chalk holder

14:25 Jul 2, 2008 

I came across this, as I continued with my translation. It confirms that indeed they did draw with chalk in their preliminary sketches. Now if I could find the right way to translate it! I'm still looking for a website in Spanish that mentions this.


The inscription praises van Mieris’s ability to give life to his own shape with only chalk and charcoal. The mezzotint medium with its range of rich tones is well suited to evoke the chalk drawing on which this print was based.

23:19 Jul 1, 2008 

I was researching the term just now, and I found that they did indeed use chalk in the 17th century. I think this chalk holder was something small that perhaps went over the piece of chalk because I found a description of one that said it was cylindrical. I'm going to copy below some of what I found, from this it seems as if chalk holder is the same thing as a porte-crayon:

Paper: In addition to white or off-white, two popular types of toned paper: turchina : pale blue
made with indigo dye, which seems to have originated in Venice in the latter 15th c.and used throughout Italy by the 17th c; beretta: greenish-gray. The paper could also be toned with washes, e.g. with bistre or tinted gesso thinly applied. Chalk (It. lapis, lapis negro, lapis rosso etc.): black, red, white, trimmed with a knife and held in a tocha lapis (Fr. porte-crayon) (chalk holder); also charcoal, graphite, and lead white in watercolor form for highlights.

23:08 Jul 1, 2008 

if you research how artist of the 17th century painted, they usually drew with carbon (he might have a carbon holder) or chalk before actually applying the oil paint on to the canvas

22:56 Jul 1, 2008 

I would appreciate any references you can provide.