Panel Painting - The Concept
A panel painting is an artistic creation executed on a rigid base, generally metal or wood, instead of canvas. The wood base can be a single piece or in multiple interconnected pieces. This style was quite popular before the advent of canvas in the mid sixteenth century. Several types of woods, like cedar, beech, fir, chestnut, olive, dark walnut, mahogany, teak, and linden were used as base for panel painting.
The History
An ancient concept, panel paintings were famous in Rome and Greece and had a significant place in the Byzantine Empire. They again gained prominence mostly as altarpieces, in Western Europe in the late 12th century. In the Italian history, the 13th and 14th centuries are considered as the 'Golden Age' of panel painting. By the 15th century, the style graduated to furniture. Altar fronts, dossals (an embellished cloth hanging behind an altar), crucifixes, encaustic, and tempera were some of its different forms. A large majority of Early Netherlandish paintings, including most of the earliest portraits are made on panels. Parallel to it, by the start of the 15th century, gradually oil painting was discovered and soon gained prominence, especially so in Italy (16th century). Multi-layered painting techniques were soon put to use. By the eighteenth century, panel was nearly phased out.
The Details
Panel construction and painting was a meticulous and strenuous process. Solid wooden panels were coated with a mix of glues made from animal skins. Some layers of Gesso were then applied until a hard smooth surface appeared. Once the panel was fully constructed, the design was made generally using charcoal. Painting was done using small brushes dipped in a solution of egg yolk and pigment. The strokes had to be perfect and small, as this paint medium was a fast drying one.
The Artworks
Some of the most popular Panel paintings include:
o Painted tablets series from Pitsa, Greece (6th century BC) - the oldest surviving Greek panel
o Fayum mummy portraits, Egypt (1st century BC-3rd Century AD)
o The Severan Tondo, Egypt (about 200AD) - Graeco-Roman specimen
o Saint Catherine's Monastery, Mount Sinai, Egypt (5th or 6th centuries)
o The Ghent Altarpiece
o St. Basil
o Tabernacle
o Adoration of the Lamb
o The Frankfurt Paradiesgärtlein
o Russian icon by Andrey Rublev
o Triptych
o Saints Geminianus, Michael and Augustine, with angels above
The Artists
Jan van Eyck (Dutch, 1395-1441), Leonardo da Vinci (Italian, 1452-1519), Albrecht Dürer (German, 1471-1528), Lucas Cranach the Elder (German, 1472-1553), Hans Baldung Grien (German, 1480-1545), Albrecht Altdorfer (German, 1480-1538) Hans Holbein (German, 1497-1543), Christoph Amberger (1505-62), Adam Elsheimer (German, 1578-1610), Rembrandt (Dutch, 1606-69)
Conclusion
While modern technical tools and X- Radiography have enabled the understanding of the various techniques used in panel paintings, there are still several areas left unexplored. This fact continues to stimulate considerable interest and further research by art historians in the field. A multi-year project called the Panel Paintings Initiative has been started in collaboration with the Getty Conservation Institute, the Getty Foundation, and the J. Paul Getty Museum.
Annette Labedzki received her BFA at the Emily Carr College of Art and Design in Vancouver, B.C. Canada. She has more than 25 years experience. She is the founder and developer of an online art gallery featuring original art from all over the world. Please visit the website at http://www.Labedzki-Art.com It is a great site for art collectors to buy original art. Artists can join for free and their image upload is unlimited.
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