The roles of the artist, the manufacturer of artists' materials, and the conservator in the life of a painting are examined. Philosophical, artistic, and cultural attitudes may be explained in terms of the diversities and complementary nature of their aims. The advances in vehicle formulation and their relationship to past empirical studio procedures are underlined. A critical review of literature references, compared with the results of scientific examination of paintings, provides new insight both into the history of materials and techniques, and into the problems facing the modern manufacturer, artist, and conservator.