Tempura Paint, Renaissance, and Michelangelo

 Renaissance Naples 

Photo Courtesy of  Tsiosophy.com

We are moving into an exciting time in art history, the Renaissance! Many things were changing during this time.Not only were artists looking forward with new ideas, but they were also looking back and taking classical ideas and giving them new life. According to Carol Strickland Ph.D., who wrote The Annotated Mona Lisa,  

      "While art hardly died in the Middle Ages, what was reborn in the Renaissance-and extended in the                  Baroque period-was lifelike art. A shift in interest from the supernatural to the natural caused this                  change. The rediscovery  of the Greco-Roman tradition helped artists reproduce visual images                      accurately. Aided by the expansion of scientific knowledge, such as an understanding of anatomy and            perspective, painters of the fifteenth through sixteenth centuries went beyond Greece and Rome in                  technical proficiency."

As we study this transition in art history, we will be doing  a color study, to prepare us for our last and final project of the year. Our color study will be to work as an art apprentice. Just as the apprentice mastered the making of his tools and more importantly the art of mixing tempura paint for the master, we will do the same.  Then taking what we have learned, we will study the Sistine Chapel, as we look at tempura painting on dry Fresco, just like Michelangelo!

 "The true work of art is but a shadow of the divine perfection."

~Michelangelo

Below is a virtual tour of the Sistine Chapel, spend some time really looking at all the paintings, it is such a wonder! I hope to some day to stand within its walls and look up! But for now this virtual tour will have to do. This is the next best thing I promise! Once you have clicked on the link below, click on the 'M' in the bottom left and it will allow your mouse to control the camera direction. Sweet! The + and - allow you to zoom in and out. This is awesome!

Can you tell what is the real architecture of the building and what has been painted? Can you read any of the Latin words that are in the Roman hand on the frieze that is around the room. Are the curtains on the walls real?  What else do you observe?

Sistine Chapel, The Vatican, Italy

Also look at the lay out of the artwork itself, I think Michelangelo was just brilliant!

The Art of Gongbi Silk Painting

Our  next project, will focus on China in the Middle Ages. A style of painting that emerged during this time was technique done on silk called Gongbi .  The word Gongbi comes from two words: Gong, meaning detailed and Bi, meaning writing. In this tradition of painting the brush is held in the same way Chinese characters are written and realistic details help the paintings take shape.

The Gongbi tradition of silk painting dates from 700-1900 BC and uses detailed brush work and a colorful paint palette. In class we will create our paintings using some traditional subjects found in nature in China: colorful Koi and the stunning Lotus Flower.  Here is a couple of examples:

The Lotus in design and patterns

Example of Koi fish 

For this particular technique only things found in nature or real life are painted, nothing from the imagination is painted in this way, according to Henry Li, of Blue Heron Arts,Co.

We will be working on silk material treated in the traditional way using a sizing solution to stiffen it and then do similar steps of back painting, then front painting and details using layering techniques and washes.

The following video should give you a wonderful appreciation for the precision and careful execution the artists takes as she prepares her drawing, prepares her silk and mixes her colors. I was mesmerized by her grace and the coordination of her brushes and brush strokes. I love how, even the movements of the artist as they paint, is done with artistry. I feel this is something I can learn from. It is very symbolic of Chinese culture and other Chinese artwork.

I hope this gets you excited about our next project! Mrs. W.