Talk:Oil painting

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Myths still being perpetuated
Whilst the van Eycks have been commonly believed to invent oil painting, we know for a fact that they didn't and that the process is well documented, at least as early as the beginning of the 12thc century.

As for canvas painting, painting on cloth predates the Van Eyks too, again instructions exist from Cennini.

Re not using egg on shields, this is not true, egg, size and oil were all used on shields and other itemss, it depends on what the use was. Also the use of the word 'tempera' is historically misleading as it is was a generic term for binders, regardless of type, it has now become synonymous with egg. That needs to be made clear for those who might be inclined to research further.

It might be nice if such synopses on oil painting might have a little more fact rather than pandering to modern myths about it.

Quite a lot of misinformation
I only read a little, but I found a lot of incorrect info. I can't take the time to fix it right now. I only got as far as the section on preparing a surface (should be "support") for a painting. Traditional gesso is only for use on rigid supports (panels), not canvas. So-called acrylic gesso is okay for canvas, but it's hard to sand between coats as suggested. It gums up the sandpaper. Golden makes a sandable acrylic "gesso", but it is for use only on panels, and then only over coats of regular acrylic gesso.

Jive Dadson 06:33, 25 February 2006 (UTC) Jive

Oldest comment
Might want to mention some famous oil paintings from antiquity to present times; schools such as impressionism or cubism; etc.--Ed Poor

Slang
Removed (we're not a dictionary of slang):
 * The term is also used as a mild insult, generally towards a woman who has questioned the looks of another woman: "You're no oil painting yourself", implying that the target is not particularly attractive.

I second: needs links to famous oil paintings and critical discussion
I do not have anything approaching knowledge on this subject, so I can't do this. But adding some links to great oil painters and relevant debates and discussions of art on the topic of oil painting would be easy for someone with some knowledge about this. What about a more detailed history of oil painting? --Upmarket 22:08, 24 Jun 2005 (UTC)

Thirded - Examples of quality, famous, classical artworks
The current example is neither of good art - not even for a three year old - nor of what oil paintings are.

That these anecdotes mascarade as arts is a serious deformity of the post-modern world. It's particularly sad since oil painting has to it's phalanx some of the most known artists and incredible talents through centuries and centuries of European art.

Really, couldn't, shouldn't, better examples be provided? *sigh*

Wording
This phrase confused me on first reading:


 * Surfaces like shields — both those used in tournaments and those hung as decorations — were more durable

Somehow I thought that "shields" meant a protective coating like lacquer over the painting, like glass in a picture frame. You meant a military shield used in combat - like Aragorn in Lord of the Rings, knights in shining armor trying to slice or skewer each other with swords.

Maybe re-casting this sentence from the passive voice? Like:


 * Knights decorated their shields with oil painting - instead of tempera - because . ..

--Uncle Ed 12:14, 15 October 2005 (UTC)

Changes In Progress?
I know about the history and various techniques of oil painting, I'll try to post something here shortly that everyone can figure out how to add into the main article. I know it won't be in the Wikipedia-standard format, but I can provide sources for the technical development and much more specific how-to's, etc. If anyone else is already working on this, let me know and I'll review the info or references in progress.

New history/technique references: 1.[]http://www.cyberlipid.org/perox/oxid0011.htm

Fine Arts 16:42, 30 May 2006 (UTC)

Oil on canvas
There is a redirect from oil on canvas but there is no section on this page describing oil on canvas. Is this a joke ? Bragador 23:42, 1 November 2005 (UTC)

Comments
My comments on my edit didn't show up. I removed the part about "canvas not having these any of these problems" (associated with panels). In fact, paintings on panel generally survive much better than those on canvas. True, some panels have split. But it is very common for oil paintings on canvas to crack, due to the flexibilty of the canvas. The canvas itself can also go bad, from rotting, bacterial infection, insects, or whatever. Conservators often have to go through the tedious and risky procedure of removing a painting from its original canvas, and putting it on a new support. —The preceding unsigned comment was added by Jive Dadson (talk • contribs) 09:08, 24 December 2006 (UTC).

Turpentine and Mineral Spirits
I just added a bit about using mineral spirits instead of turpentine.

The fat over lean bit is true, but doesn't this only apply to fatty paintings? For instance, Rembrandt (I thought) painted lean with mineral spirits exclusively, did he not? I thought it's only when a heavy lean layer is applied to a fatty layer that one begins to get sweating, bubbling, etc. Like in the case my friend had recently when he tried to paint acrylic over oil. Oops!

I'm going to try to work in a bit about modern vehicles such as neo megilp and the toxic (yet once popular) lead megilp later on.

Wouldn't it be nice to have a list of oil company manufacturers: Sennelier, Gamblin, etc.? If someone has time.... ;)

Naomichanart 21:59, 20 January 2007 (UTC)


 * I am afraid there maybe hundreds of them (I know of Talens, Winsor&Newton, Scheveningen, Lukas, Daler-Rowney, Schminke, Spectrum; which are all stocked by my local supplier). I am not a favourite of lists for lists sake, so what would be the added value, here? (E.g. For List of Towers the listin allows you to compare well known towers on height). Arnoutf 13:07, 21 January 2007 (UTC)

lol.... because I came here looking for a list. :D

Naomichanart 16:54, 21 January 2007 (UTC)

LESS THERETICAL KNOWLEDGE MORE ON PRACTAC
MORE PRACTACAL INFOMATION ON APLICETION OF OIL PAINT IN ART HISTRY —Preceding unsigned comment added by 69.125.110.223 (talk) 18:02, 7 January 2008 (UTC)
 * Feel free to add some of the information you seem to be suggesting; but note we are not talking Art history but about the process of painting. Arnoutf (talk) 18:54, 7 January 2008 (UTC)

Oil painting in Afghanistan
Apparently oil painting has existed for 1,400 years from evidence. See http://www.abc.net.au/news/stories/2008/01/26/2147150.htm?section=world for reference. Enlil Ninlil (talk) 04:32, 26 January 2008 (UTC)
 * Nice source. I added a byline in the history section. Don't think it influences this article much I think as this is more about the technique then the material (see Oil paint) Arnoutf (talk) 12:16, 26 January 2008 (UTC)
 * It would be nice to see a better source. The bits in the ABC piece on the European history are so wildly wrong they rather cast a shadow over the new stuff. Johnbod (talk) 13:46, 26 January 2008 (UTC)
 * True; Indeed think the whole article needs more references.Arnoutf (talk) 14:15, 27 January 2008 (UTC)

Well, there's an another article from Telegraph, but I think it's pretty much saying the same thing. http://www.telegraph.co.uk/earth/main.jhtml?view=DETAILS&grid=&xml=/earth/2008/04/22/sciart122.xml Beidabaozi (talk) 21:52, 24 April 2008 (UTC)

hey guys, just checked this out in the current news, and thought it may fit in something here... check it: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Buddhas_of_Bamyan#Oil_painting_discovery —Preceding unsigned comment added by 58.166.71.104 (talk) 09:01, 2 May 2008 (UTC)
 * This is merely another wikipedia article referring to the same information as in the comments above. JamesBWatson (talk) 11:38, 28 May 2009 (UTC)

christtann oil painting artist
Superscript text

Can oil paintings be rolled?
Sometimes I read about paintings being rolled up, either by thieves who cut it out of the frame or otherwise. What are the risks to the painting? Won't the paint get cracked or fall off? If I want to ship a large painting, can I remove the canvas from its frame and ship it as a roll, saving lots of space? --CodeGeneratR (talk) 18:46, 21 January 2011 (UTC)

Can there be an explanation of what is meant by Buddhist paintings - and a citation?
In order for an artifact to be classified as "Buddhist," there must be a Buddhist theme. It's entirely possible such paintings exist and were done in oils, but for both claims to be substantiated here, we need an academic citation. This should not be a matter of much controversy. It should be easy to find one. Since I cannot find one, I am doubting that assertion. — Preceding unsigned comment added by 69.235.18.240 (talk) 00:59, 28 January 2012 (UTC)

Link to Dutch 'Olieverf' is missing on the English page
Dear mods, I'm not sure I'm posting this right here, but I just noticed that there is no link to the Dutch equivalent 'Olieverf' on the English Oil Painting site in the left list with other languages. Might be good to look into. — Preceding unsigned comment added by 103.13.88.215 (talk) 08:07, 28 March 2013 (UTC)

Lifespan of oil on Canvas.
Sooner or later everything disintegrates. What would be the longest possible time for an oil painting? 1,000 years before it crumbles? Also,if its moderated by new science- is that really the original artist work? — Preceding unsigned comment added by 2601:642:4101:4167:40AE:1F73:64E6:AD1 (talk) 18:58, 30 August 2017 (UTC)


 * While interesting Wikipedia is not the place for such discussion. By the way - it appears that canvas decays much faster than oil paint as many 15-16th century paintings have been re-canvased. Arnoutf (talk) 14:40, 31 August 2017 (UTC)


 * It depends very much on the environment, including gases and other components of the atmosphere, and on the preparation of the canvas. Usually a primer and / or gesso is used, for various reasons.  A primary one is protecting the canvas from chemical reactions with the oil medium.  Some such reactions break down the  that would break down the canvas support.  A well primed, gessoed canvas is shielded from such damaging reactions.  (There are other reasons for primer / gesso layers such as providing a 'good' surface with suitable texture, absorbancy, etc., for the type of painting intended by the artist.  — Preceding unsigned comment added by 86.167.143.106 (talk) 18:55, 14 August 2018 (UTC)