This volume examines the history of Preparatory layers for oil paintings focusing on North West Europe between the times 1550 and 1900. Part 1 contains a lot of historical detail. It examines the recipe collection of preparatory layers, their uses and impact, materials within the recipes and their application, texture and color. The volume also takes a chronological look at the history of preparatory layers and the major developments in preparatory layers for oil paintings during the time period. Part 2 examines reconstructions of the recipes focusing on particular materials and their influence on the preparatory layer and therefore the final painting. Contents: Foreword; General Introduction Part I. Description Of The Recipe Dataset & Analysis Of The Recipes 1. The Recipe Collection, The Authors And The Impact Of The Recipes 2. Preparatory Layers For Oil Painting; Their Terminology And Function 3. Background: Main Developments In North West Europe C. 1400-1550 4. Chronological Developments In Preparatory Layer Recipes 1550-1900 5. The Materials Described In The Recipes 6. Application And Texture 7. The Colour Of Preparatory Layers 8. Professional Primers 9. The Ageing Of Preparatory Layers Part II. Reconstruction-Based Studies Of Recipes 10. Size Layers For Oil Painting In Western European Sources (1500-1900). Historical Recipes And Reconstructions 11. Flour Paste In Recipes For Preparatory Layers For Oil Painting, 1550-1900 12. Lead White: The Implications Of The Use Of Different Qualities Of Lead White 13. 'To Prepare White Excellent..' Reconstructions Investigating The Influence Of Washing, Grinding And Decanting Of Stack-Process Lead White On Pigment Composition And Particle Size 14. Reconstructing Seventeenth-Century Streaky Imprimatura Layers Used On Panel Paintings 15. General Conclusions Abstract; List Of Tables And Figures In The Main Text; Bibliography Of Secondary Literature.