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Cennino Cennini – Giotto’s technique

The Book of Art, written towards the end of the Fourteenth Century by Cennino Cennini, still remains the primary source for the knowledge of the artistic techniques of the Fourteenth Century. The composition was outlined with willow charcoal, darkening the folds and faces, then the tablet was dusted …

Giovanni Bellini – Tempera grassa and mixed media

In the paintings of this period there is a use of new techniques: oil emulsified with egg (tempera grassa) and also a succession of layers in tempera and oil (mixed technique).

Giovanni Fattori – The macchiaioli technique

Giovanni Fattori’s technique involves a drawing executed directly on the surface of the wood without any preparation. The support is often obtained from cigar boxes …

Raffaello

Raphael – Oil painting in Italy

“It was a beautiful invention and a great commodity to the art of painting to find the color in oil”, said Giorgio Vasari. Indeed the new technique …

Vermeer

Vermeer – The Seventeenth Century in Holland

Bright colors, prominency of light elements and transparency of shadows painted on a brilliant primer are the distinctive features of Flemish painting. During the Seventeenth Century …

Simone Martini – Egg Tempera

The painting of the skin tones, which, according to Cennini’s painting rules, is the final operation, requires a green base which, obtained with green earth and lead white …