In the 1790's an alleged 16th-century, Venetian painting manual was discovered; and members of the Royal Academy, London, competed to purchase its secrets. The manual included instructions for using pure linseed oil, dark absorbent grounds, Titian shade (equal quantities of lake, indigo and Prussian blue or Antwerp blue, plus ivory black) and Raphael green (indigo, yellow ochre and orpiment). Even though the authenticity of the treatise was eventually questioned, Benjamin West -- as well as Tresham, Smirke, Stothard and Westall -- painted several paintings using the Venetian method. Particularly interesting is the illustration of a 1797 print Titianus Reaivivus or the Seven Wise Men Consulting the New Venetian Oracle, which characterizes the major English artists of the time and their response to the affair. -- AATA