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In the Western World, painting has been around for as long as people could pick up a burnt stick and draw. There are many different mediums for painting. Or, in other words, many different substances that hold the pigment and allow a person to paint. These works represent some of the major groups of painting mediums. Although they appear roughly chronologically, most mediums continue to be used.
Some of the first paintings were done in fresco. Fresco is made by adding the pigments directly into the plaster of a wall. Fresco techniques were perfected in the Italian Renaissance. Many famous paintings, such as the Sistine Ceiling by Michelangelo, were done in fresco. The Deposition by Pontormo is an example of frescoes at their pinnacle.
Encaustic is when the pigments are added to melted wax. This creates luminous colors and is easy to fix as you paint. Encaustic is often painted on wood. Icons are most commonly associated with Encaustic painting such as the Trinity by Rublev.
Painting with oil was first developed in Northern Europe. Oil painting took much longer, because the oil takes so long to dry, but it gave great advantages of texture and luminosity to the artist. Because oil is transparent, unlike fresco, many thin layers can be built up, creating the gorgeous textures we associate with oil painting. Also, because it is not mixed with plaster or wax, the colors can be made brighter and more intense. Leonardo is credited with bringing oil painting to Italy and from there it spread throughout Europe. In later centuries, artists would abandon the careful layering of oil paint in order to create realistic textures and instead, exploit the versatility of oil to play with color, light, design and even the texture of the paint itself.
Watercolor came in vogue with the development of cheaper paper in the 19th century. Watercolor is quick, transparent and luminous. The white paper shines through the paint, and the watery paint creates much different effects from oil. Guoache is similar to watercolor but is opaque and therefore has a different effect. They are often used together.
Modern artists use a variety of different mediums – often at the same time. Tempera is a cheap, opaque and flat paint (used in schools!) but it is very bright. Synthetic paints such as acrylics can be used to create effects similar to oil, but because they dry fast, they can’t be reworked and manipulated like oil. Artists, therefore, don’t usually try to imitate oil, but instead capitalize on acrylic’s bright colors and opacity.
View the artwork examples below, making sure to mention the medium and discuss briefly how the medium effects the painting. In other words, how would it look if it were in watercolor instead of oil? Would it have the same effect?
See numerous Kindergarten through 5th Grade painting art lessons HERE. These lessons were designed for Elementary classroom use but can be modified for individual home art projects as well.
Paint a simple object such as an apple or s flower with three different paint mediums – see how they work and feel.
Have an artist demonstrate a technique in a particular medium and then have the class learn it.
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Cave Paintings, (France), 12000 bc. Just showing how early people started painting.
Villa Livia, (Roman), 1st c. ad, fresco. Also, very early sophisticated painting.
Lamentation Giotto, (Italian), 1320, fresco. Beginning of Renaissance use of fresco in church walls.
Deposition, Pontormo, (Italian), 1525, fresco. Very sophisticated use of fresco.
Faiyum Portraits, (Egypt), 2nd c., encaustic Burial portraits.
Trinity, Rublev, (Russian) ,1427, encaustic. Icon.
Arnolfini Wedding, van Eyck, (Dutch), 1432, oil. Famous early oil painter. Pay attention to the amazing details (such as the reflection in the tiny mirror shown in the detail.
Detail from Arnolfini Wedding.
Ceceilia Gallarani, Leonardo, (Italian), 1485, oil. Note the luminous texture. You might want to go back and compare it to the Faiyum portraits.
Banquet, Van Beyeren, (Dutch), 1620, oil. Rich detail and texture.
Las Meninas, Velasquez, (Spain), 1656, oil. Amazing depth and control of light.
Wheat Field, Van Gogh, (Dutch), 1889, oil. The texture of the paint itself becomes important. Not so much concentrating on replicating the world. IMPASTO technique, where paint is thick and its texture exploited.
Portrait of Felix Feneon Seurat (France) 1890 oil Exploration of paint and color.
I and the Village, Chagall, (France), oil. Painting of an idea rather than a scene.
The Mall, Central Park, Maurice Prendergast, (American), 1900, Watercolor. Note the white of the background paper showing through.
Watercolor, Klee, (Swiss), 1917, watercolor, gouache, pen and ink, graphite.
Sunflowers, Pink and White Dahlias, Nolde, (German), 1930, watercolor. The liquid nature of watercolor is exploited.
Woman, Flower, Bird Chagall, (French), 1952, gouache.
Third Allegory, Ben Shahn, (Jewish American), 1955, tempera. Flat colors.
Race Riots E. St. Louis, Jacob Lawrence, (American), 1941, tempera.
Flood Frankenthaler, (American), 1967, synthetic polymer. Bright colors.
Bigger Splash, David Hockney, (American), 1967, acrylic. Flat, industrial colors with hard edges.
Leonardo’s Lady, Audrey Flack, (American), 1974, airbrush acrylic. Amazing realism.
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