Lost Secrets of Flemish Painting, written by Donald C. Fels, Jr. and accompanied by paintings in oil by the renowned artist in oil Joseph Sulkowski, is a work devoted solely to documenting in detail the varnishes, painting mediums and painting methods used by Renaissance and Baroque craftsmen and painters. Now, for the first time in one book, painters and historians will find listed not only clear directions for replicating the visual effects found on XVI and XVII century paintings in oil, but also have at their fingertips the early historical documents which describe the practices used by painters and craftsmen before 1700.

Also included in this work is the first complete English translation of the De Mayerne manuscript B.M. Sloane 2052. The notes of the XVIIth century's most renowned authority on the technical aspects of painting and art, Sir Theodore Turquet De Mayerne. Originally written in several languages on 170 manuscript pages, these notes comprise the most complete record on the technical aspects of XVII century painting and craft practices which have come down to us. Here in the notes of Dr. De Mayerne, gained from his position at court to the kings James I, Charles I and Charles II of England, the reader will find recorded technical instructions on art and painting along with recipes for preparing varnishes, painting mediums, arranging a palette, coating canvases, panels, painting landscapes, the human figure, mixing colors, and preparing pigment from such giants in painting as Sir Peter Paul Rubens, Sir Anthony Van Dyck, and a host of other well-known XVII century painters and craftsmen.

Many of the practices used by Renaissance and Baroque craftsmen and painters were often kept secret. To aid the reader in gaining a full insight into these past studio practices, the author, Donald C. Fels, Jr. will share the newly discovered painting mediums and methods of painting he has unearthed and explore in detail the ways of preparing the various amber and non-amber varnishes listed in the ancient texts on painting.

For painters wishing to follow in the footsteps of the old masters, the author has provided a detailed list of painting instructions as recipes for preparing painting mediums which, accompanied by a series of paintings in oil by the renowned artist Joseph Sulkowski, will allow painters to reproduce the painting effects and illusions found on XVI and XVII century Flemish paintings in oil. More than just a book on painting, this work is the story of the author Donald C. Fels, Jr's lifelong search as an artist, master musical instrument maker, and maker of historical painting mediums for the long lost-painting mediums and methods used by Renaissance and Baroque painters in oil.

To quote Frank Mason, the internationally renowned painter, first American artist recipient of the Cross of Merit for Painting, Sovereign Military Order of Malta and fine arts instructor of 50 years at the Art Student's League in New York City:

"Donald Fels, from his research of Renaissance and Baroque sources on the arts of painting and related crafts has developed a number of remarkable painting mediums. In my opinion he has rediscovered the lost Flemish method of painting used by Peter Paul Rubens and Van Dyck. This is an outstanding achievement for which he deserves recognition and gratitude from modern painters who strive for the quality attained by artists of those early eras.

"Donald Fels has given the art world a new Bible, secrets compiled as never before, a must read for artists pursuing the Renaissance. If the artist is master of the brush, through great draftsmanship, creative freedom has been restored."

Given both the historical and technical content of this work, we feel this book to be a one-of-a-kind technical and historical work of importance for use as a guide by artists and historians interested in the painting and craft practices in use before 1700.

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