Looking through my phone, I see another article, “The Top 10 Most Famous Paintings,” leaving me wondering what and why makes a painting or artist great, without getting into my next thought, who chooses?
What can happen in Art is there are advancements in thought, techniques, subject matter, etc., and these advancements are universally used in all types of art TODAY, even though they were invented in the past, some 500-2000 years ago.
Whether you use oil, acrylic, pastel, watercolor painting, or graphic design, illustration, animation, or digital art advertising, contemporary, nonrepresentational art, or representational art today. Understanding the art of the past, what it did, what it does when we view it today, can, and will affect your art, regardless of the field and the medium that you choose, TODAY.
So many of these concepts can be taught in drawing, allowing you to focus on the concept at hand and not get caught up in making art. Back to my topic, prior to Titian, the great 16th-century Italian artist. During Titian’s time, Art was grouped into a category known as DESEGNO, where everything was flat 2D, with careful, painstaking designing of the page, organizing shapes, textures, and patterns through careful thought.
I know I'm repeating this slow deliberation though of developing the page, but I cannot emphasize the artist doing this for the love of it. Titian’s technique was to smear a swash of Burnt Umber over the painting establishing the “Halftone” overall value and setting the mood.
If we look at Leonardo da Vinci and his Chiaroscuro where the developing of a page was setting tone by the overall value and darkness, which would also set the mood and psychological feeling for the painting, depending on how the artist would use what we call the Halftone.
This is a very common technique for starting the painting using a brush first, instead of careful, deliberate, drawing with a pencil. Titian and the Spanish technique is known as COLORE.
I believe Art has a place for both.
Wouldn't it depend on your overall story or message that you would like to develop or tell on which technique would be applicable? Another example of understanding the past I’m using it in your art today, Knowledge is Power.