From fresco to varnish: a succinct summary of all the different media which have been used in painting, with links to more detailed articles.
da Messina
From the funerary portraits of Fayum, through the work of Jan van Eyck, to Leonardo, Rubens and Botticelli, many of the greatest paintings are on wood panels.
Was painting ‘invented’ by the maid of Corinth? What is ‘shadow play’, and how have painters extended it to religious works? A short history of shadows in painting.
Painters of the early northern Renaissance founded modern Western landscape painting, and developed the first examples of staffage.
A summary chronology of the major milestones in the history of oil painting, with copious illustrations from the masters.
Because these landscape elements are constrained within the overall work, the artist has complete control over them, something reflected in their reading too. Such cameo landscapes are never awe-inspiring, but subjugate to the whole.
