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The Painting Portal
Painting is the practice of applying paint, pigment, color or other medium to a solid surface (called the "matrix" or "support"). The medium is commonly applied to the base with a brush, but other implements, such as knives, sponges, and airbrushes, can be used.
In art, the term painting describes both the act and the result of the action (the final work is called "a painting"). The support for paintings includes such surfaces as walls, paper, canvas, wood, glass, lacquer, pottery, leaf, copper and concrete, and the painting may incorporate multiple other materials, including sand, clay, paper, plaster, gold leaf, and even whole objects.
Painting is an important form in the visual arts, bringing in elements such as drawing, composition, gesture (as in gestural painting), narration (as in narrative art), and abstraction (as in abstract art). Paintings can be naturalistic and representational (as in still life and landscape painting), photographic, abstract, narrative, symbolistic (as in Symbolist art), emotive (as in Expressionism) or political in nature (as in Artivism).
A portion of the history of painting in both Eastern and Western art is dominated by religious art. Examples of this kind of painting range from artwork depicting mythological figures on pottery, to Biblical scenes on the Sistine Chapel ceiling, to scenes from the life of Buddha (or other images of Eastern religious origin). (Full article...)
Selected general articles
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Pinxit (from Latin: "one painted") is a stylized amendment added to the signature depiction of the name of the person responsible for a work of art, found conventionally in the Late Middle Ages and the Renaissance. It is sometimes abbreviated P, PIN, or PINX, as in some paintings by Raphael. The locution me pinxit is found on a 12th-century crucifix, not in a sense connected to individual authorship but rather as a more impersonal devotional statement, a "pious [formula] appropriate for liturgical gifts".
Its use by Duccio c. 1255–1260 – c. 1318–1319) on the Maestà in Siena Cathedral is seen as an "audacious" claim by the author, who asserts an individual status on a par with that of the city. By the Late Middle Ages in Venice and elsewhere pinxit (or other forms of pingere, in Gothic lettering) had become customary, and was often found on a cartellino, "any form of fictive paper carrying an inscription", established in Venice by the 1440s. Other verbs used to establish authorship include conjugations of facere ("to make"; fecit ("made by") was frequently used by Titian) or fingere ("to conceive"). (Full article...) - Image 2
In the art world, if an artwork exists in several versions, the one known or believed to be the earliest is called the prime version. Many artworks produced in media such as painting or carved sculpture which create unique objects are in fact repeated by their artists, often several times. It is regarded as a matter of some importance both by art historians and the art market to establish which version has "priority", that is to say was the original work. The presumption usually is that the prime version is the finest, and perhaps the most carefully done, though some later versions can be argued to improve on the originals.
In many periods the later "repetitions" were often produced by the workshop of the master, with varying degrees of supervision and direct attention from him. This was especially the case with official portraits of monarchs and politicians, which in the Early Modern period were often ordered in large numbers of versions from the court artist as diplomatic gifts. "Prime version" is normally only used when there is another version by the same artist, or his workshop. Other versions by other artists are called copies. Sometimes "reduced versions" that are considerably smaller than the prime one are made. Especially in the case of 19th-century repetitions, the term autograph replica is used of repetitions by the original artist. (Full article...) - Image 3
Orange peel is a certain kind of finish that may develop on painted and cast surfaces. The texture resembles the surface of the skin of an orange, hence the name "orange peel".
Gloss paint sprayed on a smooth surface (such as the body of a car) should also dry into a smooth surface. However, various factors can cause it to dry into a bumpy surface. This is typically the result of improper painting technique, and is caused by the quick evaporation of thinner, incorrect spray gun setup (e.g., low air pressure or incorrect nozzle), spraying the paint at an angle other than perpendicular, or applying excessive paint. (Full article...) - Image 4Harvest near Auvers (1890), a size 30 canvas, by Vincent van Gogh.
French standard sizes for oil paintings refers to a series of different sized canvases for use by artists. The sizes were fixed in the 19th century. Most artists[weasel words]—not only French—used this standard, as it was supported by the main suppliers of artist materials. Only some contemporary artist material suppliers continue to use these standards today, as most artists no longer differentiate canvas sizes by subject.
The main separation from size 0 (toile de 0) to size 120 (toile de 120) is divided in separate runs for faces/portraits (figure), landscapes (paysage), and marines (marine) which more or less keep the diagonal. That is, a figure 0 corresponds in height to a paysage 1 and a marine 2.
In modern times in the USA size is usually stated height by width, where as in this article it is width by height. (Full article...) - Image 5The Arnolfini Portrait by Jan van Eyck, National Gallery, London 1434. Among other changes, his face was higher by about the height of his eye, hers was higher, and her eyes looked more to the front. Each of his feet was underdrawn in one position, painted in another, and then overpainted in a third. These alterations are seen in infra-red reflectograms.
A pentimento (plural pentimenti), in painting, is "the presence or emergence of earlier images, forms, or strokes that have been changed and painted over". The word is Italian for 'repentance', from the verb pentirsi, meaning 'to repent'. (Full article...) - Image 6
Scottish genre art is the depiction of everyday life in Scotland, or by Scottish artists, emulating the genre art of Netherlands painters of the sixteenth and seventeenth centuries. Common themes included markets, domestic settings, interiors, parties, inn scenes, and street scenes.
The tradition was founded in Scotland in the late eighteenth century by David Allan, who moved from classical and mythological themes to scenes of everyday life, including his most famous work Illustrations of the Gentle Shepherd. As a result he earned the title of "the Scottish Hogarth". By the end of the eighteenth century genre art had become a Scottish speciality. The tradition was successfully taken up by David Wilkie, who was one of the most internationally influential artists of this day. (Full article...) - Image 7
Tenebrism, from Italian tenebroso ("dark, gloomy, mysterious"), also occasionally called dramatic illumination, is a style of painting using especially pronounced chiaroscuro, where there are violent contrasts of light and dark, and where darkness becomes a dominating feature of the image. The technique was developed to add drama to an image through a spotlight effect, and is common in Baroque paintings. Tenebrism is used only to obtain a dramatic impact while chiaroscuro is a broader term, also covering the use of less extreme contrasts of light to enhance the illusion of three-dimensionality.
The term is somewhat vague, and tends to be avoided by modern art historians. (Full article...) - Image 8
A coloring book (British English: colouring-in book, colouring book, or colouring page) is a type of book containing line art to which people are intended to add color using crayons, colored pencils, marker pens, paint or other artistic media. Traditional coloring books and coloring pages are printed on paper or card. Some coloring books have perforated edges so their pages can be removed from the books and used as individual sheets. Others may include a story line and so are intended to be left intact. Today, many children's coloring books feature popular cartoon characters. They are often used as promotional materials for animated motion pictures. Coloring books may also incorporate other activities such as connect the dots, mazes and other puzzles. Some also incorporate the use of stickers. (Full article...) - Image 9Paint Dancing is an American art and dance craze which involves both painting and dancing. Paint Dancers, using paint, brushes and paper, attend organized events dressed in ready-to-paint and dance clothing. The concept of combining movement and painting originated during the later part of the American and European Modern art period; however, Evangeline Welch of Shreveport, Louisiana has been credited with being the "brainchild" of Paint Dancing in the United States of America. This departure from traditional painting styles was often referred to as Action painting. Over the years, several variations of the art form have evolved, including an adaptation introduced by the Hippies during the Summer of Love, that integrated the art of body painting with dancing. One of the more recent introductions of Paint Dancing to American culture is being popularized by a grassroots movement created in 2006 by Seattle artist and activist Matt Jones. The phrases "paint dancing" and "paint dancer" and other variations were originally coined in 1996 by Gloria M. Buono, author, illustrator and publisher of The Painting Ballerina. (Full article...)
- Image 10The paint and sip industry consists of group painting lessons accompanied by wine or other beverages. Many Wine and painting party studios are franchise-based and the number of businesses in this industry has increased rapidly since 2007. (Full article...)
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Nocturne painting is a term coined by James Abbott McNeill Whistler to describe a painting style that depicts scenes evocative of the night or subjects as they appear in a veil of light, in twilight, or in the absence of direct light. In a broader usage, the term has come to refer to any painting of a night scene, or night-piece, such as Rembrandt's The Night Watch.
Whistler used the term within the title of his works to represent paintings with a "dreamy, pensive mood" by applying a musical name. He also titled (and retitled) works using other terms associated with music, such as a "symphony", "harmony", "study" or "arrangement", to emphasize the tonal qualities and the composition and to de-emphasize the narrative content. The use of the term "nocturne" can be associated with the Tonalism movement of the American of the late 19th century and early 20th century which is "characterized by soft, diffused light, muted tones and hazy outlined objects, all of which imbue the works with a strong sense of mood." Along with winter scenes, nocturnes were a common Tonalist theme. Frederic Remington used the term as well for his nocturne scenes of the American Old West. (Full article...) - Image 12Xia Gui (Song dynasty) – Mountain Market- Clear with Rising Mist, one of the 8 scenes of the Eight Views of Xiaoxiang, a favourite subject in the Chinese ink wash painting tradition, showing the variety of effects achievable with black ink.
A wash is a term for a visual arts technique resulting in a semi-transparent layer of colour. A wash of diluted ink or watercolor paint applied in combination with drawing is called pen and wash, wash drawing, or ink and wash. Normally only one or two colours of wash are used; if more colours are used the result is likely to be classified as a full watercolor painting.
The classic East Asian tradition of literati painting, that only uses black ink in various levels of dilution, is ink wash painting. This is used, especially for landscape painting, in Chinese painting, Japanese painting and Korean painting. (Full article...) - Image 13
- Image 14Tondo by Andrea della Robbia
A tondo (plural "tondi" or "tondos") is a Renaissance term for a circular work of art, either a painting or a sculpture. The word derives from the Italian rotondo, "round." The term is usually not used in English for small round paintings, but only those over about 60 cm (two feet) in diameter, thus excluding many round portrait miniatures – for sculpture the threshold is rather lower.
A circular or oval relief sculpture is also called a roundel. (Full article...) - Image 15View of Tivoli at Sunset, 1644, with cows and cowherds as staffage, by Claude Lorrain.
In painting, staffage (French pronunciation: [stafaʒ]) are the human and animal figures depicted in a scene, especially a landscape, that are not the primary subject matter of the work. Typically they are small, and there to add an indication of scale and add interest.
Before the adoption of the word into the visual arts in the late eighteenth and early nineteenth centuries, Staffage in German could mean "accessories" or "decoration". The word can be used in two senses: as a general term for any figures in a work, even when they are, at least ostensibly, the main subject, and as a descriptive term for figures to whom no specific identity or story is attached, included merely for compositional or decorative reasons. In the latter sense, staffage are accessories to the scene, yet add life to the work; they provide depth to the painting and reinforce the main subject, as well as giving a clear scale to the rest of the composition. (Full article...) - Image 16
The Boston School was a group of Boston-based painters active in the first three decades of the twentieth century. Often classified as American Impressionists, they had their own regional style, combining the painterliness of Impressionism with a more conservative approach to figure painting and a marked respect for the traditions of Western art history. Their preferred subject matter was genteel: portraits, picturesque landscapes, and young women posing in well-appointed interiors. Major influences included John Singer Sargent, Claude Monet, and Jan Vermeer. Key figures in the Boston School were Edmund C. Tarbell, Frank Weston Benson, and William McGregor Paxton, all of whom trained in Paris at the Académie Julian and later taught at the School of the Museum of Fine Arts. Their influence can still be seen in the work of some contemporary Boston-area artists. (Full article...) - Image 17BALVINO MAURICIO, José Honorato Lozano, 1864
Letras y figuras (Spanish, "letters and figures") is a genre of painting pioneered by José Honorato Lozano during the Spanish colonial period in the Philippines. The art form is distinguished by the depiction of letters of the alphabet using a genre of painting that contoured shapes of human figures, animals, plants, and other objects called Tipos del País popularized by Damián Domingo. The letters depicted spell out a phrase or a name, usually that of the patron who commissioned the work. The paintings were done with watercolor on Manila paper. The earliest example of this art form dates from 1845; the latest existing specimens were completed during the latter portion of the American period in the 1930s during the administration of the Commonwealth of the Philippines.
In 1995, an album of José Honorato Lozano's paintings were auctioned at Christie’s at the starting bid of £300,000. (Full article...) - Image 18
The conservation and restoration of paintings is carried out by professional painting conservators. Paintings cover a wide range of various mediums, materials, and their supports (i.e. the painted surface made from fabric, paper, wood panel, fabricated board, or other). Painting types include fine art to decorative and functional objects spanning from acrylics, frescoes, and oil paint on various surfaces, egg tempera on panels and canvas, lacquer painting, water color and more. Knowing the materials of any given painting and its support allows for the proper restoration and conservation practices. All components of a painting will react to its environment differently, and impact the artwork as a whole. These material components along with collections care (also known as preventive conservation) will determine the longevity of a painting. The first steps to conservation and restoration is preventive conservation followed by active restoration with the artist's intent in mind. (Full article...) - Image 19
Figura serpentinata (Italian for ‘serpentine figure’) is a style in painting and sculpture, intended to make the figure seem more dynamic, that is typical of Mannerism. It is similar, but not identical, to contrapposto, and features figures often in a spiral pose. Early examples can be seen in the work of Leonardo da Vinci, Raphael and Michelangelo.
Emil Maurer writes of the painter and theorist Giovanni Paolo Lomazzo (1538–1600): "The recommended ideal form unites, after Lomazzo, three qualities: the pyramid, the serpentinata movement and a certain numerical proportion, all three united to form one whole. At the same time, precedence is given to the "moto", that is, to the meandering movement, which should make the pyramid, in exact proportion, into the geometrical form of a cone." (Full article...) - Image 20Robert Delaunay, 1912–13, Le Premier Disque, 134 cm (52.7 in.), private collection
Abstract art uses visual language of shape, form, color and line to create a composition which may exist with a degree of independence from visual references in the world. Western art had been, from the Renaissance up to the middle of the 19th century, underpinned by the logic of perspective and an attempt to reproduce an illusion of visible reality. By the end of the 19th century many artists felt a need to create a new kind of art which would encompass the fundamental changes taking place in technology, science and philosophy. The sources from which individual artists drew their theoretical arguments were diverse, and reflected the social and intellectual preoccupations in all areas of Western culture at that time.
Abstract art, non-figurative art, non-objective art, and non-representational art, are closely related terms. They are similar, but perhaps not of identical meaning. (Full article...) - Image 21
The depiction of night in paintings is common in Western art. Paintings that feature a night scene as the theme may be religious or history paintings, genre scenes, portraits, landscapes, or other subject types. Some artworks involve religious or fantasy topics using the quality of dim night light to create mysterious atmospheres. The source of illumination in a night scene—whether it is the moon or an artificial light source—may be depicted directly, or it may be implied by the character and coloration of the light that reflects from the subjects depicted. (Full article...) - Image 22
A mural is any piece of graphic artwork that is painted or applied directly to a wall, ceiling or other permanent substrate. Mural techniques include fresco, mosaic, graffiti and marouflage. (Full article...) - Image 23David (1504)
"What spirit is so empty and blind, that it cannot recognize the fact that the foot is more noble than the shoe, and skin more beautiful than the garment with which it is clothed?"
— Michelangelo
The nude, as a form of visual art that focuses on the unclothed human figure, is an enduring tradition in Western art. It was a preoccupation of Ancient Greek art, and after a semi-dormant period in the Middle Ages returned to a central position with the Renaissance. Unclothed figures often also play a part in other types of art, such as history painting, including allegorical and religious art, portraiture, or the decorative arts. From prehistory to the earliest civilizations, nude female figures are generally understood to be symbols of fertility or well-being.
In India, the Khajuraho Group of Monuments built between 950 and 1050 CE are known for their erotic sculptures, which comprise about 10% of the temple decorations. Japanese prints are one of the few non-western traditions that can be called nudes, but the activity of communal bathing in Japan is portrayed as just another social activity, without the significance placed upon the lack of clothing that exists in the West. Through each era, the nude has reflected changes in cultural attitudes regarding sexuality, gender roles, and social structure. (Full article...) - Image 24Neo-Baroque frame of a 19th-century painting
A picture frame is a protective and decorative edging for a picture, such as a painting or photograph. It makes displaying the work safer and easier and both sets the picture apart from its surroundings and aesthetically integrates it with them. (Full article...) - Image 25
The history of Western painting represents a continuous, though disrupted, tradition from antiquity until the present time. Until the mid-19th century it was primarily concerned with representational and Classical modes of production, after which time more modern, abstract and conceptual forms gained favor.
Initially serving imperial, private, civic, and religious patronage, Western painting later found audiences in the aristocracy and the middle class. From the Middle Ages through the Renaissance painters worked for the church and a wealthy aristocracy. Beginning with the Baroque era artists received private commissions from a more educated and prosperous middle class. The idea of "art for art's sake" began to find expression in the work of the Romantic painters like Francisco de Goya, John Constable, and J. M. W. Turner. During the 19th century commercial galleries became established and continued to provide patronage in the 20th century. (Full article...)
Selected painting techniques
- Image 1A matte painting is a painted representation of a landscape, set, or distant location that allows filmmakers to create the illusion of an environment that is not present at the filming location. Historically, matte painters and film technicians have used various techniques to combine a matte-painted image with live-action footage (compositing). At its best, depending on the skill levels of the artists and technicians, the effect is "seamless" and creates environments that would otherwise be impossible or expensive to film. In the scenes, the painting part is static while movements are integrated on it. (Full article...)
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Shaped canvases are paintings that depart from the normal flat, rectangular configuration. Canvases may be shaped by altering their outline, while retaining their flatness. An ancient, traditional example is the tondo, a painting on a round panel or canvas: Raphael, as well as some other Renaissance painters, sometimes chose this format for madonna paintings. Alternatively, canvases may be altered by losing their flatness and assuming a three-dimensional surface. Or, they can do both. That is, they can assume shapes other than rectangles, and also have surface features that are three-dimensional. Arguably, changing the surface configuration of the painting transforms it into a sculpture. But shaped canvases are generally considered paintings.
Apart from any aesthetic considerations, there are technical matters, having to do with the very nature of canvas as a material, that tend to support the flat rectangle as the norm for paintings on canvas. (Full article...) - Image 3
Fresco (plural frescos or frescoes) is a technique of mural painting executed upon freshly laid ("wet") lime plaster. Water is used as the vehicle for the dry-powder pigment to merge with the plaster, and with the setting of the plaster, the painting becomes an integral part of the wall. The word fresco (Italian: affresco) is derived from the Italian adjective fresco meaning "fresh", and may thus be contrasted with fresco-secco or secco mural painting techniques, which are applied to dried plaster, to supplement painting in fresco. The fresco technique has been employed since antiquity and is closely associated with Italian Renaissance painting. The word fresco is commonly and inaccurately used in English to refer to any wall painting regardless of the plaster technology or binding medium. This, in part, contributes to a misconception that the most geographically and temporally common wall painting technology was the painting into wet lime plaster. Even in apparently Buon fresco technology, the use of supplementary organic materials was widespread, if underrecognized. (Full article...) - Image 4
According to the theory of the art historian Marcia B. Hall, which has gained considerable acceptance, cangiante is one of the canonical painting modes of the Renaissance; i.e. one of the four modes of painting colours available to Italian High Renaissance painters, along with sfumato, chiaroscuro and unione. The word itself derives from the Italian cangiare ("to change").
Cangiante is characterized by a change in color necessitated by an original color's darkness or lightness limitation. For example, when painting shadows on a yellow object, the artist may use a red color simply because the yellow paint cannot be made dark enough. There are other methods of rendering shadows or highlights (for example, mixing the original hue with black or brown), but these can render the shadow color dull and impure. During the Renaissance, the variety and availability of paint colors were severely limited. (Full article...) - Image 5Craquelure in the Mona Lisa, with a typical "Italian" pattern of small rectangular blocks
Craquelure (French: craquelé; Italian: crettatura) is a fine pattern of dense cracking formed on the surface of materials. It can be a result of drying, aging, intentional patterning, or a combination of all three. The term is most often used to refer to tempera or oil paintings, but it can also develop in old ivory carvings or painted miniatures on an ivory backing. Recently, analysis of craquelure has been proposed as a way to authenticate art.
In ceramics, craquelure in ceramic glazes, where it is often a desired effect, is called "crackle"; it is a characteristic of Chinese Ge ware in particular. This is usually differentiated from crazing, which is a glaze defect in firing, or the result of aging or damage. (Full article...) - Image 6Working in layers is a system for creating artistic paintings that involve the use of more than one layer of paint. (Full article...)
- Image 7Industrial Painting is defined by the 1959 "Manifesto of Industrial Painting: For a unitary applied art", a text by Giuseppe Pinot-Gallizio which was originally published in Notizie Arti Figurative No. 9 (1959). A French translation was soon published in Internationale Situationniste no.3 (1959).
In May 1997, Molly Klein translated the original Italian-language version into English: (Full article...) - Image 8Example of a theorem painting (c.1850) from the Metropolitan Museum of Art
Theorem stencil, sometimes also called theorem painting or velvet painting, is the art of making stencils and using them to make drawings or paintings on fabric or paper.
A vogue for theorem stencil painting began in England at the turn of the 18th century and through the mid-1800s. The art was first taught to women in academies and boarding schools throughout colonial New England. It continued to be taught into the mid-1800s in many other areas. (Full article...) - Image 9As an art form, vitreography is a style of contained 3-dimensional scenes displayed in a shadow box frame. (Full article...)
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Intonaco is an Italian term for the final, very thin layer of plaster on which a fresco is painted. The plaster is painted while still wet, in order to allow the pigment to penetrate into the intonaco itself. An earlier layer, called arriccio, is laid slightly coarsely to provide a key for the intonaco, and must be allowed to dry, usually for some days, before the final very thin layer is applied and painted on. In Italian the term intonaco is also used much more generally for normal plaster or mortar wall-coatings in buildings.
Intonaco is traditionally a mixture of sand (with granular dimensions less than two millimeters) and a binding substance. (Full article...) - Image 11Quentin Matsys: Virgin and Child with Saints Barbara and Catherine, c. 1515-25. National Gallery, London. This near-ruined example of glue-size technique is covered by an accumulated layer of surface dirt which cannot be wiped by restorers for fear of severe damage to the pigments.
Glue-size is a painting technique in which pigment is bound (sized) to cloth (usually linen) with hide glue, and typically the unvarnished cloth was then fixed to the frame using the same glue. Glue-size is also known as distemper, though the term "distemper" is applied variously to different techniques. Glue-size was used because hide glue was a popular binding medium in the 15th century, particularly among artists of the Early Netherlandish period, who used it as an inexpensive alternative to oil. Although a large number of works using this medium were produced, few survive today, mainly because of the high perishability of linen cloth and the solubility of hide glue. Well-known and relatively well-preserved — though substantially damaged — the most notable examples include Quentin Matsys' Virgin and Child with Saints Barbara and Catherine (c. 1515-25) and Dirk Bouts' Entombment (c. 1440-55). In German the technique is known as Tüchleinfarben, meaning “small cloth colours”, or Tüchlein, derived from the German words Tüch and Lein ("fabric" and "flax"). (Full article...) - Image 12Grand Prix de France 1913
Ernest Montaut
Speed line is the art technique which uses streaks to convey the impression of speed. The French artist Ernest Montaut is usually credited with its invention. He used the technique freely in his posters which were produced at a time when auto racing, speedboat racing and aircraft races were in their infancy. The effect is similar to the blur caused by panning in still photography.
Speed lines are frequently used in Japanese manga and anime, of which Speed Racer is a classic example. (Full article...) - Image 13Cobweb art is a form of art which creates different pictures from cobwebs. The main material used is cobweb, which the artist collects and processes. (Full article...)
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Rose-painting, rosemaling, rosemåling or rosmålning is a Scandinavian decorative folk painting that flourished from the 1700s to the mid-19th century, particularly in Norway. In Sweden, rose-painting began to be called dalmålning, c. 1901, for the region where it had been most popular and kurbitsmålning (kurbits), in the 1920s, for a characteristic trait, but in Norway the old name still predominates beside terms for local variants. Rose-painting was used to decorate church walls and ceilings. It then spread to wooden items commonly used in daily life, such as ale bowls, stools, chairs, cupboards, boxes, and trunks. Using stylized ornamentation made up of fantasy flowers, scrollwork, fine line work, flowing patterns and sometimes geometric elements give rose-painting its unique feel. Some paintings may include landscapes and architectural elements. Rose-painting also utilizes other decorative painting techniques such as glazing, spattering, marbleizing, manipulating the paint with the fingers or other objects. Regional styles of rose-painting developed, and some varied only slightly from others, while others may be noticeably distinct. (Full article...) - Image 15
Protoquadro is a painting technique conceived using digital supports to produce objects that will stand into a space as paintings used to. It pertains to the realm of Generative art.
Protoquadro objects have some characteristics of a painting and some of a totally new class of objects, therefore the name, formed by the Greek term "protos" (first) and the Italian "quadro" (painting). (Full article...) - Image 16
Encaustic painting, also known as hot wax painting, is a form of painting that involves a heated wax medium to which colored pigments have been added. The molten mix is applied to a surface—usually prepared wood, though canvas and other materials are sometimes used. The simplest encaustic medium could be made by adding pigments to wax, though recipes most commonly consist of beeswax and damar resin, potentially with other ingredients. For pigmentation, dried powdered pigments can be used, though some artists use pigmented wax, inks, oil paints or other forms of pigmentation.
Metal tools and special brushes can be used to shape the medium as it cools. Also, heated metal tools, including spatulas, knives and scrapers, can be used to manipulate the medium after it has cooled onto the surface. Additionally, heat lamps, torches, heat guns, and other methods of applying heat are used by encaustic artists to fuse and bind the medium. Because encaustic medium is thermally malleable, the medium can be also sculpted. And/or, materials can be encased, collaged or layered into the medium. (Full article...) - Image 17Detail from Seurat's Parade de cirque, 1889, showing the contrasting dots of paint which define Pointillism
Pointillism (/ˈpwæ̃tɪlɪzəm/, also US: /ˈpwɑːn-ˌ ˈpɔɪn-/) is a technique of painting in which small, distinct dots of color are applied in patterns to form an image.
Georges Seurat and Paul Signac developed the technique in 1886, branching from Impressionism. The term "Pointillism" was coined by art critics in the late 1880s to ridicule the works of these artists, but is now used without its earlier pejorative connotation. The movement Seurat began with this technique is known as Neo-impressionism. The Divisionists used a similar technique of patterns to form images, though with larger cube-like brushstrokes. (Full article...) - Image 18Freehand brush work is a genre of Chinese traditional painting which includes poem, calligraphy, painting and seal. In Chinese called Hsieh yi (traditional Chinese: 寫意; simplified Chinese: 写意; pinyin: Xiěyì), which literally means "writing ideas". It was formed in a long period of artistic activities and promoted by the literati. Through the inheritance and development in the past dynasties, freehand brush work has gradually become the most influential and popular genre.
The freehand brush work emphasizes the semblance in the spiritual aspect. This kind of artwork does not chase for the physical similarity and the cooperation of reality. And it might be the essence of freehand brush work that it mostly grasps the most obvious or essential spiritual characteristics. The first rule of freehand brush work is the use of connotation which is a kind of spiritual meaning. It focuses on the personality and the cooperation of every element in the painting. (Full article...) - Image 19
Overpainting is the final layers of paint, over some type of underpainting, in a system of working in layers. It can also refer to later paint added by restorers, or an artist or dealer wishing to "improve" or update an old image—a very common practice in the past. The underpainting gives a context in which the paint-strokes of the overpainting become more resonant and powerful. When properly done, overpainting does not need to completely obscure the underpainting. It is precisely the interaction of the two that gives the most interesting effects.
Overpainting was used extensively in many schools of art. Some of the most spectacular results can be seen in the work of Jan van Eyck. (Full article...) - Image 20
Figure painting, or miniature painting, is the hobby of painting miniature figures and/or model figures, either as a standalone activity or as a part of another activity that uses models, such as role-playing games, wargames, or military modeling.
In addition to the painting of models, the creation of scenic basing for the model to be affixed to is also an important part of the hobby (although not all figure painters are concerned about the basing of their models). These can range from very simple applications of textured pastes, grit, and static grass for gaming bases, to larger scenic bases for display models, and even full dioramas depicting a scene of a single model or a group of models together in tableau to create a story in one moment. It can also include aspects of sculpting, for the purpose of creating additional details for models and bases, as a means of customizing the model to make them more unique, or to create entirely scratch built models for painting. Many figure painters also paint scale busts as part of the hobby, often in bigger scales than figures with a higher level of detail, and display bases and backdrops for them. (Full article...) - Image 21U.S. President George W. Bush examines a Yirrkala bark painting during a tour of the Australian National Maritime Museum in Sydney on 6 September 2007.
Bark painting is an Australian Aboriginal art form, involving painting on the interior of a strip of tree bark. This is a continuing form of artistic expression in Arnhem Land (especially among the Yolngu peoples) and other regions in the Top End of Australia, including parts of the Kimberley region of Western Australia. Traditionally, bark paintings were produced for instructional and ceremonial purposes and were transient objects. Today, they are keenly sought after by collectors and public arts institutions. (Full article...) - Image 22Buon fresco (Italian for 'true fresh') is a fresco painting technique in which alkaline-resistant pigments, ground in water, are applied to wet plaster.
It is distinguished from the fresco-secco (or a secco) and finto fresco techniques, in which paints are applied to dried plaster. (Full article...) - Image 23Ceiling of the Treasure Room of the Archaeological Museum of Ferrara (Ferrara, Italy), painted in 1503–1506
Trompe-l'œil (/trɒmp ˈlɔɪ/ tromp LOY, French: [tʁɔ̃p lœj]; French for 'deceive the eye') is an art technique that uses realistic imagery to create the optical illusion that the depicted objects exist in three dimensions. Forced perspective is a comparable illusion in architecture. (Full article...) - Image 24Xia Gui (Song dynasty) – Mountain Market- Clear with Rising Mist, one of the 8 scenes of the Eight Views of Xiaoxiang, a favourite subject in the Chinese ink wash painting tradition, showing the variety of effects achievable with black ink.
A wash is a term for a visual arts technique resulting in a semi-transparent layer of colour. A wash of diluted ink or watercolor paint applied in combination with drawing is called pen and wash, wash drawing, or ink and wash. Normally only one or two colours of wash are used; if more colours are used the result is likely to be classified as a full watercolor painting.
The classic East Asian tradition of literati painting, that only uses black ink in various levels of dilution, is ink wash painting. This is used, especially for landscape painting, in Chinese painting, Japanese painting and Korean painting. (Full article...)
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General images
Image 1Khan Bahadur Khan with Men of his Clan, c. 1815, from the Fraser Album, Company Style (from Painting)
Image 2Edvard Munch, 1893, early example of Expressionism (from History of painting)
Image 3Spanish cave painting of Bulls (from History of painting)
Image 4Honoré Daumier, The Painter (1808–1879), oil on panel with visible brushstrokes (from Painting)
Image 5Qianlong Emperor Practicing Calligraphy, mid-18th century. (from History of painting)
Image 6The Milkmaid by Johannes Vermeer, c. 1657 (from History of painting)
Image 7Lascaux, Horse (from History of painting)
Image 8Francisco de Zurbarán, Still Life with Pottery Jars (Spanish: Bodegón de recipientes) (1636), oil on canvas, 46 x 84 cm, Museo del Prado, Madrid (from Painting)
Image 9Lascaux, Bulls and Horses (from History of painting)
Image 10Two Scribes Seated with Books and a Writing Table Fragment of a decorative margin Northern India (Mughal school), ca. 1640–1650 (from History of painting)
Image 11Max Ernst, 1920, early Surrealism (from History of painting)
Image 12Edward Hopper, Nighthawks, 1942, an American Scene painting (from History of painting)
Image 13Chen Hongshou (1598–1652), Leaf album painting (Ming dynasty) (from Painting)
Image 14An Ethiopian illuminated Evangelist portrait of Mark the Evangelist, from the Ethiopian Garima Gospels, 6th century AD, Kingdom of Aksum (from History of painting)
Image 15Lubang Jeriji Saléh cave, in Kalimantan, Indonesia, contains one of the oldest known figurative paintings, a 40,000 year-old depiction of a bull. (from History of painting)
Image 16Hellenistic Greek terracotta funerary wall painting, 3rd century BC (from History of painting)
Image 17A Chinese painted jar from the Western Han Era (202 BCE – 9 CE) (from History of painting)
Image 18Nino Pisano, Apelles or the Art of painting in detail (1334–1336); relief of the Giotto's Bell Tower in Florence, Italy
Image 19Claude Monet's 1872 Impression, Sunrise inspired the name of the movement (from Painting)
Image 20Pierre Bonnard, 1913, European modernist Narrative painting (from History of painting)
Image 21Georges Seurat, Circus Sideshow (French: Parade de cirque) (1887–88)
Image 22Pictographs from the Great Gallery, Canyonlands National Park, Horseshoe Canyon, Utah, c. 1500 BCE (from History of painting)
Image 23Krishna and Radha, might be the work of Nihâl Chand, master of Kishangarh school of Rajput Painting (from Painting)
Image 24Piet Mondrian, Composition en rouge, jaune, bleu et noir (1921), Gemeentemuseum Den Haag (from Painting)
Image 25Mother Goddess A miniature painting of the Pahari style, dating to the eighteenth century. Pahari and Rajput miniatures share many common features. (from History of painting)
Image 27Gwion Gwion rock paintings found in the north-west Kimberley region of Western Australia c. 15,000 BC (from History of painting)
Image 28Marcel Duchamp, Nude Descending a Staircase, No. 2, 1912, Philadelphia Museum of Art (from History of painting)
Image 29Henri Matisse 1909, late Fauvism (from History of painting)
Image 30Giorgio de Chirico 1914, pre-Surrealism (from History of painting)
Image 31Max Beckmann, The Night (Die Nacht), 1918–1919, Kunstsammlung Nordrhein-Westfalen, Düsseldorf (from History of painting)
Image 32Patrick Henry Bruce, American modernism, 1924 (from History of painting)
Image 33A fresco from Cave 1 of Ajanta. (from History of painting)
Image 34The oldest known figurative painting is a depiction of a bull that was discovered in the Lubang Jeriji Saléh cave in Indonesia. It was painted 40,000 - 52,000 years ago or earlier. (from Painting)
Image 35Wayang beber, 17th century (from History of painting)
Image 36Maurice Quentin de La Tour, Portrait of Louis XV of France (1748), pastel (from Painting)
Image 37The Eternal Father Painting the Virgin of Guadalupe. Attributed to Joaquín Villegas (1713 – active in 1753) (Mexican) (painter, Museo Nacional de Arte. (from History of painting)
Image 38Ray Burggraf, Jungle Arc (1998), acrylic paint on wood (from Painting)
Image 39Silk painting depicting a man riding a dragon, painting on silk, dated to 5th–3rd century BC, Warring States period, from Zidanku Tomb no. 1 in Changsha, Hunan Province (from History of painting)
Image 40Joan Miró, Horse, Pipe and Red Flower, 1920, abstract Surrealism, Philadelphia Museum of Art (from History of painting)
Image 41Andreas Achenbach, Clearing Up, Coast of Sicily (1847), The Walters Art Museum (from Painting)
Image 42White Angel (fresco), Mileševa monastery, Serbia (from Painting)
Image 43Encaustic icon from Saint Catherine's Monastery, Egypt (6th-century) (from Painting)
Image 44Baptism of Christ on a medieval Nubian painting from Old Dongola (from History of painting)
Image 45Pettakere Cave are more than 44,000 years old, Maros, South Sulawesi, Indonesia (from History of painting)
Image 46Piet Mondrian, "Composition No. 10" 1939–1942, De Stijl (from History of painting)
Image 47Otto Marseus van Schrieck, A Forest Floor Still-Life (1666) (from Painting)
Image 48Paul Klee, 1922, Bauhaus (from History of painting)
Image 49Spring Morning in the Han Palace, by Ming-era artist Qiu Ying (1494–1552 AD) (from History of painting)
Image 50Juan Luna, The Parisian Life, 1892 (from History of painting)
Image 51Cueva de las Manos (Spanish for Cave of the Hands) in the Santa Cruz province in Argentina, c. 7300 BC (from History of painting)
Image 52Rembrandt van Rijn, The Jewish Bride, ca. 1665–1669 (from History of painting)
Image 53Book of Hours (from History of painting)
Image 54Lascaux, Aurochs (Bos primigenius primigenius) (from History of painting)
Image 55Liang Kai, Drunken Celestial (12th century), ink on Xuan paper (from Painting)
Image 56An artistic depiction of a group of rhinos was made in the Chauvet Cave 30,000 to 32,000 years ago. (from Painting)
Image 57Rock Shelters of Bhimbetka, rock painting, Stone Age, India (from History of painting)
Image 5819th Century Mysore Painting of Goddess Saraswathi (from Painting)
Image 59Jean Metzinger, La danse (Bacchante) (c.1906), oil on canvas, 73 x 54 cm, Kröller-Müller Museum (from Painting)
Image 60Muromachi period, Shingei (1431–1485), Viewing a Waterfall, Nezu Museum, Tokyo. (from History of painting)
Image 61Loquats and Mountain Bird, anonymous artist of the Southern Song dynasty; paintings in leaf album style such as this were popular in the Southern Song (1127–1279). (from History of painting)
Image 62Hand stencils in the "Tree of Life" cave painting in Gua Tewet, Kalimantan, Indonesia (from History of painting)
Image 63The Sakyamuni Buddha, by Zhang Shengwen, 1173–1176 AD, Song dynasty period. (from History of painting)
Image 64Jean de Court (attributed), painted Limoges enamel dish in detail (mid-16th century), Waddesdon Bequest, British Museum (from Painting)
Image 65A fresco showing Hades and Persephone riding in a chariot, from the tomb of Queen Eurydice I of Macedon at Vergina, Greece, 4th century BC (from History of painting)
Image 66Grant Wood, 1930, social realism (from History of painting)
Image 67Morgan Russell, Cosmic Synchromy (1913–14), Synchromism (from History of painting)
Image 68Diego Rivera, Recreation of Man at the Crossroads (renamed Man, Controller of the Universe), originally created in 1934, Mexican muralism movement (from History of painting)
Image 69Petroglyphs, from Sweden, Nordic Bronze Age (painted) (from History of painting)
Image 70Eland, rock painting, Drakensberg, South Africa (from History of painting)
Image 71Brice Marden, 1966/1986, Monochrome painting (from History of painting)
Image 72Bharat Mata by Abanindranath Tagore (1871–1951), a nephew of the poet Rabindranath Tagore, and a pioneer of the movement (from History of painting)
Image 73Francis Picabia, (Left) Le saint des saints c'est de moi qu'il s'agit dans ce portrait, 1 July 1915; (center) Portrait d'une jeune fille americaine dans l'état de nudité, 5 July 1915: (right) J'ai vu et c'est de toi qu'il s'agit, De Zayas! De Zayas! Je suis venu sur les rivages du Pont-Euxin, New York, 1915 (from History of painting)
Image 74Richard Tuttle, 1967, Postminimalism (from History of painting)
Image 75Prehistoric cave painting of aurochs (French: Bos primigenius primigenius) ), Lascaux, France (from Painting)
Image 76Juan Luna, La Bulaqueña, 1895 (from History of painting)
Image 77Young Mother Sewing, Mary Cassatt (from History of painting)
Image 78Rock Shelters of Bhimbetka, rock painting, Stone Age, India (from History of painting)
Image 79Sesshū Tōyō, Landscapes of the Four Seasons (1486), ink and light color on paper (from Painting)
Image 80Reza Abbasi, Two Lovers (1630) (from Painting)
Image 82John Martin, Manfred on the Jungfrau (1837), watercolor (from Painting)
Image 83The Mona Lisa (1503–1517) by Leonardo da Vinci is one of the world's most recognizable paintings. (from Painting)
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Topics
General painting topics
- 20th-century Western painting
- Abstract art
- Accidentalism
- Animal-made art
- Architectural painting
- Binder
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Painting techniques
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