4011009A Treatise on Painting — Of VerdegrisJohn Francis RigaudLeonardo da Vinci

Chap. CCXXVIII.Of Verdegris.

This green, which is made of copper, though it be mixed with oil, will lose its beauty, if it be not varnished immediately. It not only fades, but, if washed with a sponge and pure water only, it will detach from the ground upon which it is painted, particularly in damp weather; because verdegris is produced by the strength of salts, which easily dissolve in rainy weather, but still more if washed with a wet sponge.