Introduction to a series explaining the history of oil paint, effects on techniques, hence on paintings themselves.
Rembrandt
An unusually moral story of the classical gods; superb paintings by Rubens, Rembrandt, Elsheimer, and others.
How Rembrandt’s uses lighting to enhance and add to his narrative, and how one of his greatest paintings got cut up and went to Sweden.
Painting a literary narrative, by Rembrandt, John Martin, and Washington Allston.
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.
The Eclectic Light Company 