Conservation and restoration of paintings

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https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Conservation_and_restoration_of_paintings 

 

Paintings conservation laboratory, Heritage Conservation Centre, Singapore

The conservation and restoration of paintings is carried out by professional painting conservators. Paintings cover a wide range of various mediums, materials, and their supports (i.e. the painted surface made from fabric, paper, wood panel, fabricated board, or other). Painting types include fine art to decorative and functional objects spanning from acrylics, frescoes, and oil paint on various surfaces, egg tempera on panels and canvas, lacquer painting, water color and more. Knowing the materials of any given painting and its support allows for the proper restoration and conservation practices. All components of a painting will react to its environment differently, and impact the artwork as a whole. These material components along with collections care (also known as preventive conservation) will determine the longevity of a painting. The first steps to conservation and restoration is preventive conservation followed by active restoration with the artist's intent in mind.

Basic care

Typical, traditional oil, acrylic, and many other types of paintings are made up of various different types of materials, from their paint layers to the materials that make up their supports. Each of these materials requires specific care in handling, displaying, storage, added protective measures, and general environmental conditions. Providing the proper care to each of these materials ensures that the overall condition of the painting is protected.

Backing boards

Using good protective measures such as attaching a rigid backing to a painting on canvas provides several protections. It reduces the effects of rapid changes in relative humidity around the painting, provides some protection from pressure or direct contact against the canvas back, and protects from vibrations caused by handling or moving. Backing boards also serve to protect from dust and dirt, cracks and deformations from handling, and insect activity. Some of the most commonly used types of backing boards include foam core, heritage board, matboard, cardboard/millboard, coroplast, corrugated plastic sheets, acrylic sheeting, mylar, and fabric.

Framing

The frames around paintings are not just for aesthetic appearances. Frames are also used to protect the more sensitive parts of a painting when handled by hand, and they reduce the potential for damage if the painting is dropped. There are also specialists that work on the conservation and restoration of painting frames.

Handling and moving

The movement of objects places an object at a much greater risk of damage than when it is on display or in storage. Certain techniques and equipment are used any time an art work needs to be transported. These techniques and equipment include using padding lifts and dollies, moving small, fragile objects on carts instead of carrying by hand; lifting objects from underneath by their sturdiest part; and taking extra time and care when on ladders or stairs. In many cases gloves are worn to protect the art work from any dirt or oil that may be on a conservator or object handlers hands. When handling canvas paintings specifically, never presume that the frame is stable and firmly attached. Do not lift or carry a painting by its stretcher bar, or insert your fingers between the stretcher bar and the canvas.

Display and storage

It is estimated that a lack of proper routine maintenance and care is responsible for 95 percent of conservation treatments; the remaining 5 percent results from mishandling objects When developing display and storage methods for works of art, issues regarding relative humidity, temperature, light, pollutants, and pests need to be considered. Location and the types of storage units must be considered as well. Storage areas should be located in areas away from pipes and heating systems, as well as out of areas that are likely to flood and collect dust and dirt. Storage units should be sturdy, adjustable for collections growth so all collections sizes are safely stored, made of materials that will not cause any damage to the paintings (i.e. metal racks), and be free of any hardware or supports that stick out.

Causes of deterioration

Moisture, heat, light, pollutants, and pests can slowly or suddenly cause damage to a painting. These agents of deterioration impact all of the components that make up a painting in various ways.

Relative humidity and temperature

Too low or too high relative humidity (RH) as well as rapid changes in relative humidity can be damaging to paintings. According to the Canadian Conservation Institute, there are four types of incorrect relative humidity: dampness over 75% RH, RH above or below a critical value for that object, RH above 0%, and RH fluctuations. "Generally accepted temperature and relative humidity standards for most museum objects and artifacts are 65°-70° F (18°-21° C) at 47%-55% RH." The best method of controlling the environment is by using a centralized climate control or HVAC system where incoming air is washed, cleaned, heated, or cooled, adjusted to specific conditions, and then injected into the storage space. An appropriate alternative is a localized climate control system where air conditioners cool the air and absorb some of its moisture while filtering out gross particles. They do not condition the air, nor do they filter air pollutants.

Light

Both visible and ultraviolet light can cause damage to paintings. In particular, organic materials such as paper, fabric, wood, leather, and colored surfaces. "Fugitive dyes and colorants used in paints will eventually discolor under exposure to ultraviolet light. The fading of pigments and dyes in paintings will affect the color balance of the image." Damage from natural and artificial light exposure can be mitigated by displaying paintings out of direct sunlight, use of blinds, shades, curtains, or shudders, filters on nearby windows, installing dimmers and appropriate wattage light bulbs, and displaying paintings a safe distance from a light source to limit heat exposure.

Pollutants

Pollutants can be described as gasses, aerosols, liquids, or solids that have a chemical reaction with any part of a painting. There are three types of pollutants. Airborne pollutants, pollutants transferred by contact, and intrinsic pollutants.

Airborne pollutants which originate from atmospheric sources (ozone, hydrogen sulfide, sulfur dioxide, soot, salts), or emissive products, objects, and people (sulfur-based gases, organic acids, lint, and dander). Their effects can include acidification of papers, corrosion of metals, discoloration of colorants, and efflorescence of calcium-based objects.

Pollutants transferred by contact include plasticizer from PVC, sulfur compounds from natural rubber, staining materials from wood, viscous compounds from old polyurethane foams, fatty acids from people or from greasy objects, and impregnation of residue of cleaning agents. The effects of these pollutants can include discoloration or corrosion of a paintings surface.

Intrinsic pollutants are composite objects that have compounds that are harmful to other parts of an object. The effects of these pollutants includes deterioration of the object, acidification, discoloration or staining on an object, speed up degradation processes caused by oxygen, water vapor, or other pollutants.

Pests

Pests such as rodents and insects have the potential to cause considerable damage to works of art. Preventive measures that may be taken to protect paintings from pests include upgrading building structures to obstruct pest entry, installing better cabinetry with good seals, better control of temperature and humidity in collections and storage areas, keeping food and other organic materials from collection areas, and treatment of outbreaks. Materials that are commonly damaged by pests include: natural fibers, wood, paper, starch adhesives, and egg tempera.

Painting mediums and preventive conservation

Acrylic paintings

Acrylic Paintings were introduced in the 1950s and the material differs from oil paint in chemical and physical properties. There are two types of Acrylic paints used in acrylic paintings. There is solvent-based and water-based. Solvent-based acrylic paints are soluble in mineral spirits, and water-based acrylic paints are water-soluble. Acrylic paint differs from oil paint in both its quick drying time, and how the paint dries. Acrylic paint dries in as little as thirty minutes, and dries by the evaporation of solvent of water.

"Il Mio Unicerso" X0385UNAT

Preventive conservation

Acrylic paintings require attentive preventive care. Due to the soft nature of the paint attracts and hold dirt and debris creating difficulty when cleaning resulting in darkening colors over time. Due to the characteristic of acrylic paint, varnishes will diminish top layers of the paint and effect the colors vibrancy. Storage of acrylic paintings should be clean and free of dust and heat- below room temperature is best as it will reduce further softening of the top layer of the paint. Exposing acrylic paintings to temperatures ranging near sub zero will case damaging cracking. Acrylic paint is highly susceptible to mold growth. This is a growing concern for artists and conservators as removal causes some degree of damage to the original paint.

Conservation and restoration methods

Preventive care seems to be the best method of conservation. However, after more than 10 years of investigation, conservators are now better able to understand the risks of swelling, extraction, and gloss changes that are associated with surface cleaning treatments. Wet cleaning systems are now being developed that help to minimize the risks associated with cleaning acrylic paints.

Blacklight or fluorescent/luminous paintings

Black Light or Luminous Paint is typically made up of fluorescent dyes mixed into paint. These dyes are not a typical dye, but rather a pigment that is suspended in a carrier or resin. This pigment is what gives off a glow when exposed to ultraviolet light. This glow or light is created by the energy that is released from the pigment. While the fluorescent paint layers reflect light, the paint layer darkens over time and decreases in fluorescence.

Preventive conservation

The intensity of fluorescent paints can decline quite rapidly, making it difficult for conservators to care for. This is because the brightening agent that is mixed into the paint is not stable. Some fluorescent paintings can only be displayed in the dark with UV-lights. These requirements can make choosing appropriate lighting and exhibition and storage space for preventive conservation challenging. For fluorescent paintings that are displayed in dark rooms with UV lights, it is recommended to have an automatic lighting system.

Conservation and restoration methods

Conserving . The age of the fluorescent pigments must be determined in order to develop a close matching pigment use for retouching. A painting can lose its effect under UV-light if the retouches and fillings are not closely matched and are too light or too dark.

Egg Tempera

Egg Tempera is made up of egg yolk, water, and pigment. These ingredients are mixed together to create a thick paste that dries quickly, but can take six to twelve months before it completely cures. Egg Tempera's fast drying property makes it difficult to correct or revise.

Sandro Botticelli - La nascita di Venere - Google Art Project - edited

Preventive conservation

Tempera paintings have many of the same problems of condition and conservation as other painting mediums. These include changes in the work due to unstable and fugitive pigments. The aging of a paintings supports and ground will also impact the paint layer. For example, cracks can form in a gesso ground due to the embrittlement and movement of its support, then become visible in the paint film.

Tempera can develop cracks over time that are visible to the naked eye, and flaking caused by air bubbles. Tempera paintings are thought to be more resistant to materials typically used during cleanings. However, they are susceptible to abrasions from routine dusting, washings, and removal of old varnish layers.

Conservation and restoration methods

The paint surfaces of many tempera paintings have become abraded, most likely from routine dusting and cleanings. It is unclear how tempera paintings were originally varnished due to the need for sensitive methods of analysis. Modern tempera paintings are almost always unvarnished and more prone to mold attacks.

Enamel

Enamel paints, not to be confused with vitreous enamel, are nitro-cellulose based paints originally designed for commercial use, but have also been used in artist's paintings such as Jackson Pollock and Pablo Picasso. Enamel paints are oil, latex, alkyd, and water based. This paint dries rapidly and has a glossy finish once dry.

R Bampton Coach Painting & Carriage Lining enamel advert at the Louwman museum

Preventive conservation

Like all painting mediums, enamel is subject to damage from improper handling and environmental stressors. Jackson Pollock's Mural for example was subjected to several moves, likely having been rolled and unrolled each time. These moves may have taken a toll on its condition. The paint flaked, and the original stretcher weakened causing the painting to have a noticeable sag. Another of Jackson Pollock's paintings, Echo, endured yellowing at the top of the canvas due to strong museum display lights.

Conservation and restoration methods

Conservation treatments can take the form of adhering a lining to the canvas with wax-resin to the reverse side, replacing the painting's original stretcher, and varnishing the painting. In Jackson Pollock's Echo, solvents were used to remove a thin layer of the canvas to even out the work's coloring.

Encaustic

Encaustic is a method of painting that involves dry pigments mixed with hot beeswax, then applied to the surface of a support such as wood or canvas. A completed painting is then finished by taking a source of heat to reheat the surface and fuse it together. Encaustic paintings do not require a varnish, are resistant to moisture, and do not yellow.

Mummy portrait of a girl, AD 120–150, Roman Egypt, wax encaustic painting on sycamore wood, Liebieghaus, Frankfurt am Main (14304151412)

Preventive conservation

Encaustic paintings are considered very durable. However, the waxes used in encaustic paints can soften or melt above certain temperatures. This may cause the upper layers to slide or detach and cause irreversible damage. Controlling the light, temperature, and humidity levels can prevent this type of damage from occurring.

Conservation and restoration methods

Surface cleaning on encaustic paintings can typically be done with distilled water and swabs is sufficient. For more challenging cleanings, solutions made of beeswax and carbon tetrachloride can be used. One of the biggest challenges in treating encaustic paintings is identifying the different waxes used to determine the appropriate treatments. Infra-red photography and gas chromotography can be used to identify the various types of waxes.

Frescos

Frescos are types of mural paintings where the pigment is painted directly into a fresh lime mortar surface. These types of paintings are susceptible to damage from vandalism, time, environmental stressors, and climate changes. Frescos, like most works of cultural heritage, have specific climate parameters for preservation. Humidity and water damage cause mold to develop. The mold aspergillus versicolor can grow on frescos and consume nutrients effectively causing pigment discoloration and wall detachment from rot.

A restorer filling the gaps of the damaged frescos in the crypt of Saint Eustorgio church in Milan, Italy.

Preventive conservation

Ideally, buildings with frescos would be outfitted with central air with humidity adjusting features to keep the paintings in a cool and dry environment with low humidity. Frescos can be found typically in old churches and other ancient structures such as temples and tombs. These types of structures can be limited with additional means like environmental controls. Deterioration of frescos can be caused by environmental pollutants. These pollutants can be physical, chemical, or biological. The many layers can deteriorate from the materials chemical compositions reacting to pollutants or environmental conditions such as humidity, temperature, light, and pH.

Chemical Degradation- Evident with pigment discoloration, stains, and the presence of biofilm.

Physical Degradation- Evident with cracking of layers.

Conservation and restoration methods

Frescos can be repaired by methods of detaching sections of the fresco. Surface repairs for frescos can be less invasive. Conservators can remedy cracks and minor detachments of frescos with injections of epoxy resin containing micronized silica and lime putty.

Lacquer

There are a variety of lacquers that have been, and continue to be used such as Urushi (unprocessed lacquer), Guangqi (processed), Nitrocellulose, lacquers with acrylic resins, and water-based lacquers, but the most well known lacqueris Urushi lacquer. This lacquer paint is made from raw lacquer or sap taken from trees. It is then heated, filtered, and applied in thin layers to supports such as wood or metal. The lacquer is left to cure before it is polished, and another layer is added. The number of layers may vary, and each can be left in its natural transparent state, or colored with pigments to create Lacquer painting.

Lacquer painting over wood, Northern Wei

Preventive conservation

While lacquer is a hard material, it is best to first prevent damage and loss by maintaining proper environmental conditions. Lacquer is susceptible to cracks and loose joins from fluctuating temperatures and relative humidity. Extended exposure to light can also cause lacquer to lose its durability. Over exposure can also cause discoloration and loss of lustre. Avoiding exposure to unfiltered daylight and fluorescent lamps can help to prevent this type of damamge. Temperatures should be kept as low and consistent as possible to avoid changes in relative humidity which can cause condensation. Condensation can cause shrinkage and swelling in the wood that he lacquer is applied to.

Conservation and restoration methods

Treatments to lacquer paintings may include consolidation and repair work before or after cleaning. Consolidation can be used to repair cupping and flaking.

Oil paintings

Oil paint is a medium made up of pigments and a drying oil binding agent. Various other ingredients can be mixed in to condition the paint in several ways and modify its various properties and drying.  Oil paintings are painted on various surface support types. Oil on canvas, oil on board, and oil on metal are only some examples of oil paintings on various surfaces. Oil paintings are susceptible to damage from vandalism, time, improper handling, environmental stressors and temperature changes.

Restored Painting- oil on canvas; by Bartolomeo Better; Italian. 17th-Century.

They are also susceptible to damage in low relative humid conditions, and fluctuations can create stresses in the paint layers.

Preventive conservation

Preventive care for oil paintings is essential for preservation. Excessive light with heat can cause fading to pigments. Proper storage with climate and lighting controls are important especially depending on the support structure. The wooden stretcher behind an oil painting on canvas will expand and contract with moisture causing possible buckling of the canvas and cracking, flaking, or shattering of the paint. Paintings should be stored off the ground in case of flooding. Moisture and water damage can cause mold to develop along with various other issues depending on the materials involved: rot (natural materials), rusting (in metals), warping (of wooden supports), etc.

Conservation and restoration methods

Treatment methods may include rejoining split wooden panels, mending torn fabric, or consolidating lifting paint flakes. Cleaning old and yellowing varnish, and revarnish the painting.

Pastels

There are two types of Pastels. Pastels that are made of pigment particles bound together with a binding agent, and oil pastels that have pigments mixed with wax and non-drying oil. Pastels that are pigment particles bound together take on a more chalky and loose powdery characterization, and are secured to its supports using fixative or diluted resin in solution. Oil pastels never fully dry, and are sensitive to scrapes, dust and dirt.

Double Portrait by Francis Cotes, pastel, Speed Art Museum

Preventive conservation

In general, works of art on paper should be stored in a cool and relatively dry room with minimal exposure to light. Pastel artworks should be matted and framed. Framing should be under ultraviolet filtering acrylic sheeting. Using a glaze over the surface of the oil pastel works can help to protect the oil pastel from damage. Limited exhibition time and low light intensity is recommended to limit light exposure. Excessive light exposure can cause pigment fading and discoloration in the paper.

Conservation and restoration methods

Preventive conservation is key. Some damage to works of art on paper is irreversible, but there are some methods of restoration that can be used to treat damages such as structural tension in the paper created by previous restoration treatments. This may include removal of the secondary and adhering a new support or even an internal cardboard support.

Watercolor and gouache

Water color and Gouache paintings are pigments mixed into water-soluble gums that are applied onto paper or rigid board supports. Due to its thin washes and light colors, watercolor paintings are very light sensitive. Also, due to their exposed support they are vulnerable to damage from dirt, dust, and pollutants. Gouache paintings can form layers like acrylic and oil paint, but is still vulnerable to the same agents of deterioration as watercolors.

Landscape with Herd of Buffalo on the Upper Missouri. Watercolor by Karl Bodmer 1833

Preventive conservation

Damage to Watercolor and Gouache paintings can be prevented and mitigated by maintaining temperature and relative humidity within acceptable ranges, and low light conditions. As with pastel works, watercolor and gouache paintings should be mounted and framed. Damage that may occur are disfiguring brown spots from mold growth, paper turning brown and brittle from cardboard supports, yellow stains from adhesive tapes, and cockling and undulations.

Conservation and restoration methods

Some treatments to watercolor works may include a washing treatment to remove discoloration from acidic mounts, tapes, and adhesives. Stains from these products can also be treated with solvents. Tears and losses can be repaired with products such as wheat starch paste or methyl cellulose, and weakened paper can be strengthened by attaching a lining.

Scroll and screen paintings

Scroll Paintings, Hanging and Hand, and screen paintings are made of ink, color, pigment, silk and paper. Scroll paintings often are multiple layers of paper and silk attached to wooden bars called a stave and dowel. Screens are often single panels that are joined together by paper hinges that fold into each other like an accordion.

Japanese Arhat Painting

Preventive conservation

Scrolls and Screens are vulnerable to damage from fluctuations in temperature and humidity. Exposure to light for extended periods of time can cause silk and pigments to fade, and paper to darken. Glazes and films that filter ultraviolet light can help to prevent damage from UV radiation. Creases and abrasions may also form on scroll paintings from repeated rolling and unrolling, squeezing the scroll or tying the cord too tight. Screens can become distorted from uneven tension between the back and front side panels.

Conservation and restoration methods

Conservation treatments require significant research as the variations in technique and materials among Asian scroll and screen paintings is great. In general some types of conservation treatments that may be conducted on scroll paintings and screens include remounting, consolidation of pignments, removing old backings, and in-painting and retouching. In-painting and retouching materials for scrolls and screens is not reversible. In-painting and retouches should only be done on losses or fills. Inpainted areas can darken due to losses that have a heavy concentration of animal gelatin/alum for inpainting.

Painting supports and preventive conservation

The material that makes up the support can have a major impact on the overall deterioration of an artwork, it can also determine the best method for handling, storing, and displaying an object.

Architectural structures (i.e. walls & ceilings)

Architectural Structures such as walls and ceilings are typical supports for fresco and mural style paintings. Preserving the both the paint layer and the support (wall) is crucial. Regular maintenance of the building and structure is necessary to safeguarding wall paintings. Monitoring environmental conditions, limiting visitor access, and temporary closures to public access can be used to help preserve the paintings. Conservation treatments may take the form of reconstruction using traditional materials and techniques, and complete or partial coverings with protective layers.

Canvas

Canvas, typically made from Linen, hemp, jute, burlap, and cotton, is often stretched onto a wooden frame called a stretcher. Canvas can also come in the form of canvas board. As with all parts of a painting, deterioration is inevitable. Re-lining or lining treatments was used to added support to the original canvas until it was determined that it created more damage. Strip-lining is now used instead. Strip-lining involves reinforcing tacking that has weakened. Tears in the canvas are repaired with adhesive or sewing.

Ceramics

Ceramics vary widely in their construction, style, and use. There are three types of ceramic objects. They are earthenware, stoneware, and porcelain. Each of these types of ceramic objects are fired at different degrees and come in different colors.

The materials used in their construction are often a clay body, and some times mixed with sand, shell, chalk, mica, and ground-up fired ceramics. The surface of these ceramic objects are finished with glaze and fired in a number of ways. Decorations with gold, paint or enamel are applied over the glaze. These overglaze decorations are susceptible to abrasions or chemical damage from cleaning and handling. A ceramic object is also vulnerable to weeping and crizzling from fluctuations in relative humidity and temperature.

Cloth or textiles

Cloth or textiles are typically made from natural fibers such as wool, silk, cotton, linen, and hemp. However, some textiles more recently have been created with modified natural fibers such as Rayon. Textiles can make up many different objects from cushions to dresses. All with varying degrees and types of degradation. Light typically causes dyes to fade, and some fibers (silk) are more sensitive to physical damage from light. Low light levels are recommended to prevent damage. Mold and mildew caused by high levels of humidity and improper storage can cause irreversible damage. Damage can be mitigated with proper relative humidity levels and storing of textiles in acid-free tissue or clean cotton sheets. Textiles are especially vulnerable to attacks from pests such as moths and silverfish.

Glass

Paintings on Glass are particularly challenging for conservation because first the fragile nature of glass, and second the smooth surface of glass that makes it difficult for paint to adhere to the surface. Glass objects are not subject to the same vulnerability to environmental conditions as other types of paintings, but are most susceptible to damage from improper handling and inappropriate cleaning methods.

Ivory

Paintings on ivory are typically small, and the most commonly used paints were (watercolor, tempera, and gouache) directly on the surface of the ivory. The ivory was usually thin, translucent in appearance, and typically attached to a secondary support made of paper or card. Miniatures of these designs were frequently sealed in metal lockets or cases. The paint on the surface of ivory is very delicate and can be easily rubbed off, small amounts of water (breath, condensation or residues from cleaning) can affect the image. Ivory is also very sensitive to environmental changes. Ivory supports can be prone susceptible to warping and splitting from fluctuations in relative humidity.

Metal

Metal Various types of metal plates have been used as supports for paintings. These include: "silver, tin leaf, iron with tin on either side, copper, or copper coated with silver, tin, lead, or zinc. Enamel paint has been used on copper, but typically oil paint was used on metal supports. Metal does not respond to changes in relative humidity by expanding and contracting. However, metal can corrode over time staining paint or creating eruptions and flake in the paint. It is also susceptible to physical deterioration such as dents, tears, and scratches.

Outdoor murals

Outdoor Murals are typically painted on cementitious materials. As the paintings are located outside, they are subjected to harsh environmental conditions. Some of the damages that murals are subjected to are graffiti, cracking, changes in color, and fading from UV radiation. Research is being conducted to determine reversibility, and UV barrier coatings.

Paper

Works of art on paper range from watercolor paintings, prints, posters, and drawings using a variety of media from watercolor, charcoal, pastels, and colored inks. Due to the fibers in its construction, paper is vulnerable to various types of damage. Paper is easily torn, creased, or stained during handling. When exposed to light colors fade and the paper itself can discolor too. Works of art like watercolors and Japanese prints are especially vulnerable to fading. High relative humidity can cause paper to swell making it appear wavy or winkled. When exposed to long periods of high humidity, mold can form.

Wood

Wooden supports depending on what kind of object they are used for are made from hard and soft woods. Some types of woods that artists use are poplar, beech, spruce, pine, chestnut, cherry, mahogany, and cypress. Wooden supports are susceptible to several kinds of deterioration. These include insect infestation, fluctuations in humidity/temperature causing warping and cracking, and structural damages. Cradling was previously used to correct warping by thinning the original structural support and then adhering the cradle to the reverse side of the support. However, it has become widely understood that cradling can be harmful to the paint and ground layers. Conservators today instead work to preserve what remains of the wood support rather than making corrections.

Material combination issues

Conservation treatments and processes

After determining an artworks condition, stability, history of previous restoration, and documenting and photographing the examination, future conservation treatments can be determined. The results of conservation treatments often yield a more "stable paint layer and support, more appropriate aesthetic presentation through cleaning, and a more unified paintings through the reintegration of the paint losses. It is not possible to restore a painting to its original form, but with careful preservation, documentation and restoration, conservators can help to extend the life expectancy of a painting." These treatments depend on the materials that make up an artwork. They can include:

Consolidation

Securing areas of loose paint with adhesive.

Cleaning

Removing or reducing "dirt, grime, discolored varnish, and retouching with solvent mixtures or mechanical means."

Facing

Securing the paint layer with tissue and adhesive before corrective structural procedures.

Transferring

Involves removing the original canvas or wood support, leaving the paint and/or ground layer, and re adhering the layers to a new support.

Cradling

Cradling involves applying a wood latticework on the backside of a panel painting to prevent warping. Before cradling, the wood support is typically thinned.

Lining

The lining of paintings involves adhering a new canvas to the reverse side of the original canvases for added support.

Lining Removal

Removing the old lining of a canvas because the adhesive has failed and resulted in delamination between the original canvas and the lining canvas.

Varnishing

Applying "saturating varnish of either a synthetic resin or a stabilized natural resin varnish."

Filling

Adding "putty-like material to areas of paint loss."

Inpainting

Inpainting is applying synthetic or natural resin medium restoration paints to areas of paint loss to restore the "visual unity" of the painting.

Scientific tools used

Conservators need to analyze the inner layers of paintings and their support to identify pigments and unstable layers. They use various tools for types of imaging to disguise materials and damages.

Multispectral imaging

Multispectral imaging is the capture of a single image viewed in different wavelengths. For imaging purposes of conservation, paintings are recorded in the wavelengths: ultraviolet (UV), visible (VIS) and infrared (IR).

VIS- Visible Light- The photo image visible to the naked eye representing the actual colors of the painting.

RAK-Raking Light- Lighting the painting from the sides to show the small cracks and surface texture clearly.

UVF- Ultraviolet Fluorescence- Lighting the painting with ultraviolet radiation to resulting in fluorescent glowing from the varnishes and previous conservation.

IRR-Infrared Reflectography- when the painting is exposed to infrared radiation and its reflection is recorded. The underpainting or drawing of the painting will become visible with IR radiation.

IRFC- Infrared False Color- When the visible image and infrared image are overlapped to view the areas of different material usage and retouches.

IRF-Infrared Fluorescence- The painting is exposed to both visible light and infrared light causing particular pigments to fluoresce revealing the chemicals and types of paint used.

IRTR- Infrared Transmitted- The painting is flooded with infrared radiation and the verso of the painting transmits radiation. The image taken of the verso will show underdrawings and alterations made by the artist.

Instruments

• Digital Camera (high quality)- can capture visible light and UV and sometimes IR images with filters.
• Infrared Sensitive Camera- to capture longer wavelengths

X-Ray radiology

X-rays are often taken to detect areas of various heavy metals found in paint such as lead, tin, mercuric sulfide.

X-Ray fluorescence

X-Ray Fluorescence is a technique used to identify the chemical composition of the materials used to make the paint.

Scanning macro-XRF & neutron activation autoradiography (NAAR)

Scanning techniques that images with element specific characters that are able to reveal underlying paint layers

Terahertz imaging

Terahertz imaging is able to show hidden layers and reveal defects like delamination and void, highlight previous restorations like relining and can be used before restoration.

Painting

From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Painting 

The Mona Lisa (1503-1517) by Leonardo da Vinci is one of the world's most recognizable paintings.

 

An artistic depiction of a group of rhinos was made in the Chauvet Cave 30,000 to 32,000 years ago.

Painting is the practice of applying paint, pigment, color or other medium to a solid surface (called the "matrix" or "support"). The medium is commonly applied to the base with a brush, but other implements, such as knives, sponges, and airbrushes, can be used.

In art, the term painting describes both the act and the result of the action (the final work is called "a painting"). The support for paintings includes such surfaces as walls, paper, canvas, wood, glass, lacquer, pottery, leaf, copper and concrete, and the painting may incorporate multiple other materials, including sand, clay, paper, plaster, gold leaf, and even whole objects.

Painting is an important form in the visual arts, bringing in elements such as drawing, composition, gesture (as in gestural painting), narration (as in narrative art), and abstraction. Paintings can be naturalistic and representational (as in still life and landscape painting), photographic, abstract, narrative, symbolistic (as in Symbolist art), emotive (as in Expressionism), and/or political in nature (as in Artivism).

A portion of the history of painting in both Eastern and Western art is dominated by religious art. Examples of this kind of painting range from artwork depicting mythological figures on pottery, to Biblical scenes on the Sistine Chapel ceiling, to scenes from the life of Buddha (or other images of Eastern religious origin).

Elements of painting

Chen Hongshou (1598–1652), Leaf album painting (Ming dynasty)

 

Georges Seurat, Circus Sideshow (French: Parade de cirque) (1887–88)

Color and tone

Color, made up of hue, saturation, and value, dispersed over a surface is the essence of painting, just as pitch and rhythm are the essence of music. Color is highly subjective, but has observable psychological effects, although these can differ from one culture to the next. Black is associated with mourning in the West, but in the East, white is. Some painters, theoreticians, writers, and scientists, including Goethe, Kandinsky, and Newton, have written their own color theory.

Moreover, the use of language is only an abstraction for a color equivalent. The word "red", for example, can cover a wide range of variations from the pure red of the visible spectrum of light. There is not a formalized register of different colors in the way that there is agreement on different notes in music, such as F or C♯. For a painter, color is not simply divided into basic (primary) and derived (complementary or mixed) colors (like red, blue, green, brown, etc.).

Painters deal practically with pigments, so "blue" for a painter can be any of the blues: phthalocyanine blue, Prussian blue, indigo, Cobalt blue, ultramarine, and so on. Psychological and symbolical meanings of color are not, strictly speaking, means of painting. Colors only add to the potential, derived context of meanings, and because of this, the perception of a painting is highly subjective. The analogy with music is quite clear—sound in music (like a C note) is analogous to "light" in painting, "shades" to dynamics, and "coloration" is to painting as the specific timbre of musical instruments is to music. These elements do not necessarily form a melody (in music) of themselves; rather, they can add different contexts to it.

Non-traditional elements

Modern artists have extended the practice of painting considerably to include, as one example, collage, which began with Cubism and is not painting in the strict sense. Some modern painters incorporate different materials such as metal, plastic, sand, cement, straw, leaves or wood for their texture. Examples of this are the works of Jean Dubuffet and Anselm Kiefer. There is a growing community of artists who use computers to "paint" color onto a digital "canvas" using programs such as Adobe Photoshop, Corel Painter, and many others. These images can be printed onto traditional canvas if required.

Rhythm

Jean Metzinger, La danse (Bacchante) (c.1906), oil on canvas, 73 x 54 cm, Kröller-Müller Museum

Jean Metzinger's mosaic-like Divisionist technique had its parallel in literature; a characteristic of the alliance between Symbolist writers and Neo-Impressionist artists:

I ask of divided brushwork not the objective rendering of light, but iridescences and certain aspects of color still foreign to painting. I make a kind of chromatic versification and for syllables, I use strokes which, variable in quantity, cannot differ in dimension without modifying the rhythm of a pictorial phraseology destined to translate the diverse emotions aroused by nature. (Jean Metzinger, circa 1907)

Piet Mondrian, Composition en rouge, jaune, bleu et noir (1921), Gemeentemuseum Den Haag

Rhythm, for artists such as Piet Mondrian, is important in painting as it is in music. If one defines rhythm as "a pause incorporated into a sequence", then there can be rhythm in paintings. These pauses allow creative force to intervene and add new creations—form, melody, coloration. The distribution of form or any kind of information is of crucial importance in the given work of art, and it directly affects the aesthetic value of that work. This is because the aesthetic value is functionality dependent, i.e. the freedom (of movement) of perception is perceived as beauty. Free flow of energy, in art as well as in other forms of "techne", directly contributes to the aesthetic value.

Music was important to the birth of abstract art since music is abstract by nature—it does not try to represent the exterior world, but expresses in an immediate way the inner feelings of the soul. Wassily Kandinsky often used musical terms to identify his works; he called his most spontaneous paintings "improvisations" and described more elaborate works as "compositions". Kandinsky theorized that "music is the ultimate teacher," and subsequently embarked upon the first seven of his ten Compositions. Hearing tones and chords as he painted, Kandinsky theorized that (for example), yellow is the color of middle C on a brassy trumpet; black is the color of closure, and the end of things; and that combinations of colors produce vibrational frequencies, akin to chords played on a piano. In 1871 the young Kandinsky learned to play the piano and cello. Kandinsky's stage design for a performance of Mussorgsky's Pictures at an Exhibition illustrates his "synaesthetic" concept of a universal correspondence of forms, colors and musical sounds.

Music defines much of modernist abstract painting. Jackson Pollock underscores that interest with his 1950 painting Autumn Rhythm (Number 30).

History

Prehistoric cave painting of aurochs (French: Bos primigenius primigenius) ), Lascaux, France

 

The oldest known figurative painting is a depiction of a bull that was discovered in the Lubang Jeriji Saléh cave in Indonesia. It was painted 40,000 years ago or earlier.

Until 2018, the oldest known paintings were believed to be about 32,000 years old, at the Grotte Chauvet in France. They are engraved and painted using red ochre and black pigment, and they show horses, rhinoceros, lions, buffalo, mammoth, abstract designs and what are possibly partial human figures. Cave paintings were then found in Indonesia in the Lubang Jeriji Saléh cave believed to be 40,000 years old. However, the earliest evidence of the act of painting has been discovered in two rock-shelters in Arnhem Land, in northern Australia. In the lowest layer of material at these sites, there are used pieces of ochre estimated to be 60,000 years old. Archaeologists have also found a fragment of rock painting preserved in a limestone rock-shelter in the Kimberley region of North-Western Australia, that is dated 40,000 years old. There are examples of cave paintings all over the world—in Italy, France, Spain, Portugal, China, Australia, Mexico, etc. In Western cultures, oil painting and watercolor painting have rich and complex traditions in style and subject matter. In the East, ink and color ink historically predominated the choice of media, with equally rich and complex traditions.

The invention of photography had a major impact on painting. In the decades after the first photograph was produced in 1829, photographic processes improved and became more widely practiced, depriving painting of much of its historic purpose to provide an accurate record of the observable world. A series of art movements in the late 19th and early 20th centuries—notably Impressionism, Post-Impressionism, Fauvism, Expressionism, Cubism, and Dadaism—challenged the Renaissance view of the world. Eastern and African painting, however, continued a long history of stylization and did not undergo an equivalent transformation at the same time.

Modern and Contemporary art has moved away from the historic value of craft and documentation in favour of concept. This has not deterred the majority of living painters from continuing to practice painting either as a whole or part of their work. The vitality and versatility of painting in the 21st century defy the previous "declarations" of its demise. In an epoch characterized by the idea of pluralism, there is no consensus as to a representative style of the age. Artists continue to make important works of art in a wide variety of styles and aesthetic temperaments—their merits are left to the public and the marketplace to judge.

Aesthetics and theory

Nino Pisano, Apelles or the Art of painting in detail (1334–1336); relief of the Giotto's Bell Tower in Florence, Italy

Aesthetics is the study of art and beauty; it was an important issue for 18th- and 19th-century philosophers such as Kant and Hegel. Classical philosophers like Plato and Aristotle also theorized about art and painting in particular. Plato disregarded painters (as well as sculptors) in his philosophical system; he maintained that painting cannot depict the truth—it is a copy of reality (a shadow of the world of ideas) and is nothing but a craft, similar to shoemaking or iron casting. By the time of Leonardo, painting had become a closer representation of the truth than painting was in Ancient Greece. Leonardo da Vinci, on the contrary, said that "Italian: La Pittura è cosa mentale" ("English: painting is a thing of the mind"). Kant distinguished between Beauty and the Sublime, in terms that clearly gave priority to the former. Although he did not refer to painting in particular, this concept was taken up by painters such as J.M.W. Turner and Caspar David Friedrich.

Hegel recognized the failure of attaining a universal concept of beauty and, in his aesthetic essay, wrote that painting is one of the three "romantic" arts, along with Poetry and Music, for its symbolic, highly intellectual purpose. Painters who have written theoretical works on painting include Kandinsky and Paul Klee. In his essay, Kandinsky maintains that painting has a spiritual value, and he attaches primary colors to essential feelings or concepts, something that Goethe and other writers had already tried to do.

Iconography is the study of the content of paintings, rather than their style. Erwin Panofsky and other art historians first seek to understand the things depicted, before looking at their meaning for the viewer at the time, and finally analyzing their wider cultural, religious, and social meaning.

In 1890, the Parisian painter Maurice Denis famously asserted: "Remember that a painting—before being a warhorse, a naked woman or some story or other—is essentially a flat surface covered with colors assembled in a certain order." Thus, many 20th-century developments in painting, such as Cubism, were reflections on the means of painting rather than on the external world—nature—which had previously been its core subject. Recent contributions to thinking about painting have been offered by the painter and writer Julian Bell. In his book What is Painting?, Bell discusses the development, through history, of the notion that paintings can express feelings and ideas. In Mirror of The World, Bell writes:

A work of art seeks to hold your attention and keep it fixed: a history of art urges it onwards, bulldozing a highway through the homes of the imagination.

Painting media

Different types of paint are usually identified by the medium that the pigment is suspended or embedded in, which determines the general working characteristics of the paint, such as viscosity, miscibility, solubility, drying time, etc.

Oil

Honoré Daumier, The Painter (1808–1879), oil on panel with visible brushstrokes

Oil painting is the process of painting with pigments that are bound with a medium of drying oil, such as linseed oil, which was widely used in early modern Europe. Often the oil was boiled with a resin such as pine resin or even frankincense; these were called 'varnishes' and were prized for their body and gloss. Oil paint eventually became the principal medium used for creating artworks as its advantages became widely known. The transition began with Early Netherlandish painting in northern Europe, and by the height of the Renaissance oil painting techniques had almost completely replaced tempera paints in the majority of Europe.

Pastel

Maurice Quentin de La Tour, Portrait of Louis XV of France (1748), pastel

Pastel is a painting medium in the form of a stick, consisting of pure powdered pigment and a binder. The pigments used in pastels are the same as those used to produce all colored art media, including oil paints; the binder is of a neutral hue and low saturation. The color effect of pastels is closer to the natural dry pigments than that of any other process. Because the surface of a pastel painting is fragile and easily smudged, its preservation requires protective measures such as framing under glass; it may also be sprayed with a fixative. Nonetheless, when made with permanent pigments and properly cared for, a pastel painting may endure unchanged for centuries. Pastels are not susceptible, as are paintings made with a fluid medium, to the cracking and discoloration that result from changes in the color, opacity, or dimensions of the medium as it dries.

Acrylic

Ray Burggraf, Jungle Arc (1998), acrylic paint on wood

Acrylic paint is fast drying paint containing pigment suspension in acrylic polymer emulsion. Acrylic paints can be diluted with water, but become water-resistant when dry. Depending on how much the paint is diluted (with water) or modified with acrylic gels, media, or pastes, the finished acrylic painting can resemble a watercolor or an oil painting, or have its own unique characteristics not attainable with other media. The main practical difference between most acrylics and oil paints is the inherent drying time. Oils allow for more time to blend colors and apply even glazes over under-paintings. This slow drying aspect of oil can be seen as an advantage for certain techniques, but may also impede the artist's ability to work quickly.

Watercolor

John Martin, Manfred on the Jungfrau (1837), watercolor

Watercolor is a painting method in which the paints are made of pigments suspended in a water-soluble vehicle. The traditional and most common support for watercolor paintings is paper; other supports include papyrus, bark papers, plastics, vellum or leather, fabric, wood and canvas. In East Asia, watercolor painting with inks is referred to as brush painting or scroll painting. In Chinese, Korean, and Japanese painting it has been the dominant medium, often in monochrome black or browns. India, Ethiopia and other countries also have long traditions. Finger-painting with watercolor paints originated in China. Watercolor pencils (water-soluble color pencils) may be used either wet or dry.

Ink

Sesshū Tōyō, Landscapes of the Four Seasons (1486), ink and light color on paper

Ink paintings are done with a liquid that contains pigments and/or dyes and is used to color a surface to produce an image, text, or design. Ink is used for drawing with a pen, brush, or quill. Ink can be a complex medium, composed of solvents, pigments, dyes, resins, lubricants, solubilizers, surfactants, particulate matter, fluorescers, and other materials. The components of inks serve many purposes; the ink's carrier, colorants, and other additives control flow and thickness of the ink and its appearance when dry.

Hot wax or encaustic

Encaustic icon from Saint Catherine's Monastery, Egypt (6th-century)

Encaustic painting, also known as hot wax painting, involves using heated beeswax to which colored pigments are added. The liquid/paste is then applied to a surface—usually prepared wood, though canvas and other materials are often used. The simplest encaustic mixture can be made from adding pigments to beeswax, but there are several other recipes that can be used—some containing other types of waxes, damar resin, linseed oil, or other ingredients. Pure, powdered pigments can be purchased and used, though some mixtures use oil paints or other forms of pigment. Metal tools and special brushes can be used to shape the paint before it cools, or heated metal tools can be used to manipulate the wax once it has cooled onto the surface. Other materials can be encased or collaged into the surface, or layered, using the encaustic medium to adhere it to the surface.

The technique was the normal one for ancient Greek and Roman panel paintings, and remained in use in the Eastern Orthodox icon tradition.

Fresco

White Angel (fresco), Mileševa, Serbia

Fresco is any of several related mural painting types, done on plaster on walls or ceilings. The word fresco comes from the Italian word affresco [afˈfresːko], which derives from the Latin word for fresh. Frescoes were often made during the Renaissance and other early time periods. Buon fresco technique consists of painting in pigment mixed with water on a thin layer of wet, fresh lime mortar or plaster, for which the Italian word for plaster, intonaco, is used. A secco painting, in contrast, is done on dry plaster (secco is "dry" in Italian). The pigments require a binding medium, such as egg (tempera), glue or oil to attach the pigment to the wall.

Gouache

Gouache is a water-based paint consisting of pigment and other materials designed to be used in an opaque painting method. Gouache differs from watercolor in that the particles are larger, the ratio of pigment to water is much higher, and an additional, inert, white pigment such as chalk is also present. This makes gouache heavier and more opaque, with greater reflective qualities. Like all watermedia, it is diluted with water.

Enamel

Jean de Court (attributed), painted Limoges enamel dish in detail (mid-16th century), Waddesdon Bequest, British Museum

Enamels are made by painting a substrate, typically metal, with powdered glass; minerals called color oxides provide coloration. After firing at a temperature of 750–850 degrees Celsius (1380–1560 degrees Fahrenheit), the result is a fused lamination of glass and metal. Unlike most painted techniques, the surface can be handled and wetted Enamels have traditionally been used for decoration of precious objects, but have also been used for other purposes. Limoges enamel was the leading centre of Renaissance enamel painting, with small religious and mythological scenes in decorated surrounds, on plaques or objects such as salts or caskets. In the 18th century, enamel painting enjoyed a vogue in Europe, especially as a medium for portrait miniatures. In the late 20th century, the technique of porcelain enamel on metal has been used as a durable medium for outdoor murals.

Spray paint

Aerosol paint (also called spray paint) is a type of paint that comes in a sealed pressurized container and is released in a fine spray mist when depressing a valve button. A form of spray painting, aerosol paint leaves a smooth, evenly coated surface. Standard sized cans are portable, inexpensive and easy to store. Aerosol primer can be applied directly to bare metal and many plastics.

Speed, portability and permanence also make aerosol paint a common graffiti medium. In the late 1970s, street graffiti writers' signatures and murals became more elaborate and a unique style developed as a factor of the aerosol medium and the speed required for illicit work. Many now recognize graffiti and street art as a unique art form and specifically manufactured aerosol paints are made for the graffiti artist. A stencil protects a surface, except the specific shape to be painted. Stencils can be purchased as movable letters, ordered as professionally cut logos or hand-cut by artists.

Tempera

Tempera, also known as egg tempera, is a permanent, fast-drying painting medium consisting of colored pigment mixed with a water-soluble binder medium (usually a glutinous material such as egg yolk or some other size). Tempera also refers to the paintings done in this medium. Tempera paintings are very long-lasting, and examples from the first centuries CE still exist. Egg tempera was a primary method of painting until after 1500 when it was superseded by the invention of oil painting. A paint commonly called tempera (though it is not) consisting of pigment and glue size is commonly used and referred to by some manufacturers in America as poster paint.

Water miscible oil paint

Water miscible oil paints (also called "water soluble" or "water-mixable") is a modern variety of oil paint engineered to be thinned and cleaned up with water, rather than having to use chemicals such as turpentine. It can be mixed and applied using the same techniques as traditional oil-based paint, but while still wet it can be effectively removed from brushes, palettes, and rags with ordinary soap and water. Its water solubility comes from the use of an oil medium in which one end of the molecule has been altered to bind loosely to water molecules, as in a solution.

Digital painting

Digital painting is a method of creating an art object (painting) digitally and/or a technique for making digital art on the computer. As a method of creating an art object, it adapts traditional painting medium such as acrylic paint, oils, ink, watercolor, etc. and applies the pigment to traditional carriers, such as woven canvas cloth, paper, polyester, etc. by means of computer software driving industrial robotic or office machinery (printers). As a technique, it refers to a computer graphics software program that uses a virtual canvas and virtual painting box of brushes, colors, and other supplies. The virtual box contains many instruments that do not exist outside the computer, and which give a digital artwork a different look and feel from an artwork that is made the traditional way. Furthermore, digital painting is not 'computer-generated' art as the computer does not automatically create images on the screen using some mathematical calculations. On the other hand, the artist uses his own painting technique to create a particular piece of work on the computer.

Painting styles

Style is used in two senses: It can refer to the distinctive visual elements, techniques, and methods that typify an individual artist's work. It can also refer to the movement or school that an artist is associated with. This can stem from an actual group that the artist was consciously involved with or it can be a category in which art historians have placed the painter. The word 'style' in the latter sense has fallen out of favor in academic discussions about contemporary painting, though it continues to be used in popular contexts. Such movements or classifications include the following:

Western

Modernism

Modernism describes both a set of cultural tendencies and an array of associated cultural movements, originally arising from wide-scale and far-reaching changes to Western society in the late 19th century and early 20th century. Modernism was a revolt against the conservative values of realism. The term encompasses the activities and output of those who felt the "traditional" forms of art, architecture, literature, religious faith, social organization, and daily life were becoming outdated in the new economic, social, and political conditions of an emerging fully industrialized world. A salient characteristic of modernism is self-consciousness. This often led to experiments with form, and work that draws attention to the processes and materials used (and to the further tendency of abstraction).

Impressionism

The first example of modernism in painting was impressionism, a school of painting that initially focused on work done, not in studios, but outdoors (en plein air). Impressionist paintings demonstrated that human beings do not see objects, but instead see light itself. The school gathered adherents despite internal divisions among its leading practitioners and became increasingly influential. Initially rejected from the most important commercial show of the time, the government-sponsored Paris Salon, the Impressionists organized yearly group exhibitions in commercial venues during the 1870s and 1880s, timing them to coincide with the official Salon. A significant event of 1863 was the Salon des Refusés, created by Emperor Napoleon III to display all of the paintings rejected by the Paris Salon.

Abstract styles

Abstract painting uses a visual language of form, colour and line to create a composition that may exist with a degree of independence from visual references in the world. Abstract expressionism was an American post-World War II art movement that combined the emotional intensity and self-denial of the German Expressionists with the anti-figurative aesthetic of the European abstract schools—such as Futurism, Bauhaus and Cubism, and the image of being rebellious, anarchic, highly idiosyncratic and, some feel, nihilistic.

Action painting, sometimes called gestural abstraction, is a style of painting in which paint is spontaneously dribbled, splashed or smeared onto the canvas, rather than being carefully applied. The resulting work often emphasizes the physical act of painting itself as an essential aspect of the finished work or concern of its artist. The style was widespread from the 1940s until the early 1960s, and is closely associated with abstract expressionism (some critics have used the terms "action painting" and "abstract expressionism" interchangeably).

Other modernist styles include:

• Color Field
• Lyrical Abstraction
• Hard-edge painting
• Pop art

Outsider art

The term outsider art was coined by art critic Roger Cardinal in 1972 as an English synonym for art brut (French: [aʁ bʁyt], "raw art" or "rough art"), a label created by French artist Jean Dubuffet to describe art created outside the boundaries of official culture; Dubuffet focused particularly on art by insane-asylum inmates. Outsider art has emerged as a successful art marketing category (an annual Outsider Art Fair has taken place in New York since 1992). The term is sometimes misapplied as a catch-all marketing label for art created by people outside the mainstream "art world," regardless of their circumstances or the content of their work.

Photorealism

Photorealism is the genre of painting based on using the camera and photographs to gather information and then from this information, creating a painting that appears to be very realistic like a photograph. The term is primarily applied to paintings from the United States art movement that began in the late 1960s and early 1970s. As a full-fledged art movement, Photorealism evolved from Pop Art and as a counter to Abstract Expressionism.

Hyperrealism is a genre of painting and sculpture resembling a high-resolution photograph. Hyperrealism is a fully-fledged school of art and can be considered an advancement of Photorealism by the methods used to create the resulting paintings or sculptures. The term is primarily applied to an independent art movement and art style in the United States and Europe that has developed since the early 2000s.

Surrealism

Surrealism is a cultural movement that began in the early 1920s, and is best known for the artistic and literary production of those affiliated with the Surrealist Movement. Surrealist artworks feature the element of surprise, the uncanny, the unconscious, unexpected juxtapositions and non-sequitur; however, many Surrealist artists and writers regard their work as an expression of the philosophical movement first and foremost, with the works being an artifact. Leader André Breton was explicit in his assertion that Surrealism was above all a revolutionary movement.

Surrealism developed out of the Dada activities of World War I and the most important center of the movement was Paris. From the 1920s onward, the movement spread around the globe, eventually affecting the visual arts, literature, film and music of many countries, as well as political thought and practice, philosophy and social theory.

East Asian

• Chinese
  • Tang Dynasty
  • Ming Dynasty
  • Shan shui
  • Ink and wash painting
  • Hua niao
  • Southern School
    • Zhe School
    • Wu School
  • Contemporary
• Japanese
  • Yamato-e
  • Rimpa school
  • Emakimono
  • Kanō school
  • Shijō school
  • Superflat
• Korean

Islamic

• Arabic miniature
• Mughal miniature
• Ottoman miniature
• Persian miniature

Indian

• Oriya school
• Bengal school
• Kangra
• Madhubani
• Mysore
• Rajput
• Mughal
• Samikshavad
• Tanjore
• Warli
• Kerala mural painting

African

• Tingatinga

Contemporary art

1950s

Abstract Expressionism American Figurative Expressionism Bay Area Figurative Movement Lyrical Abstraction New York Figurative Expressionism New York School

1960s

Abstract expressionism American Figurative Expressionism Abstract Imagists Bay Area Figurative Movement Color field Computer art Conceptual art Fluxus Happenings Hard-edge painting Lyrical Abstraction Minimalism Neo-figurative Neo-Dada New York School Nouveau Réalisme Op Art Performance art Pop Art Postminimalism Washington Color School Kinetic art

1970s

Arte Povera Ascii Art Bad Painting Body art Artist's book Feminist art Installation art Land Art Lowbrow (art movement) Photorealism Postminimalism Process Art Video art Funk art Pattern and Decoration

1980s

Appropriation art Culture jamming Demoscene Electronic art Figuration Libre Graffiti Art Live art Mail art Postmodern art Neo-conceptual art Neo-expressionism Neo-pop Sound art Transgressive art Video installation Institutional Critique NeoGeo

1990s

Bio art Cyberarts Cynical Realism Digital Art Information art Internet art Massurrealism Maximalism New media art Software art New European Painting Young British Artists

2000s

Digital Painting Hyperrealism Classical Realism Relational art Street art Stuckism Superflat Pseudorealism Videogame art Superstroke VJ art Virtual art Indigenous Art

Types of painting

Allegory

Allegory is a figurative mode of representation conveying meaning other than the literal. Allegory communicates its message by means of symbolic figures, actions, or symbolic representation. Allegory is generally treated as a figure of rhetoric, but an allegory does not have to be expressed in language: it may be addressed to the eye and is often found in realistic painting. An example of a simple visual allegory is the image of the grim reaper. Viewers understand that the image of the grim reaper is a symbolic representation of death.

Bodegón

Francisco de Zurbarán, Still Life with Pottery Jars (Spanish: Bodegón de recipientes) (1636), oil on canvas, 46 x 84 cm, Museo del Prado, Madrid

In Spanish art, a bodegón is a still life painting depicting pantry items, such as victuals, game, and drink, often arranged on a simple stone slab, and also a painting with one or more figures, but significant still life elements, typically set in a kitchen or tavern. Starting in the Baroque period, such paintings became popular in Spain in the second quarter of the 17th century. The tradition of still life painting appears to have started and was far more popular in the contemporary Low Countries, today Belgium and Netherlands (then Flemish and Dutch artists), than it ever was in southern Europe. Northern still lifes had many subgenres: the breakfast piece was augmented by the trompe-l'œil, the flower bouquet, and the vanitas. In Spain, there were much fewer patrons for this sort of thing, but a type of breakfast piece did become popular, featuring a few objects of food and tableware laid on a table.

Figure painting

A figure painting is a work of art in any of the painting media with the primary subject being the human figure, whether clothed or nude. Figure painting may also refer to the activity of creating such a work. The human figure has been one of the contrast subjects of art since the first Stone Age cave paintings, and has been reinterpreted in various styles throughout history. Some artists well known for figure painting are Peter Paul Rubens, Edgar Degas, and Édouard Manet.

Reza Abbasi, Two Lovers (1630)

Illustration painting

Illustration paintings are those used as illustrations in books, magazines, and theater or movie posters and comic books. Today, there is a growing interest in collecting and admiring the original artwork. Various museum exhibitions, magazines, and art galleries have devoted space to the illustrators of the past. In the visual art world, illustrators have sometimes been considered less important in comparison with fine artists and graphic designers. But as the result of computer game and comic industry growth, illustrations are becoming valued as popular and profitable artworks that can acquire a wider market than the other two, especially in Korea, Japan, Hong Kong and the United States.

Landscape painting

Andreas Achenbach, Clearing Up, Coast of Sicily (1847), The Walters Art Museum

Landscape painting is a term that covers the depiction of natural scenery such as mountains, valleys, trees, rivers, and forests, and especially art where the main subject is a wide view, with its elements arranged into a coherent composition. In other works landscape backgrounds for figures can still form an important part of the work. The sky is almost always included in the view, and weather is often an element of the composition. Detailed landscapes as a distinct subject are not found in all artistic traditions and develop when there is already a sophisticated tradition of representing other subjects. The two main traditions spring from Western painting and Chinese art, going back well over a thousand years in both cases.

Portrait painting

Portrait paintings are representations of a person, in which the face and its expression is predominant. The intent is to display the likeness, personality, and even the mood of the person. The art of the portrait flourished in Ancient Greek and especially Roman sculpture, where sitters demanded individualized and realistic portraits, even unflattering ones. One of the best-known portraits in the Western world is Leonardo da Vinci's painting titled Mona Lisa, which is thought to be a portrait of Lisa Gherardini, the wife of Francesco del Giocondo.

Still life

Otto Marseus van Schrieck, A Forest Floor Still-Life (1666)

A still life is a work of art depicting mostly inanimate subject matter, typically commonplace objects—which may be either natural (food, flowers, plants, rocks, or shells) or man-made (drinking glasses, books, vases, jewelry, coins, pipes, and so on). With origins in the Middle Ages and Ancient Greek/Roman art, still life paintings give the artist more leeway in the arrangement of design elements within a composition than do paintings of other types of subjects such as landscape or portraiture. Still life paintings, particularly before 1700, often contained religious and allegorical symbolism relating to the objects depicted. Some modern still life breaks the two-dimensional barrier and employs three-dimensional mixed media, and uses found objects, photography, computer graphics, as well as video and sound.

Veduta

A veduta is a highly detailed, usually large-scale painting of a cityscape or some other vista. This genre of landscape originated in Flanders, where artists such as Paul Bril painted vedute as early as the 16th century. As the itinerary of the Grand Tour became somewhat standardized, vedute of familiar scenes like the Roman Forum or the Grand Canal recalled early ventures to the Continent for aristocratic Englishmen. In the later 19th century, more personal impressions of cityscapes replaced the desire for topographical accuracy, which was satisfied instead by painted panoramas.