You may have stood in a museum marvelling at a painting by one of the great masters—Rembrandt, Titian, Vermeer—and thought, “How did he do it?” Or perhaps you wished you could slip back in time and watch a master paint—seeing for yourself how he achieved those stunning effects. Of course, this isn’t possible, but in this unique book, Joseph Sheppard, a leading contemporary painter, shows you in detailed, full-colour demonstrations the variety of oil painting techniques perfected by the old masters in the 16th and 17th centuries—the golden age of oil painting. The techniques Sheppard describes cover the full spectrum from the direct painting (alla prima) of Rubens and Hals to the elaborate underpainting and glazing methods of Rembrandt and Titian.