Recreating Vermeer's Paintings (Vermeer Reincarnation Project) Episode 2: Recreating a 17th-Century Dutch Canvas

Vermeer Reincarnation Project

This is an installation art project that brings Vermeer back to the modern day, using AI as an assistant to create new works. You are the witness to the creation of these new works! (*'▽')
(*By the way, the first episode where we recreated Vermeer Blue is here↓)

Now, starting from this video~

It's April Fool's Day, but this is the real deal! The Vermeer Reincarnation Project has finally recreated the canvas! It's a bit plain, but we are making steady progress~ (*'▽')

If you want to recreate a 17th-century canvas, the only way is to 'obtain a painting by an unknown 17th-century artist, strip off the paint, and use it'!

This is the method the famous forger van Meegeren used to make his canvases. (ﾟдﾟ)!

Since I am creating 'new works' rather than 'forgeries' of Vermeer, I intend to recreate the canvas of that time. (*This is a recreation of a chalk-ground canvas from the Flanders region. In places like Italy, they used gypsum instead of calcium carbonate.)

First, dissolve animal glue in water and heat it in a double boiler to make glue water. If possible, it is better to soak the glue in water overnight.

Dissolve calcium carbonate in the glue water. I wrote 'white pigment' here, but upon research, it seems Vermeer didn't just use white; there were cases where he mixed in black or brown pigments, and cases where he didn't mix any pigment at all. So, maybe you don't need to mix in pigment. I only mixed pigment into the first layer, and it's quite white already.
You can find various ratios if you look them up, but it's best to adjust while actually doing it.

Apply it in thin layers and let it dry completely before applying the next layer. Using a hair dryer might make it prone to cracking. I left it overnight. If you apply 10 layers, it takes 10 days. Even then, if the layers get too thick, it will crack. But if you don't apply about 10 layers, the texture of the canvas won't be hidden. It's a dilemma. After making 10 canvases, I learned how to fix them when they crack (rub them with a toothbrush dipped in hot water. Try it, you'll be surprised).

Finally, sand it down to make it flat. Be careful not to apply too much pressure, or it will cause cracks again! If you use about three types of sandpaper and finish by rubbing it with your hand, it becomes smooth, but if you apply too much pressure, it will crack, so maybe you don't need to go that far.

Last time, it turned out we weren't even going to use the ultramarine we made! (ﾟдﾟ)! But this time, we will use this chalk-ground canvas lol. Actually, once you make a canvas this well, you can't paint on anything other than a chalk ground! (ﾟдﾟ)!
Well, I think you could substitute it with Gesso (acrylic-based primer), but a canvas without a proper ground is a completely different thing, so those who are doing oil painting on their own and not improving might want to start by making a proper ground!
Next time, we will finally start painting. Look forward to it!