Intriguing Past Of Oil Paintings Of Old
Oil paintings are heavily associated with art and culture, bringing up thoughts of museums and famous galleries. Anyone touring Europe will likely have several of these types of stops on their agenda. Most people don’t consider the historic quality of what they will be viewing with such awe and wonder.
The process of using oil based paints to make a piece of art is called oil painting. In the past, oil paints were created by boiling natural resins with an oil. Linseed was very popular but so were walnut oil, safflower oil and even poppyseed oil. If a resin such as frankincense was used, the paint would make a highly prized varnish, valued for its glossiness and body.
When people consider the history of oil painting, they think usually of the 15th century. However, there is an actual treatise written by the pseudonymous author Theophilus Presbyter regarding the use of oil paints that is dated 1125. Indian and Chinese painters were using oil based paints in Afghanistan as far back as the fifth and ninth centuries.
During the 15th century when oil painting became popular in European countries, most pictures were of three types. There were the illustrious supernatural images taken from mythology or the bible, such as the Rape of Europa and the Raising of the Cross. Famous kings and queens appreciated portrait work and would often hire an artist to be in residence at court. Painters also enjoyed capturing common people, such as the picture The Blue Boy or another called Bust of an Old Man with Helmet.
Almost everyone knows about the infamous painting the Mona Lisa. Cloaked in intrigue for a very long time, the painting was not considered finished by the artist, Leonardo da Vinci, until just before he died in 1525. In 2005 a margin note was found that identifies the person in the image as Lisa del Giocondo, a member of a prominent family that had the artwork commissioned in honour of the birth of her second son and the purchase of a new home.
Many people have wondered about the assumed beauty of the lady sitting in the Mona Lisa. She is considered as evidence of da Vinci’s talent as well as honesty, as compared even to other women of her era, she was not thought to be beautiful. Without eyelashes and eyebrows, many people thought she had plucked these out prior to the painting, as many women of that era did. However, closer inspection shows that these were once painted on the picture but were wiped away by overzealous cleaning over the centuries.
In 1911, an employee of the Louvre museum stole the artwork during museum hours by hiding it under his jacket. His intention was to have it returned to its homeland of Italy. It was kept there for two years before its final return back to the Louvre, and the man served only six months for his crime but was considered a heroic patriot by his people.
The art of oil painting harkens back to a more difficult time for painters, when they had to acquire and make their own pigments and couldn’t typically travel to the sources of their inspiration. Paints weren’t water soluble in those days and the art form took great patience and care. Oil paintings offer those who most appreciate them a chance to glimpse a historic capturing of the past, for which they are so grateful.
If you enjoy what you just read consider to visit this following Oil painting‘s link. Arold also writes additional articles regarding another type of art such as Canvas prints which can be accessed easily if you are interested in knowing more.
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