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Although oil painting has been around for a very long time, even dating back to the 1400’s; it’s still relatively new compared to other forms of art. However, before oil painting came to be, paint was mixed with plaster that was found in frescoes or eggs in tempera paints. It was not until Jan Van Eyck came along, that oil painting rose to fame, as he attempted to have more realism in art.

In the early fifteenth century, Europe had the desire for a more realistic appearance in artwork. This was because before that, art was basically decorative and mythological in aspects; however, at the start of the Renaissance, artists began to realize concepts and guidelines behind ideals of color, as well as perspective. They wanted to create images and objects that were more realistic to the world around them, so as a result, artist started to paint more realistically.  
 
Jan Van Eyck wanted to mimic in his paintings what nature really is and in order to do this, he made sure to paint every detail that he could of whatever object he focused on. His attention to detail made his paintings livelier; however, methods of painting and materials could not truly bring his work to full potential. Therefore, Van Eyck developed oil paintings, which changed the entire concept of painting known to artists. Before Van Eyck and others like him, painters in the Renaissance period did not have the luxury of being able to purchase colors that were already made. They had to make paints themselves, which were made from ground- up pigments contained in plants and minerals to attain shades from the entire color wheel. These were used to form a paste called tempera paint. The issue with this type of paint was that it dried quickly and made it almost impossible to have smooth transitions; hence, Van Eyck made the decision to use oil instead, which would allow him to work at a slower pace. With oil painting, accurate paintings came about.

To further create detailed images in his paintings, he also used a tiny pointed brush and many people, as well as other artists, became impressed with his work. They too began to use oil paints and due to this, oil paintings became a very popular form of art. Although today oil colors have evolved, its principals and color theory guidelines are still the same.  If you learn about this method and use oil paints correctly, you too can create wonderfully vivid and detailed paintings as Van Eyck and others of his time did. When you choose the medium of oil painting, you’ll be able to create paintings that are more detailed in settings, through the uses of shading and in addition, create portraits that are more lifelike. With time and effort, you will be able to mimic the greats of the Renaissance era.

Learn how to create beautiful oil paintings yourself by enrolling in an oil painting workshop with artist Caroline Jasper. Caroline’s workshops include both oil painting instruction and color instruction.

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