Flemish & Venetian Methods
The Renaissance (14th to 17th century) and Baroque (17th to 16th century) were distinct European artistic styles.. Each period influenced various art forms and spread across Europe, with regional variations emerging.
About Flemish & Venetian Painting Methods
Jan van Eyck invented the Flemish oil painting technique in Bruges, Belgium during the early Renaissance (early fifteenth century).
Oil painting of the Northern Renaissance is famed for creating an illusion of depth through the use of shadow and light and for the vibrant colors and fine detail made possible by the use of wood panels and oil paint.
This technique completely transformed oil painting and the way artists depicted three-dimensional objects.
With the Flemish oil painting technique, a painting began with the creation of a highly finished drawing on paper. This was then transferred to the wood panel. Transparent glazes to opaque passages were painted with soft hair brushes, which created a smooth glass-like surface and fine details.
The Venetian method of oil painting, which was based on the Flemish method, was developed in the late fifteenth century during the Italian Baroque. Paintings from this period are known for their dramatic use of light and shadow, called chiaroscuro.
With this method, the Italian painters introduced painting on rough canvases that were stretched on wooden bars. They used the grisaille or verdaccio underpainting to modify and revise directly on the canvas. And, they advanced the techniques of scrumbling, dry brushing, and impasto, using soft and hard edges while also using transparent glazes and semi-glazes.
Examples
The image gallery includes three examples from Renaissance masters.
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The painting by Jan van Eyck shows the great detail and vibrant colors he achieved.
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The painting by Correggio shows the luminescence created with the Venetian oil painting method.
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The painting by Petrus Christus (van Eyck's successor) shows how the Flemish and Italian painters incorporated backlighting and the life-like tones and texture of the skin.
Saints Peter, Martha, Mary Magdalen, & Leonard by Correggio, ca. 1515
Portrait of a Carthusian, Petrus Christus. 1446
Virgin and Child in a Niche from the workshop of Jan van Eyck, ca. 1540
The Process
1. Underdrawing & Imprimatura
The painting begins by creating a highly finished drawing on paper, which is then transferred to a wood panel.
Once the painting surface has been prepped, a thin semi-transparent layer of oil paint is applied. This imprimatura reduces glare and sets the tone, allowing for a unified color harmony with the layers of color to be added later.
2. Underpainting
The detailed drawing is applied to the surface, then a detailed, monotone, underpainting is added. When this layer is done with white and black paints, it's called a grisaille..
This step is a vital part of the process. While creating the grisaille, the absence of color makes it easier to focus on capturing shadow and light to express the forms. It also establishes the foundation used for adding layers of color. And, in the final painting, the grisaille reflects light back through the layers of glaze, making the artwork appear vivid and luminous.
3. Transparent Tone
At times throughout the process of painting the grisaille, a reddish-brown semi-transparent tone is scrubbed over the black and white paints. This creates optical grays when glazes and semi-glazes are painted.
4. Overpainting
The next several steps are for adding layers of color. Each layer can take up to several weeks to dry before the next layer can be added.
Each layer of paint has a different focus, with each of them building on the foundation. For example:
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Scumbling adds opaque paint using a dry brush. This helps to create texture add subtle tonal variations.
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Glazing with transparent and semi-transparent wet paint creates depth and richness because it allows for light to move through the many layers.
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Using opaque paint in the highlights completes the illusion of depth, making the two-dimensional painting feel like it is three-dimensional.
5. Varnish
The last step is to add a layer of varnish. after allowing the painting to dry for 6 to 12 months (depending on the climate. Not only does this protect the painting from dirt and damage. but sunken colors reappear, inconsistencies are evened out, and the painting comes alive.