The Secrets of Painting: The Hidden Art of the Masterpiece from Prehistory to Today

By Lachlan Goudie

A new history of painting as told through the eyes and hands-on insights of a practising artist.

The first question that Lachlan Goudie asks himself when he sees a work of art is not ‘why’ it was created but ‘how’. For this book he poses that question of artworks created by the earliest humans to artists today, focusing on the technical inventions and turning points that at each stage have marked a new chapter in the history of art.

Goudie knows from experience that masterpieces don’t emerge serenely from an artist’s studio. They are the result of a long tussle between dirty hands and crushed pigment, hog’s-hair brushes and linseed oil, rabbit-skin glue and pulverized chalk. Great paintings are always the product of a struggle involving artists and their materials, one that pushes the practitioner to the very limits of technical ability.

The secrets of painting lie above all in the physical elements from which an image is crafted. The nature of these elements has changed over time and across continents. And as each generation of painters exploits the new material and technical innovations of their era, they transform the character of their work and help propel the course of art history.

Goudie traces this story all the way back to the original ‘big bang’ in the story of art: the very first painting pigments, made from charcoal and minerals, that were used to paint extraordinary art on the walls of the caves at Chauvet 36,000 years ago. He goes on to explore the impact of numerous new inventions and discoveries over the centuries, including ink, fresco, egg tempera, oil paint, canvas, watercolour, gouache, impasto, tubes of manufactured oil paint, collage, household gloss, acrylic, digital media and AI. Each chapter focuses on a technical turning point as embodied in the work of particular artist, including Giotto, Artemisia Gentileschi, Alma Thomas, Anselm Kiefer, David Hockney and many more.

Reviews of The Secrets of Painting: The Hidden Art of the Masterpiece from Prehistory to Today

'Stupendous … An epic of what humanity is capable of, written at the exact moment when we've already assumed machines can or will, do everything better … a wonderful gift to the world of art lovers' – Simon Schama

'Not only one of the best books you'll read on the history of art, but a fascinating history of mankind. Captivating, original and enlightening' – Sathnam Sanghera

'A painter charts a dazzling path through the story of his art. You can touch the canvasses and feel the brush strokes. A brilliant achievement' – James Naughtie

'As both an exceptional artist and a brilliant writer, Lachlan Goudie is able to explain from an entirely new perspective how some of our greatest paintings have been made, and what they’re all about' – Bendor Grosvenor