Types of painting

Frans Hals’ tronie, with the later title Gypsy Girl. 1628-30. Oil on wood, 58 x 52 cm. The tronie includes elements of portraiture, genre painting, and sometimes history painting.

A distinctive feature of the period, compared to earlier European painting, was the small amount of religious painting. Dutch Calvinism forbade religious painting in churches, and though biblical subjects were acceptable in private homes, relatively few were produced. The other traditional classes of history and portrait painting were present, but the period is more notable for a huge variety of other genres, sub-divided into numerous specialized categories, such as scenes of peasant life, landscapes, townscapes, landscapes with animals, maritime paintings, flower paintings and still lifes of various types. The development of many of these types of painting was decisively influenced by 17th-century Dutch artists.

The widely held theory of the “hierarchy of genres” in painting, whereby some types were regarded as more prestigious than others, led many painters to want to produce history painting. However this was the hardest to sell, as even Rembrandt found. Many were forced to produce portraits or genre scenes, which sold much more easily. In descending order of status the categories in the hierarchy were:

history painting, including religious subjects

Portrait painting

genre painting or scenes of everyday life

landscape (landscapists were the “common footmen in the Army of Art” according to Samuel van Hoogstraten) and cityscape

still life

Paulus Potter, The Young Bull (1647); 3.4 metres wide. An unusually monumental animal painting that challenges the hierarchy of genres.

The Dutch concentrated heavily on the “lower” categories, but by no means rejected the concept of the hierarchy. Most paintings were relatively small the only common type of really large paintings were group portraits. Painting directly onto walls hardly existed; when a wall-space in a public building needed decorating fitted framed canvas was normally used. For the extra precision possible on a hard surface many painters continued to use wooden panels, some time after the rest of Western Europe had abandoned them; some used copper plates, usually recycling plates from printmaking. In turn the number of surviving Golden Age paintings was reduced by them being overpainted with new works by artists throughout the 18th and 19th century poor ones were usually cheaper than a new canvas, stetcher and frame. There was very little Dutch sculpture during the period; it is mostly found in tomb monuments and attached to public buildings, and small sculptures for houses are a noticeable gap, their place taken by silverware and ceramics. Painted delftware tiles were very cheap and common, if rarely of really high quality, but silver, especially in the auricular style, led Europe. With this exception, the best artistic efforts were concentrated on painting and printmaking.

The art world

Dirck Hals, genre scene of Gentlemen Smoking and Playing Backgammon in an Interior. Note the paintings on the wall of what appears to be a tavern; also here.

Foreigners remarked on the enormous quantities of art produced, and the large fairs where many paintings were sold it has been roughly estimated that over 1.3 million Dutch pictures were painted in the 20 years after 1640 alone. The volume of production meant that prices were fairly low, except for the best known artists; as in most subsequent periods there was a steep price gradient for more fashionable artists. Those without a strong contemporary reputation or fallen out of fashion, including many now considered among the greatest of the period, such as Vermeer, Frans Hals and Rembrandt in his last years, had considerable problems earning a living, and died poor; many artists had other jobs, or abandoned art entirely. In particular the French invasion of 1672 (the Rampjaar, or “year of disaster”), brought a severe depression to the art market, which never quite returned to earlier heights. The distribution of pictures was very wide: “yea many tymes, blacksmithes, cobblers etts., will have some picture or other by their Forge and in their stalle. Such is the generall Notion, enclination and delight that these Countrie Native have to Painting” reported an English traveller in 1640. There were for virtually the first time many professional art dealers, several also significant artists, like Vermeer and his father, Jan van Goyen and Willem Kalf. Rembrandt’s dealer Hendrick van Uylenburgh and his son Gerrit were among the most important.

The Haarlem Painter’s Guild in 1675, by Jan de Bray, whose self-portrait is the second from the left

The technical quality of Dutch artists was generally very high, still mostly following the old medieval system of training by apprenticeship with a master; typically workshops were smaller than in Flanders or Italy, with only one or two apprentices at a time, the number often being restricted by guild regulations. The power of the local artists’ Guild of Saint Luke was declining, but remained considerable in many places, and new ones were established in the period. Amsterdam’s had been founded only in 1579, and Gouda, Rotterdam, Utrecht and Delft were all set up between 1609 and 1611, with the Leiden guild only coming in 1648. With the obvious exception of portraits, many more Dutch paintings were done “speculatively” without a specific commission than was then the case in other countries one of many ways in which the Dutch art market showed the future.

There were many dynasties of artists, and many married the daughters of their masters or other artists. Many artists came from well-off families, who paid fees for their apprenticeships, and they often married into property. Rembrandt and Jan Steen were both enrolled at the University of Leiden for a while. Several cities had distinct styles and specialities by subject, but Amsterdam was the largest artistic centre, because of its great wealth.

Aert de Gelder, Self-portrait as Zeuxis (1685)

Dutch artists were strikingly less concerned about artistic theory than those of many nations, and less given to discussing their art; it appears that there was also much less interest in artistic theory in general intellectual circles and among the wider public than was by then common in Italy. As nearly all commissions and sales were private, and between bourgeois individuals whose accounts have not been preserved, these are also less well documented than elsewhere. But Dutch art was a source of national pride, and the major biographers are crucial sources of information. These are Karel van Mander (Het Schilderboeck, 1604), who essentially covers the previous century, and Arnold Houbraken (De groote schouburgh der Nederlantsche konstschilders en schilderessen “The Great Theatre of Dutch Painters”, 171821). Both followed, and indeed exceeded, Vasari in including a great number of short lives of artists over 500 in Houbraken’s case and both are considered generally accurate on factual matters. The German artist Joachim von Sandrart (1606 – 1688) had worked for periods in Holland, and his Deutsche Akademie in the same format covers many Dutch artists he knew. Houbraken’s master, and Rembrandt’s pupil, was Samuel van Hoogstraten (16271678), whose Zichtbare wereld and Inleyding tot de Hooge Schoole der Schilderkonst (1678) contain more critical than biographical information, and are among the most important treatises on painting of the period. Like other Dutch works on the theory of art, they expound many commonplaces of Renaissance theory and do not entirely reflect contemporary Dutch art, still often concentrating on history painting.

History painting

Jacob van Loo, Dana (compare Rembrandt’s treatment).

This category comprises not only paintings that depicted historical events of the past, but also paintings that showed biblical, mythological, literary and allegorical scenes. Recent historical events essentially fell out of the category, and were treated in a realist fashion, as the appropriate combination of portraits with marine, townscape or landscape subjects. Large dramatic historical or Biblical scenes were produced less frequently than in other countries, as there was no local market for church art, and few large aristocratic Baroque houses to fill. More than that, the Protestant population of major cities had been exposed to some remarkably hypocritical uses of Mannerist allegory in unsuccessful Habsburg propaganda during the Dutch Revolt, which had produced a strong reaction towards realism and a distrust of grandiose visual rhetoric. History painting was now a “minority art”, although to an extent this was redressed by a relatively keen interest in print versions of history subjects

More than in other types of painting, Dutch history painters continued to be influenced by Italian painting. Prints and copies of Italian masterpieces circulated and suggested certain compositional schemes. The growing Dutch skill in the depiction of light was brought to bear on styles derived from Italy, notably that of Caravaggio. Some Dutch painters also travelled to Italy, though this was less common than with their Flemish contemporaries, as can be seen from the membership of the Bentvueghels club in Rome. It is noticeable that the most important Dutch artists in all fields, figures such as Rembrandt, Vermeer, Hals, Steen, Jacob van Ruisdael, and others, had not made the voyage.

Utrecht Caravaggism:Dirck van Baburen, Christ crowned with thorns, 1623, for a convent in Utrecht, not a market available in most of Holland.

In the early part of the century many Northern Mannerist artists with styles formed in the previous century continued to work, until the 1630s in the cases of Abraham Bloemaert and Joachim

Nobody ever said that oil painting was easy. But it gets much easier and a lot more fun when you follow a step-by-step approach that starts you off on the right foot, helps you build your skills one at a time, and gives you plenty of exercises to develop your craft. That’s what you’ll find in Oil Painting For Dummies. Completely free of arty jargon, this full-color guide has all the hands-on instruction you need to master the basics. You’ll see how to plan a painting, build an image in layers, mix colors, and create stunning compositions. You’ll also find everything you need to know about oil paints, solvents, and pigments; brushes, palettes, and painting surfaces; and how to keep costs down at the art supply (more…)

choosing contact lenses

aViewonCanvas.com – Nick Weih demonstrates techniques of transferring an image to the canvas. (Grid Method, Carbon Paper Transfer, Opaque Projector). Nick Weih www.aViewonCanvas.com Videography by John Aalto

Part three of John Berger’s series – looking at the oil painting, the most valuable cultural commodity.
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For the beginner or experienced painter, this book provided inspiration and insight into the art of watercolour. Learn how the unusual techniques of pouring paint and masking give a glowing quality to the picture. Pouring causes the colour to tint rather than cover the paper while masking allows more freedom in applying colours.

(more…)

You do not need a big studio to start watercolour painting. Quite the opposite, you can do a small painting while sitting in your favourite chair. You require very little equipment to begin. A few brushes, some tubes of paint, paper, a pot of water, palette and something to rest on and you’re away.

You have none of the smell with watercolours that you get with oils. There’s no messing around with thinning liquids or white spirit to clean your brushes. Simply dipping the brush in water and wiping it with a cloth is enough to clean it. It is the ideal medium to begin painting with.

I keep all my watercolour painting equipment in a box easel. This shuts up when not in use and is placed neatly away, taking little room. When I want to paint, I simply take it out and open the easel. Within minutes, I’m ready to begin.

It’s not expensive to begin watercolour painting. You can get all you need relatively cheaply. It’s also the most portable of the painting mediums. You can easily pack all you need into a small bag and go do some outdoor painting. You can even carry wallet-sized palettes in your pocket to capture scenes from everyday life.

It is also a very quick medium to use. Paintings don’t take long to dry. You can use a small hair dryer to speed the drying process. Compare this with oils which can take days to dry. There’s little mess with watercolours and any spillages can easily be wiped clean. Apart from the practical aspects of starting watercolour painting, there’s also the wonderful artistic effects that can be achieved with this medium.

Watercolours offer the painter a whole range of techniques to experiment with; Slight variations of tone are achieved easily, and can create beautiful effects. You will still have to take some time to learn the techniques. Learning how to do washes, an essential skill of the watercolour artist ,should be your first lesson.

You can easily practice this sat at a table. Once you’ve applied a few washes and studied how adding more water than paint to your brush produces one effect and adding more paint produces another. You will soon begin to appreciate the beauty of this medium. Happy accidents can be very happy with watercolours; and you can achieve beautiful effects when two colours mix on damp paper.

Effects that you can never repeat. If you were thinking of learning to paint then I would strongly recommend you start with watercolours. Perfecting your art is a lifelong process, but learning the basics is quiet simple. You’ll be surprised how quickly you can produce wonderful paintings.

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It’s back to the Lake District for this watercolour landscape painting demonstration of the view to Crummock Water in Cumbria. For this lesson I’m using Cotman watercolorsRaw Sienna, Burnt Umber, Light Red, Ultramarine, Lemon Yellow and Payne’s Gray. The brush is the large Ron Ranson hake and the paper 130lb Fabriano 15″ x 11″. Thanks for watching and have a go – it’s easier than you think!
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Decorative painting is a very broad field in the realm of the arts. Since time immemorial, its definite meaning is being argued upon by artists and scholars from various universities and institutions. The attempts to be exact with the term’s specific context always fail, though, since they are blanketed by people’s general understanding of it: any kind of painting whose aim is to come up with something beautiful, using an array of brushing techniques, media, and materials.

In contemporary times, decorative painting is used to refer to artistic works painted on surfaces other than the conventional canvas. Among these surfaces are fabric, wood, glass, plastic, ceramics, potteries, marbles, tiles, and the like. Like all forms of painting, decorative painting necessitates different types of paint, specialty brushes, and other materials used for stroking.

In the usual home décor and children’s art lessons, the use of acrylic-based paint products has been a tradition because these products dry very fast, clearly produce desired colors, safe, water-based, and economical. Among more experienced decorative painters though, various kinds of complex oil-based paint, gels, glazes, and extenders are used in order to come up with deeper and more complicated effects.

Techniques in decorative painting are diverse. They range from the most basic brushing styles like freehand stroking to the most complicated ones like stippling and pickling.

Decorative Painting is an institutionalized field in the visual arts; many scholarly institutions worldwide offer decorative painting as undergraduate and graduate degrees. Students who finish these courses become professional decorative painters and top-notch artists.

For more information and tips on Decorative Painting visit, http://decorativepainting.com

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A ground or support is any kind of surface you can paint on. The choice of ground is in quite important because it determines in part how your painting will be perceived by the viewer.

Your support must satisfy a minimum of conditions. It must accept the paint well (i.e., the paint must stick in one stroke) without absorbing too much of the pigment.

The least expensive oil painting ground is treated paper. It is very useful for practice and even for doing certain commercial work. You can also buy canvas pads. These pads usually contain 10 sheets of medium tooth 5-oz cotton canvas that has been triple-primed with acrylic gesso. The tooth of paper or canvas is the degree of roughness or smoothness of the canvas. You can tape the oil paper or canvas pad paper to a drawing board. Make sure it is secure and does not shift when applying brushstrokes.
 
Next in line are the popular canvas boards or panels which are sheets of cardboard covered with inexpensive white painted cloth. These panels are very popularity because they are inexpensive (particularly when bought in bulk), easy to store, and easy to carry outdoors. They are however not permanent, i.e., they will deteriorate over time.

Good results can also be obtained from un-tempered Masonite or 3-ply chipboard prepared with three coats of gesso on the front and one coat on the back to prevent warping.

You can also use so-called museum board which is on the order of good-quality mat board. This board is quit absorbent but is inexpensive to practice on.

The ultimate ground for oil painting is canvas stretched over a wooden frame. It has wonderful elasticity and resilience, and history has shown that it has very good permanence. Canvas is of course more expensive but when you’re ready this will be your ground of choice and you’ll never want to go back to anything else.
 
You can buy commercially pre-stretched canvas. In fact, there are plenty of brands, sizes, weights, and qualities to choose from. Only experience will teach you which type of canvas is best suited to your style and subject matter.

Canvas cloth is either cotton or linen. The finest canvas and most expensive is made of linen, which stretches better and has a better tooth. Cotton can be a bit difficult to prime.

Look for cloth with an even weave. The canvas texture can be tightly woven and smooth to fairly coarse with an open weave. That means the tooth of the canvas can be fine or coarse and anything in-between.

If you paint a lot, even commercially pre-stretched canvas can become expensive. If so, you can buy rolls of primed or unprimed (raw) canvas. Then with stretcher bars you can create a support of a certain size. If you bought unprimed canvas, you still have to prime the canvas with an oil-based primer.

To save money you may be tempted to work on small canvases. This is not recommended. Unless you are an experienced artist, working on a small ground can easily result in tight, overly controlled paintings. So use supports of at least 16″ x 20″.

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If you’re looking to improve your oil painting techniques, watercolor painting or acrylic painting skills, then painting book is one painter’s secret to getting professional art academy training like training institutions. Painting books has distilled into simple, step-by-step self-study art instruction that you can work on in the comfort of your own home.

The main goal of painting book is to provide you with quality self-study oil painting techniques, watercolor painting, and acrylic painting instruction that are equivalent to many college and academy level fine art program costing thousands of dollars at a fraction of the cost.

Online site is also referable to know about the oil painting techniques, watercolor painting, or acrylic painting art instruction. You will get all the guidance step by step for every type of painting. Painting book can also buy online which is more convenient for anyone as you don’t have to visit any stores and search for the painting book which you are looking for.

Similar art instruction on oil painting techniques, watercolor painting, or acrylic painting at one of the larger art institutions will cost you more.

Online painting books have complete points in which you get all the information and written material on oil painting techniques and watercolor painting techniques. If you buy one of the packages, you get even more savings for a cost of only per course unit. Today only get your painting book and start your painting with all the technical guidance.

Anna Josephs is a freelance journalist having experience of many years writing articles and news releases on various topics such as pet health, automobile and social issues. She also has great interest in poetry and paintings, hence she likes to write on these subjects as well. Currently writing for this website Painting Book . For more details please contact at annajosephs@gmail.com

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