Research point: Application of paint

Updated on 25 March 2017 (Harvard referencing and some content).

20 December 2016. Apart from random effects achieved e.g. by allowing a pigmented substance to run freely and practically uncontrolled (as e.g. in Hermann Nitsch, *1938, controversial Austrian experimental artist, (Marc Straus Gallery, 2015)), the application of paint is usually a closely observed, tested and corrected process. In classical representational painting textural effects of paint are rarely used. It is applied in a way so as to reproduce as faithfully as possible what is seen and the characteristics of the paint become invisible behind the subject of the painting.
With the advent of the Impressionists, and later the Expressionist, there was a radical change. Not least due to accumulating knowledge in the natural sciences artists became increasingly interested in the physical and chemical properties of the paints they used and in gaining access to means of exploiting them for artistic expression.

Claude Monet (1840-1926, France) was name-giving to the Impressionist movement. He introduced a looser, bolder handling of paint in response of the directly observed environment. In his later years he started building fields of colour with small strokes, looking to introduce surface effects in a dialogue with the colours used (The Art Story, n.d.(a)). In his extensive series of paintings of London’s Waterloo Bridge, created between 1899 and 1904 in oil on canvas, he captured different atmospheric qualities in this way. As e.g. the fog increases and outlines of the buildings become indistinct (top to bottom) Monet adapts his method of applying paint from bold to soft, always with a main focus on the light (Fig. 1-3):

Figure 1. Claude Monet: “Waterloo Bridge, Sunlight Effect”, 1903a, oil on canvas. Source: Claude Monet (1840-1926) [Public domain] via Wikimedia Commons

Figure 2. Claude Monet: “Waterloo Bridge”, 1900, oil on canvas. Source: Claude Monet (1840-1926) [Public domain] via Wikimedia Commons

Figure 3. Claude Monet: “Waterloo Bridge”, 1903b, oil on canvas. Source: Claude Monet (1840-1926) [Public domain] via Wikimedia Commons

Camille Pissarro (1830-1903, Denmark/France) worked with similar ideas but in a less abstract way than Monet. His dashed brushstrokes he used to weave a fabric in which is subjects are embedded (The Art Story, n.d.(b)) (Fig. 4):

Figure 4. Camille Pissarro: “Apple Harvest”, 1888, oil on canvas. Source: Camille Pissarro (1830-1903) [Public domain] via Wikimedia Commons

Paul Cézanne (1839-1906, France) worked together with Pissarro over a lifetime  and is seen as the main pioneering artist paving the way to all new approaches to addressing the substance qualities of paint. He applied paint in discrete brushstrokes in order to construct and sculpt rather than paint his works of art (The Art Story, n.d.(c)) (Fig. 5):

Figure 5. Paul Cézanne: “Self-portrait With Pink Background”, oil on canvas, c.1875. Source: Paul Cézanne (1839-1906) [Public domain] via Wikimedia Commons

Vincent Van Gogh (1853-1890, Netherlands) used similarly energetic bushstrokes. While less sculptural in a traditional “Cézanne sense”, their impulsive structural quality helps capture and translate the artist’s emotional state into something literally graspable (The Art Story, n.d.(d)). I went to have a look for examples other than his post-impressionist work “Starry Night”, but returned to it, because I believe there is no better painting to illustrate the above (Fig. 6):

Figure 6. Vincent Van Gogh: “The Starry Night”, oil on canvas, 1889. Source: Vincent Van Gogh (1853-1890) [Public domain] via Wikimedia Commons

In one analysis of this work (Artble, n.d.) I found an attempt to attribute both his choice of colours and dramatic brushwork to his mental illness, although in his letter describing the development of this painting to his brother Theo he appears extremely focused and thoughtful (Blumer, 2002). It makes me wonder, why a gift of being able to see the world with other than purely rational eyes has to be turned into something insane. Could it be that, apart from the consequences of his long-term alcohol and drug abuse, part of Van Gogh was driven mad by his uncomprehending environment? Certainly with the advent of the Expressionist movement society slowly but gradually became acquainted with the new developments in art and learned to see with different eyes. I suspect that Van Gogh would have made a brilliant Expressionist or 21st century painter with nobody dreaming of branding him as his contemporaries used to do.

While during the period of Impressionism and beyond oil on canvas continued to be favoured by most painters, Expressionists started looking further afield (Boddy-Evans, 2016). With the advent of photography painting was “released from the need to copy nature”, as Henry Matisse (1869-1954, France) put it and artists thus became free in their choice of colour and way of applying paint. Colour, overall, started to be removed from reality, brushwork and paint application became liberal and generous (Tate, n.d.(a)). Oskar Kokoschka (1886-1980, Austria, (Tate, n.d.(b))), for example, was one of its highly influential representatives working far into the second half of the 20th century. Abstract Expressionism (The Smithsonian Studio Arts Blog, 2010) at the other extreme end of the spectrum uses paint in a spontaneous way to recreate emotional states without a connection to reality. Any contributing element, including found objects, can be used and paint may be applied with any conceivable means (The Museum of Modern Art, 2016). Jackson Pollock (1912-1956, USA) (The Art Story, n.d.(e)) was one of its pre-eminent early representatives and famous for his very large size splatter and drip works. He explained – although furiously rejected by some critics analysing his work – that his application of paint was not purely random, but rather a focused dialogue with the developing work of art (The Museum of Modern Art, 2016).

Among the many versatile painting materials available today pastels appear to take a special position. They lend themselves with less ease to the copious and highly gestural use of paint typical of many contemporary art movements. Also, in my opinion, their properties produce neither paintings nor drawings, but a curious and pleasing mix of both (Fig. 7):

Figure 7. Ants Laikmaa: “Taebla Landscape”, pastel on paper, 1936. Source: Ants Laikmaa (1866-1942) [Public domain] via Wikimedia Commons

I did not find many 20th century pastel painters as instructed by the study guide. They were most popular in the 18th and late 19th centuries, but not since then, which may be owing to the above fact of a relatively restricted field of application and uniform needs in application (mostly sand or velvet papers). It is more their brilliant colours than their structural proterties, which attract artists, so I am not sure whether the subject is truly one for this post. However, they allow the – careful – placement of a number of layers on top of each other, which gives the finished paintings unrivalled depth. The incredible ease of application is attractive for artists working spontaneously, too. A search on the Saatchi online gallery gives a good overview over the range of contemporary pastel painting (Saatchi, n.d.).

Overall, I guess that there may not be a single substance or item that has not yet been used in painting with more or less success. Whatever method is used it becomes clear very quickly that each requires practice, thorough planning and a keen sense for the appropriate. Otherwise there is a real danger of skilled spontaneity changing place with arbitrariness, which is something the human eye is programmed to detect.

References:

Artble (n.d.) Starry Night Analysis [online]. Available at: http://www.artble.com/artists/vincent_van_gogh/paintings/starry_night/more_information/analysis [Accessed 20 December 2016]

Blumer, D. (2002) The Illness of Vincent van Gogh [online]. The American Journal of Psychiatry. Volume 159, Issue 4, 1 April 2002, pp. 519-526. Available at: http://ajp.psychiatryonline.org/doi/full/10.1176/appi.ajp.159.4.519 [Accessed 20 December 2016]

Boddy-Evans, M. (2016) Techniques of the Masters: How to Paint Like an Expressionist. How the Expressionists used color in their paintings [online]. ThoughtCo, 7 November. Available at:  https://www.thoughtco.com/expressionist-masters-painting-techniques-2578608 [Accessed 20 December 2016]

Cézanne, P. (c.1875) Self Portrait With Pink Background [oil on canvas] [online]. Private Collection. Available at: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_paintings_by_Paul_C%C3%A9zanne#/media/File:Paul_C%C3%A9zanne_160.jpg [Accessed 20 December 2016]

Laikmaa, A. (1936) Tablea Landscape [pastel on paper] [online]. Enn Kunila’s art collection. Available at: https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:ANTS_LAIKMAA_1936_Taebla_maastik.jpg [Accessed 20 December 2016]

Marc Straus Gallery (2015) Hermann Nitsch [online]. Marc Straus Gallery, New York. Available at: http://www.marcstraus.com/exhibitions/hermann-nitsch/ [Accessed 20 December 2016]

Monet, C. (1900) Waterloo Bridge [oil on canvas] [online]. Santa Barbara Museum of Art . Available at: https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Claude_Monet_-_Waterloo_Bridge_(W_1555).jpg [Accessed 20 December 2016]

Monet, C. (1903a) Waterloo Bridge, Sunlight Effect [oil on canvas] [online]. Denver Art Museum. Available at: https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Claude_Monet_-_Waterloo_Bridge_-_Google_Art_Project.jpg [Accessed 20 December 2016]

Monet, C. (1903b) Waterloo Bridge  [oil on canvas] [online]. Hermitage Museum, Saint Petersburg. Available at: https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Claude_Monet_-_Waterloo-Br%C3%BCcke_-_1903.jpeg [Accessed 20 December 2016]

Pissarro, C. (1888) Apple Harvest [oil on canvas] [online]. Dallas Museum of Art. Available at: https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Apple_Harvest_by_Camille_Pissarro.jpg [Accessed 20 December 2016]

Saatchi (n.d.) Results for: pastel [image collection] [online]. Saatchi Art, Santa Monica. Available at: http://www.saatchiart.com/all?query=pastel [Accessed 20 December 2016]

Tate (n.d.(a) Expressionism [online]. Tate, London. Available at: http://www.tate.org.uk/learn/online-resources/glossary/e/expressionism [Accessed 20 December 2016]

Tate (n.d.(b) Oskar Kokoschka [online]. Tate, London. Available at: http://www.tate.org.uk/art/artists/oskar-kokoschka-1430 [Accessed 20 December 2016]

The Art Story (n.d.(a)) Claude Monet [online]. The Art Story, New York. Available at: http://www.theartstory.org/artist-monet-claude.htm [Accessed 20 December 2016]

The Art Story (n.d.(b)) Camille Pissarro [online]. The Art Story, New York. Available at: http://www.theartstory.org/artist-pissarro-camille.htm [Accessed 20 December 2016]

The Art Story (n.d.(c)) Paul Cézanne [online]. The Art Story, New York. Available at: http://www.theartstory.org/artist-cezanne-paul.htm [Accessed 20 December 2016]

The Art Story (n.d.(d)) Vincent van Gogh [online]. The Art Story, New York. Available at: http://www.theartstory.org/artist-van-gogh-vincent.htm [Accessed 20 December 2016]

The Art Story (n.d.(e)) Jackson Pollock [online]. The Art Story, New York. Available at: http://www.theartstory.org/artist-pollock-jackson.htm [Accessed 20 December 2016]

The Museum of Modern Art (2016) Abstract Expressionism: The Processes and Materials of Abstract Expressionist Painting [online]. The Museum of Modern Art, New York. Available at: https://www.moma.org/learn/moma_learning/themes/abstract-expressionism/the-processes-and-materials-of-abstract-expressionist-painting [Accessed 20 December 2016]

The Smithsonian Studio Arts Blog (2010) Tips and Techniques: Abstract Expressionist Painting
[blog] [online]. Smithsonian Studio Arts, Washington DC. Available at: http://startstudioarts.si.edu/2010/04/tips-and-techniques-abstract-expressionist-painting.html [Accessed 20 December 2016]

Van Gogh, V. (1889) The Starry Night  [oil on canvas] [online]. Museum of Modern Art, New York. Available at: https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Van_Gogh_-_Starry_Night_-_Google_Art_Project.jpg [Accessed 20 December 2016]

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Research point: Chevreul’s colour theory

Updated on 19 February 2017 (Harvard referencing).

3 April 2016. Michel-Eugène Chevreul (1786-1889) was a multi-talented, ingenious chemist in 19th century France, who, after having been urged to investigate the reason for the apparent turning grey of high quality yarn used in the making of tapestries, devised a groundbreaking classification of colours, a chromatic circle (Fig. 1), to serve as first-ever standard for weavers and dyers. It was and still is being adapted and extended by many contributors (Costa, 2009).

Figure 1. Michel-Eugène Chevreul (1861) Chromatic circle. Source: Michel-Eugène Chevreul [Public domain] via Wikimedia Commons

The original trigger for his research had been one observation where the nature of blacks appeared to change when seen next to blues and violets in tapestries. After doing some research on that major problem Chevreul came to the ingenious conclusion that colours set next to each other mutually influence the perception of their respective nature. Chevreul described this main observation as the Law of Simultaneous Contrast of Colours, stating that “In the case where the eye sees at the same time two contiguous colours, they will appear as dissimilar as possible, both in their optical composition and in their strength of colour” (emphasis added by me). It was first published in an English language translation of his 1839 book, “The Principles of Harmony and Contrast of Colours and their Application to the Arts” (1855) (Roques, 2011, p. 4).
The above statement was interpreted by Chevreul as a tendency of the brain to enhance perception by exaggerating differences in lightness and hue, in particular along the common border (Roques, 2011, pp. 4-5, for the effect on lightness see top row in Fig. 2 below). The same works also for the bottom image in the same illustration. In the row of increasingly dark stripes the different borders to the left and right of each stripe will make them resemble “channelled grooves more than plane surfaces”. This effect is known as “Chevreul’s illusion”.

Figure 2: Redrawn detail from original by M.-E. Chevreul (1839) Illustration of the contrast of lightness. Source: Georges Roques after M.-E. Chevreul (1839) [Public domain] via Roques (2011)

When the law is applied to hue, the following effects are observed: Placing side by side narrow strips of different tones of the same colour or strips of the same tone in different colours influences both the perception of intensity (contrast of tone) and optical composition (contrast of colour) of each colour, hence the name “simultaneous contrast of colours” (Roques, 2011, p. 6).
The basis of the perceived modifications depend upon the concept of complementary colours first observed by Buffon in 1743 (e.g. after staring at a red dot  for some time, it will appear green when moving the eye to a white sheet, Roques, 2011, p. 7) and observations by Hassenfratz regarding coloured shadows created by the simultaneous use of two different light sources (Roques, 2011, p. 7). Chevreul considered, in line with his observation for lightness, that complementary colours are those which are the most opposed. Exaggerating differences in this context means that the brain will add to each of the juxtaposed colours a little of the colour complementary to each. A white pattern on coloured grounds will thus appear tinted with the colour complementary to that of the ground. Adding some of the background colour to the pattern influenced by the complementary colour will neutralize the effect. And, importantly, juxtaposing complementary colours has the effect of enhancing each other, since to each is added some of itself (Roques, 2011, pp. 8-9).While the basic physical mechanisms of colour perception are not disputed and Chevreul’s explanations are supported by findings in neuroscience, there exist several conflicting theories regarding the mutual influence of colours and their effect on the perception of colour in art (Roques, 2011, p. 9), while a main point of criticism is that according to modern standards Chevreul confused additive and subtractive mixing, the former referring to mixing light, the latter to pigments and which are incompatible (Roques, 2011, p. 10). It is also important to remember that the observed effects depend on the size (area) of the coloured samples. In cased the samples are very narrow, the colours will “fuse” to be perceived as an average between the two juxtaposed colours (Roques, 2011, p. 11).

Chevreul’s work, increasingly so as he moved from pure to applied science, was of immense interest for whoever used colour at the time. Since, however, many workers of the time became acquainted with Chevreul’s theories in a second-hand fashion there were some misunderstandings transported regarding their true nature and some artists adopted a style of painting based on misinterpretations (Roques, 2011, pp. 12-13). Interestingly it was mostly artisans, and not painters, who appreciated Chevreul’s findings when solving practical problems. Painters were only interested in the enhancing effect of juxtaposing complementary colours and tended to ignore the unwanted effects in other colour pairs. Among the painters interested in Chevreul’s findings was Eugène Delacroix (1798-1863, France) (Fig. 3). The example below is a good example of applying complementary colours, see especially the flags on the ground (Roques, 2011, p. 16):

Figure 3. Eugène Delacroix: “Entry of the Crusaders into Constantinople”, 1840, oil on canvas. Source: Eugène Delacroix (1798-1863) [Public Domain] via Wikimedia Commons

Despite contrasting opinions it is obvious that many painters deliberately applied their knowledge regarding the use complementary colours, e.g. Impressionist Claude Monet (1840-1926) or Impressionist and Neo-Impressionist Camille Pissarro (1830-1903) in the following painting, where the juxtaposed greens and reds assume a great brilliance. He even went as far as taking in Chevreul’s advice to pay attention to the effect the colour of the frame has on a painting.

Camille Pissarro: “The Red Roofs”, 1877, oil on canvas (source: Wikimedia Commons)

During Neo- and Post-Impressionism painters became increasingly interested in the organisation of colours on the canvas. Among these, Neo-Impressionist and theoretician Paul Signac (1863-1935) and Georges Seurat (1859-1891) were most avid in their application of Chevreul’s colour theory, especially when “optically mixing” by placing small dots of complementary colours next to each other. According to Roque (p. 18) there was another misunderstanding at the base of their idea: rather than enhancing the respective complementary colour, the effect would be one of averaging them out, since they did not take into account Chevreul’s warning of not confusing contrast and mixing, the presence of which depends on the size of the sample of colour. The luminosity remains in their paintings, because the dots are big enough for optical mixing NOT to work (Roque, p. 19).

Georges Seurat: “The Seine and la Grande Jatte – Springtime 1888″, oil on canvas (source: Wikimedia Commons)

Vincent van Gogh (1853-1890) was another painter with a keen interest in colour theory. Since he had a great liking for yellow, many of his paintings have juxtaposed a large proportion of the complementary colour, violet, e.g.:

Vincent van Gogh: The Café Terrace on the Place du Forum, Arles, at Night, 1888, oil on canvas

 

Roque, on p. 21, discusses also van Gogh’s description of the ideas behind the famous painting of his bedroom, on the base of which was an interest in transporting an impression of rest by the selective use of colour. To this end van Gogh used both the contrasts of complementary colours AND the same hues in different states.

Chevreul’s ideas continued to be of interest with the beginning of abstract art. Since the latter artists has a particular interest in the organisation of colour on the canvas, his theory helped them organise their ideas. Foremost among these was Robert Delaunay (1885-1941), who used it to systematically structure his abstract paintings. His intention was to capture colour vibration and transport it to the eye of the viewer by applying a phenomenon which Chevreul called “mixed contrast”: Seeing one colour, followed by the illusion of its complementary, superimposed on the colour of another object introduced at a later point in time.

Robert Delaunay: “Le Premier Disque”, 1912-1913, oil on canvas (source: Wikimedia Commons)

 

Despite an increasing tendency to challenge and replace Chevreul’s ideas with newer findings, they are still in use as a basis of teaching colour theory today (Roque, p. 24).

References:

Costa, A.B. (2009) Michel-Eugène Chevreul. French Chemist [online] Encyclopaedia Britannica. Available at: https://www.britannica.com/biography/Michel-Eugene-Chevreul [Accessed 3 April 2016]

Chevreul, M.-E. (1883) Chromatic Circle [n.a.] [online] Linda Hall Library, Kansas City. Available at: https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Cercle_chromatique_Chevreul_3.jpg [Accessed 19 February 2017]

Delacroix, E. (1840) Entry of the Crusaders into Constantinople [oil on canvas] [online]. Louvre, Paris. Available at: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Entry_of_the_Crusaders_in_Constantinople#/media/File:Eug%C3%A8ne_Ferdinand_Victor_Delacroix_012.jpg [Accessed 3 April 2016]

Roques, G. (2011) Chevreul’s Colour Theory and its Consequences for Artists, Colour Group, Great Britain. Available at: http://www.colour.org.uk/Chevreuls%20Law%20F1%20web%20good.pdf [Accessed 3 April 2016]