Difference between revisions of "Painting"

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==History==
 
==History==
 
<small>''Main article: [[History of painting]]''</small><br>
 
<small>''Main article: [[History of painting]]''</small><br>
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Painting as an [[art]] form is known to have been practiced all over the world since the [[Upper Paleolithic]] period<ref>[http://www.tate.org.uk/collections/glossary/definition.jsp?entryId=435 ''Painting'']. Glossary. The Tate Collection. Tate.org.uk. 14 May 2008</ref>, with fine examples of cave paintings over 17,000 years old being discovered in Lascaux and the Ardèche Valley in [[France]] which demonstrate the conscious use of skill and creative imagination: "They are not stick figures or squiggles. Lines are clear and filled with tints. The animals are vibrant. By utilizing cave features, some of the renderings even have perspective."<ref>[http://www.beyondbooks.com/art11/2.asp ''Painting before 1300'']. History of Painting. BeyondBooks.com. 14 May 2008</ref> These paintings were made using [[pigment]]s inherent in variously coloured earths and powdered rock applied directly to the cave walls and usually depict [[animal]]s, although there are also some human figures. The oldest known paintings are at the Grotte Chauvet in France, dated at about 32,000 years old. They are very simply engraved and painted using red ochre and black pigment and depict [[horse]]s, [[rhinoceros]], [[lion]]s, [[buffalo]], and [[mammoth]].  
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Painting as an [[art]] form is known to have been practiced all over the world since the [[Upper Paleolithic]] period<ref>[http://www.tate.org.uk/collections/glossary/definition.jsp?entryId=435 ''Painting'']. Glossary. The Tate Collection. Tate.org.uk. 14 May 2008</ref>, with fine examples of cave paintings believed by archaeologists to be 17,000 years old being discovered in Lascaux and the Ardèche Valley in [[France]] which demonstrate the conscious use of skill and creative imagination: "They are not stick figures or squiggles. Lines are clear and filled with tints. The animals are vibrant. By utilizing cave features, some of the renderings even have perspective."<ref>[http://www.beyondbooks.com/art11/2.asp ''Painting before 1300'']. History of Painting. BeyondBooks.com. 14 May 2008</ref> These paintings were made using [[pigment]]s inherent in variously coloured earths and powdered rock applied directly to the cave walls and usually depict [[animal]]s, although there are also some human figures. The oldest known paintings are at the Grotte Chauvet in France, dated by some scientists at about 32,000 years old. They are very simply engraved and painted using red ochre and black pigment and depict [[horse]]s, [[rhinoceros]], [[lion]]s, [[buffalo]], and [[mammoth]].  
  
 
Essentially, painting has changed very little since these times: the surfaces have evolved through rock faces, the walls of buildings, [[silk]], [[paper]], [[wood]], [[cloth]] and [[canvas]], while the range of pigments used have encompassed earths and minerals, plant extracts and modern synthetic colours. The earliest example of silk painting was excavated from the Mawangdui Tomb in central [[China]] of the Warring States Period (476-221 B.C.)<ref>[http://www.chinaculture.org/gb/en_artqa/2004-01/19/content_45741.htm ''Chinese Painting'']. ChinaCulture.org. 14 May 2008</ref> The pigments have also been mixed with water and gums to make paint,<ref>''Painting.'' The Tate Collection. op cit.</ref> and the earliest known examples of oil paints were used in [[Afghanistan]] in the seventh century, derived possibly from [[walnut]]s or the [[poppy|poppies]] which grew in the area.<ref>Dowd, Vincent. [http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/world/south_asia/7361994.stm ''Oil painting originated in East'']. BBC News. 22 April 2008. news.bbc.co.uk 14 May 2008</ref> Oil paints were eventually introduced in [[Europe]] in the fifteenth century using [[linseed]] oil. The flexibility and durability of this new medium "played a major part in the explosion of creativity in Western painting during and after the [[Renaissance]]."<ref>''Painting.'' The Tate Collection. op cit.</ref>  
 
Essentially, painting has changed very little since these times: the surfaces have evolved through rock faces, the walls of buildings, [[silk]], [[paper]], [[wood]], [[cloth]] and [[canvas]], while the range of pigments used have encompassed earths and minerals, plant extracts and modern synthetic colours. The earliest example of silk painting was excavated from the Mawangdui Tomb in central [[China]] of the Warring States Period (476-221 B.C.)<ref>[http://www.chinaculture.org/gb/en_artqa/2004-01/19/content_45741.htm ''Chinese Painting'']. ChinaCulture.org. 14 May 2008</ref> The pigments have also been mixed with water and gums to make paint,<ref>''Painting.'' The Tate Collection. op cit.</ref> and the earliest known examples of oil paints were used in [[Afghanistan]] in the seventh century, derived possibly from [[walnut]]s or the [[poppy|poppies]] which grew in the area.<ref>Dowd, Vincent. [http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/world/south_asia/7361994.stm ''Oil painting originated in East'']. BBC News. 22 April 2008. news.bbc.co.uk 14 May 2008</ref> Oil paints were eventually introduced in [[Europe]] in the fifteenth century using [[linseed]] oil. The flexibility and durability of this new medium "played a major part in the explosion of creativity in Western painting during and after the [[Renaissance]]."<ref>''Painting.'' The Tate Collection. op cit.</ref>  

Revision as of 21:31, May 14, 2008

Cave art c.15000-10000 B.C. discovered at Lascaux, France

Painting, in its most basic form, can be defined as "the process, art, or occupation of coating surfaces with paint for a utilitarian or artistic effect."[1] An artistic composition made by applying paints to a surface is also "a painting."

History

Main article: History of painting
Painting as an art form is known to have been practiced all over the world since the Upper Paleolithic period[2], with fine examples of cave paintings believed by archaeologists to be 17,000 years old being discovered in Lascaux and the Ardèche Valley in France which demonstrate the conscious use of skill and creative imagination: "They are not stick figures or squiggles. Lines are clear and filled with tints. The animals are vibrant. By utilizing cave features, some of the renderings even have perspective."[3] These paintings were made using pigments inherent in variously coloured earths and powdered rock applied directly to the cave walls and usually depict animals, although there are also some human figures. The oldest known paintings are at the Grotte Chauvet in France, dated by some scientists at about 32,000 years old. They are very simply engraved and painted using red ochre and black pigment and depict horses, rhinoceros, lions, buffalo, and mammoth.

Essentially, painting has changed very little since these times: the surfaces have evolved through rock faces, the walls of buildings, silk, paper, wood, cloth and canvas, while the range of pigments used have encompassed earths and minerals, plant extracts and modern synthetic colours. The earliest example of silk painting was excavated from the Mawangdui Tomb in central China of the Warring States Period (476-221 B.C.)[4] The pigments have also been mixed with water and gums to make paint,[5] and the earliest known examples of oil paints were used in Afghanistan in the seventh century, derived possibly from walnuts or the poppies which grew in the area.[6] Oil paints were eventually introduced in Europe in the fifteenth century using linseed oil. The flexibility and durability of this new medium "played a major part in the explosion of creativity in Western painting during and after the Renaissance."[7]

Cultural styles

Egyptian wall painting c. 1300–1250 B.C. depicting Queen Nefertari Merytmut

From the fourth century onwards the early civilizations of the Mediterranean region and Europe began to produce paintings of sufficiently consistent artistic style that art historians and archaeologists are able to distinguish which works belonged to which cultures. "Egyptian artwork is highly detailed, their figures are still and appear rigid. Minoan art [2800 B.C. onwards], on the other hand, is extraordinary for its sense of movement and its emphasis on the living world."[8] Few examples of Greek painting (c. 600-100 B.C.) have survived, originally painted on wood which has rotted away or buildings which have been destroyed. Its style was very influential however on the Roman style of paintings, which spread throughout the Roman Empire into the Middle East, North Africa and Europe.

Christianity brought further change to the Roman style, particularly as the "illustration of the Gospels was... necessary in order to spread the beliefs to the new converts, most of whom were illiterate. After the Roman Empire collapsed, Europe's greatest inheritance was the Roman-Christian tradition, which was heavily infused with classical ideas and Christian artistic styles. Despite some scholarly belief that the Middle Ages was a period of artistic decline, the existence of beautiful painted manuscripts and glowing altars from that period suggests otherwise."[9]

Media

Detail of a Roman fresco c.70 A.D. discovered at Pompeii

Different types of painting are usually identified by the "medium" that carries the pigment. This affects the viscosity, miscibility, solubility, durability, flexibility and the appearance of the applied pigment. Common media include:[10]

Paintings are not always executed using a single medium: Henry Moore, for example, used oil pastels and watercolours together, knowing that they would not mix. He would use oil pastel for the main features and then cover the paper with a watercolour wash, creating a bolder impression of the initial drawing.

Composition and design

The elements of design are used in various ways to produce sensations of volume, space, movement, and light. The range of media and the choice of a particular form combine to realize a unique visual image.[11]The execution and design of a painting can be subdivided as:

  • Formal Elements:
    • Colour - Color is more than a filling in of space, as it may have a structural role to play in the composition. The painter may use it to connect areas of the painting through similarity or create contrast by difference. It can also create spatial depth, harmony and mood.
    • Space - Painters describe different kinds of space, such as primitive ("flat") space; illusionistic, ("Renaissance") space; modern space (developed from Cezanne's union of flat and illusionistic space); and all-over space, such as that used by Jackson Pollock in his drip paintings. There is also "positive" space (occupied by a form or figure) and "negative" space (loosely, the background).
    • Composition - When deciding the composition of the painting, the painter will be influenced by the subject (eg landscape, portrait, still life) and then how the forms within the subject relate to the borders of the painting. How the viewer's eye is meant to be drawn over the whole and to certain areas will also determine the composition.
  • Pictorial Elements:
    • Line
    • Shape
    • Colour
    • Texture
    • Space

Movements

Poussin's The Assumption of the Virgin is one of his first paintings in the Classical style, heavily influenced by the Renaissance and Titian in particular.

The movement or school that an artist is associated with is usually reflected in the style of the painting. Movements include:

See also

References

  1. ↑ Painting. The American Heritage Dictionary of the English Language. Fourth Edition. (Houghton Mifflin Company; 2000).
  2. ↑ Painting. Glossary. The Tate Collection. Tate.org.uk. 14 May 2008
  3. ↑ Painting before 1300. History of Painting. BeyondBooks.com. 14 May 2008
  4. ↑ Chinese Painting. ChinaCulture.org. 14 May 2008
  5. ↑ Painting. The Tate Collection. op cit.
  6. ↑ Dowd, Vincent. Oil painting originated in East. BBC News. 22 April 2008. news.bbc.co.uk 14 May 2008
  7. ↑ Painting. The Tate Collection. op cit.
  8. ↑ Painting before 1300. op cit
  9. ↑ Painting before 1300. op cit.
  10. ↑ Media. Westgate Gallery. 14 May 2008
  11. ↑ Britannica Concise Encyclopedia.
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