The Western World and Art - Essay Example

Unlike drawing, there are multiple forms of mediums that include paper, wood, and metal.  Actual pressure is applied to the medium form to create art. Mount Fuji, from the Thirty-six Views of Mount Fuji by Katsushika Hokusai.

Painting is a form of art where paint or color is applied to a form of medium that is usually brushed on. Surfaces that painting occurs on include walls, paper, canvases, wood, and glass. Paintings appear more naturalistic than drawings which may seem sparse. Pablo Picasso was a famous painter who created Doer Maar au Chat (1941).

Encaustic: this is also known as a hot wax painting where hot beeswax is applied to add colored pigments. It is usually put on either wood or canvas. Metal tools are used to shape this paint before it cools down.  Encaustic painting began in Egypt around 100-300 AD and later was used by many 20th-century American artists. This painting became prevalent around the 1990s when people started using electric irons, hotplates, and other heated instruments on different mediums to make abstract designs and other complex paintings.

Fresco: involves a mural painting type that is usually created on plaster on either walls or ceilings. It is an Italian word that comes from Latin meaning “fresh.” Frescoes began in Greece around 1500 BC and became prevalent in Roman wall paintings.  They were also used in ancient India to depict stories of the Buddha’s life.  Frescoes became extremely popular during the Middle Ages during the Renaissance, especially in Italy.

Tempera: is a technique using a permanent painting surface that is fast-drying using colored pigment that is mixed with a dissolvable type of binder.  They usually last for very long. It was later superseded by the creation of oil painting. Tempera was found in early Egyptian decorations used on mummy portraits. It also was used in manuscripts in the Byzantine world and combined with encaustic painting during the early Renaissance. Michelangelo used this technique very often as well.

Oil Painting: is a painting technique where pigments are mixed with drying oil. These oils include poppyseed oil, walnut oil, and linseed oil. Depending on the type of oil, there may be a different sheen seen on that pinning. Originally, oil paint was used on Buddhist paintings between the 5th and 9th centuries. It became very popular during the Middle Ages in northern Europe. By the time the Renaissance occurred, oil painting was almost completely replaced by tempera within Europe.

Watercolor: is when paints are suspended in a water-soluble liquid. Usually, watercolor paintings are done on papyrus, fabric, wood, or paper. They appear transparent since the light reflects from the surface of the medium.  The origin date is unknown but it was used quite often in manuscript writing and later on, people studied the form in English schools.  Watercolor painting gave rise to brush painting or scroll painting in East Asia where they use this form of painting frequently in their writing.

Gouache: is very similar to watercolor painting since the paint is suspended in water. However, the particles in gouache differ since they are much large and the ratio topwater ratioed. White pigment is also present. This term for painting originated in the early 16th century16th-centuryen oil paint was put over a tempera base. The lighter colors may dry darker whereas dark colors usually dry lighter which makes it hard to match the colors when painting. In the 20th-century animals usually use this technique as background

Synthetic media: is used to describe either Calcium Sulfate or Calcium Carbonate compounds known also as gypsum and limestone. After a pressing, many compounds are formed. The limestone becomes cement after crushing, heating, and dehydrating. History on the technique is very minimal since the technique is rather new. However, it allows the art collector to have an inexpensive way to collect sculptures that are truly limited editions.

Computer-generated painting: also known more frequently as digital art where digital technology is used to paint, draw, or sculpt. It became widely used in the 21st century with the development of many subtend including games, digital installation art, 3D still imagery, and computer-generated visual media.

The Western World and its focusses deeply on staying true to natural art especially in Spain. There was a move towards naturalism during the Romanesque period of Medieval art and Gothic painting, especially in Italy. These were mainly presented in cathedrals with stained glass works and paintings inside the church. The flow of art on the natural side was also emphasized during the Romanticism period. However, many famous works of art go away from the more natural forms and focus on different techniques such as Post-Impressionism. These artists included Vincent van Gogh, Georges Seurate, and Paul Cezanne.  This transformed into the art of modernism and expressionism into works of art. Symbolist painters used dream imagery and mythology. Even the famous painting of Starry Night strayed away from the traditional natural forms of painting. Truth to nature does not have to involve painting something exactly how it is.  A painting much evokes some type of emotion and may resemble something only an imagine of an individual can think of. The period of art that went away from the natural forms became so iconic within our history and still remain today as some of the most important pieces of art.