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The Evolution of Painting 1The Evolution of Painting During the RenaissanceCharles SeversAxia College of the University of PhoenixHum 205 World Culture and the ArtsInstructor: Jeff Lyttle
 
The Evolution of Painting 2The Evolution of Painting During the RenaissanceAs the Renaissance period approached, paintings were primarily based on the medium of wood coated with egg whites and then the amount of paint was adjusted for color depth and pigment desired (the tempera method). The introduction of oil painting on canvas helped to takethe skill and illusion of paint and the use of light to another level entirely. Two major factors,whether considered a tool or technology (the use of pigments mixed with linseed oil, and the useof canvas as opposed to other mediums) helped to evolve painting to the quality of work that isseen from that period. While painting with oil was not “discovered” during the Renaissance, itwas a renewed interest coupled with some significant changes that propelled it to the degree thatit became.The Encyclopædia Britannica Online states that, “Basic improvements in the refining of linseed oil and the availability of volatile solvents after 1400 coincided with a need for someother medium than pure egg-yolk tempera to meet the changing requirements of theRenaissance” (Encyclopædia Britannica, 2008). Also noted is that with the development of theoil based painting techniques, an evolution from the tempera method was accomplished. TheEncyclopædia Britannica continues in this regard, “At first, oil paints and varnishes were used toglaze tempera panels, painted with their traditional linear draftsmanship. The technically brilliant, jewel-like portraits of the 15th-century Flemish painter Jan Van Eyck, for example,were done in this way” (Encyclopædia Britannica, 2008).Professor Mark Hudelson of Palomar College provides us with a chart that documents thedifferences and shows how the evolution from tempera to oil affected art (see figure one). As can be seen, with the advanced uses of oil paint, more was accomplished on an artistic level not beheld previously.
 
The Evolution of Painting 3
Tempera vs. Oil Painting 
 
Tempera PaintingOil Painting 
Medium:
Egg (and sometimes water).Oil.
When popular?
Middle Ages.From late Gothic period on.
Blending colors is...
Difficult.Easy.
Drying time:
Fast.Slow.
Color quality:
Flat.Rich, deep colors; subtlegradations. Paint applied inlayers or "glazes."
Most often painted on...
Wood panels.Wood panels at first, then oncanvas from the Renaissanceon.(Figure one. The differences between tempera and oil usage, courtesy of Professor Mark Hudelson)Benton and DiYanni mention that with using oil, “…painters were able to create a lightthat seemed to emanate from the depths of the painting itself” (Benton and DiYanni, 2005, p.486). Encyclopædia Britannica mentions that, “The outstanding facility with which fusion of tones or colour is achieved makes it [oil] unique among fluid painting mediums” (EncyclopædiaBritannica, 2008). Jan Van Eyck’s
The Arnolfini Portrait 
(ca. 1434, oil on wood panels) showsthe vibrancy of color achievable from the use of oils (see figure two).
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