shipping    International Orders