Verdaccio is an Italian name for the mixture of mars black and yellow ochre resulting in a grayish or yellowish (depending on the proportion) soft green.

Verdaccio became integral part of fresco painting where this color is used for defining tonal values, creating complete monochromatic underpainting. Often architectural details in frescoes are left in Verdacchio without any additional color layers, best example is the ceiling of the Sistine Chapel, where you can clearly see verdaccio underpainting left as is on all architectural details of the composition.

The technique of underpainting in verdaccio became known as Verdaccio.

In oil painting a similar technique is used by flemish painters which is referred to as the "Dead Layer". "Dead Layer" is applied over the traditional burnt umber underpainting to refine the values and remove the warm tone of umber. The resulted "white to olive green to black" underpainting is like "like being lit by a moon light" which does not affect the tonality of the final painting.

Hi all,
I did some research about verdaccio color. Here what I discovered.

In 1200 painting was not so diffuse in Florence and governor of city called some Greek painters to decorate some churches (see Vasari book). There started to work Cimabue that learned to use verdaccio as an underpanting of flesh color.

Before apply verdaccio he did a line drawing and traced some dark area with terra verte (earth green) then on top of it applied the verdaccio.

Cimabue taught the process to Giotto. Giotto taught the process to Taddeo Gaddi that was his pupil for 24 years. Taddeo taught it to his son Agnolo. Agnolo taught it to Cennino Cennini that reported the process in his Craftsman's Handbook.
http://www.noteaccess.com/Texts/Cennini/

No green pigment was used. Only black, yellow ochre, white and red. White in the english text is called white lime but actual Italian name was "Bianco San Giovanni" literally can be translated in "White Saint John" but I do not think it exists any more. Yellow Ochre was available at that time in two versions: dark and light. Cennini wrote to prefer dark if possible. The red was Cinabrese. So no green was present in the mixture.

Also the recipes provided by Wikipedia seems wrong because it does not cite the red.

So I think your recipes is pretty good because you cited yellow ochre and blank. White was used for light area. You missed red probably used to neutralize the green color and make it more gray.

I wrote an article on this here.
http://www.drawandpaint.net/verdaccio-underpainting/

Let me know what do you think about my research.
Thank you

Hi all,
In 1200 painting was not so diffuse in Florence and governor of city called some Greek painters to decorate some churches (see Vasari). There started to work Cimabue that learned to use verdaccio as an underpanting of flesh color.
Before apply verdaccio it did a line drawing and traced some dark area with terra verte (earth green) then on top
of it applied the verdaccio.

Cimabue taught the process to Giotto. Giotto taught the process to Taddeo Gaddi that was his pupil for 24 years.
Taddeo taught it to his son Agnolo. Agnolo taught it to Cennino Cennini that reported the process in his
Craftsman's Handbook.
http://www.noteaccess.com/Texts/Cennini/

No green pigment was used. Only black, yellow ochre, white and red. White in the english text is called white lime
but actual italian name was "Bianco San Giovanni" literally translated "White Saint John" but I do not think it exists any more. Yellow Ocrhe was available at that time in two versions: dark and light. Cennini wrote to prefer dark if possible. The red was cinabrese. So no green is present in the mixture. Also the recipes provided by
Wikipedia seems wrong because it does not cite the red.

I wrote an article on this here.
http://www.drawandpaint.net/verdaccio-underpainting/
Thank you

Good examples of frescoes from the early middle ages where preliminary painting may be observed is in Pisa. Here there is a the presents many sinopi or sinopia. (forgive my spelling)These early frescoes used a pigment that came from Asia Minor, modern say Syria. It is known for its deep, earthy red. Most of the paintings on the arriccio are done using this pigment. It was also (I believe a high iron or ferric oxide content)to make hard conte-like crayons used in so many Renaissance drawings.

The terra verde would be the most prominent color used in the earliest stages of painting a figure on boun fresco. With time constraints on working on the final layer or velo, the artist would work quickly to establish middle values, using the terre verde. A brush loaded mostly with pigment would be connect transferred outlines and essential form lines; the heavier pigment would look almost black. Mars black could have been used to add as a tint, but rarely as a sole pigment. Layers of terre verde can get pretty dark. For the lighter areas of flesh tone or areas illuminated by light, the lime surface would act as your white, similar as in water color. A diluted amount of paint acts more like a wash and transitions nicely from areas of middle value.

Fresco artists from the middle ages and Renaissance handle the outlines of figures two ways. Some hide or blend the lines carefully with the figure, while other display it pronounced and use it to define shadow and to create a more sculptured form.

The best example of Verdaccio applied in oil painting I feel can be seen Leonardo's unfinished nativity in the Uffizi Museum. To find one recipe for a pigment or standard practices in developing flesh tone in figures will fall into a variety of artists' preferences. The palette of colors for a scene often determine what is used underneath. Is it going to be a dramatic illumination of figures by a light source at night where many reds, yellows, and near dark pigments are used or a scene with ample light where dark, middle, and light values on the skin will be modeled?

trazom34@hotmail.com

>Wikipedia seems wrong because it does not cite
>the red.

red is optional, so as white