Painting a literary narrative, by Rembrandt, John Martin, and Washington Allston.
Rembrandt
The strongest and most moving narrative can be the simplest: one woman and one dagger.
We still associate brushmarks with sketchiness, speed of painting, spontaneity, bravura, and panache – and smooth paint surfaces, assembled from multiple layers and glazes, as being heartless mechanical essays in technique.
A glance through some of the unofficial history of visible brushstrokes and other painter’s marks.
The availability and use of modern pigments was a major factor in determining Impressionist painting style.
The methods used for a more robust analysis of palettes, which is unique and innovative.
In the absence of any clearly articulated theoretical statements from the core French Impressionists, there are no obvious rules or clear criteria handed down.
Perhaps they are the landscape equivalent of serial self-portraiture after all.
How many times have you heard it said that mark-making is a sign of abstraction in painting?
The movie to accompany the Late Rembrandt exhibition. A worthy substitute for those who missed it, and an essential companion for those who went.
The Eclectic Light Company 