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Supper At Emmaus by Titian, 1535 The Venetian painting technique of artists like Titian and Giorgione during the Italian Renaissance was derived from the painting technique of Northern Renaissance artists, specifically the Dutch Masters. Italy during that time had two main centers of artistic creativity, Florence and Venice, and they competed with each other for having the best and brightest artists.
Italian artist Giovanni Bellini learned of the new technique developed in Flanders from Antonello da Messina who had traveled there. Bellini taught the Flemish style to his students, Giorgione and Titian, two of the greatest Venetian painters of the Renaissance. (More on Titian later).
The Italian painters developed their own style and technique out of necessity as the church desired large paintings of religious scenes to decorate their cathedrals, and wealthy dukes wished to adorn their palaces with large paintings of mythological themes and other subjects. The difficulties of constructing and transporting huge wooden panels influenced artists to seek an alternative. Canvas was soon adopted as the most convenient support for large paintings, as it could be rolled up and delivered, then reattached to the stretcher frame, and hung.
The primer used by the Dutch was not suitable for the more flexible canvas support, so after years of experimentation a new primer was settled upon - white lead ground in linseed oil. The linseed oil would rot the hemp canvas so it first had to be rendered nonabsorbent by a glue layer.
Titian began painting with soft edges which was in contrast to the Flemish style with their harder edges as it gave his paintings a more lifelike appearance. .This technique involved the use of an opaque underpainting, with the edges left soft and nebulous to allow for later adjustments where necessary. Once the forms were established to the artist's satisfaction, he would allow the underpainting to dry. The underpainting could then be painted over in color, beginning with the transparent glazes for the shadow areas, as in the Flemish Technique, and developed further with opaque passages representing the areas of light.
The Venetian Technique allows the widest range of possibilities of any oil painting method yet developed. Its systematic use of opaque passages, glazes, scumbles and semiglazes stretches the capabilities of oil paint to the absolute limits, and allows the artist the greatest latitude for adjusting the picture at any stage. How sad it is no longer taught in our university art schools.
Just paint it!
Italian artist Giovanni Bellini learned of the new technique developed in Flanders from Antonello da Messina who had traveled there. Bellini taught the Flemish style to his students, Giorgione and Titian, two of the greatest Venetian painters of the Renaissance. (More on Titian later).
The Italian painters developed their own style and technique out of necessity as the church desired large paintings of religious scenes to decorate their cathedrals, and wealthy dukes wished to adorn their palaces with large paintings of mythological themes and other subjects. The difficulties of constructing and transporting huge wooden panels influenced artists to seek an alternative. Canvas was soon adopted as the most convenient support for large paintings, as it could be rolled up and delivered, then reattached to the stretcher frame, and hung.
The primer used by the Dutch was not suitable for the more flexible canvas support, so after years of experimentation a new primer was settled upon - white lead ground in linseed oil. The linseed oil would rot the hemp canvas so it first had to be rendered nonabsorbent by a glue layer.
Titian began painting with soft edges which was in contrast to the Flemish style with their harder edges as it gave his paintings a more lifelike appearance. .This technique involved the use of an opaque underpainting, with the edges left soft and nebulous to allow for later adjustments where necessary. Once the forms were established to the artist's satisfaction, he would allow the underpainting to dry. The underpainting could then be painted over in color, beginning with the transparent glazes for the shadow areas, as in the Flemish Technique, and developed further with opaque passages representing the areas of light.
The Venetian Technique allows the widest range of possibilities of any oil painting method yet developed. Its systematic use of opaque passages, glazes, scumbles and semiglazes stretches the capabilities of oil paint to the absolute limits, and allows the artist the greatest latitude for adjusting the picture at any stage. How sad it is no longer taught in our university art schools.
Just paint it!
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