Colour & Technique in Renaissance Painting

Principal Painting Techniques

• Three main techniques: fresco, tempera, oils.
• Fresco: Used for ceilings, required quick execution, durable.
• Tempera: Used for small religious panels, egg yolk as binder, bright and translucent colors.
• Oils: Favored for wood panels/canvases, allowed for subtlety and depth in color.

Renaissance Colours

• Colours from earths, minerals, and organic materials.
• Expensive pigments: metal and mineral-based (e.g., lead for white/red, tin for yellow, azurite for blue).
• Ultramarine from lapis lazuli, extremely costly.
• Organic lakes derived from plants and berries; cheaper alternatives.
• Pigments purchased from merchants, apothecaries, monasteries.
• Artists’ account books document pigment costs.

Mixing and Application

• Mixing pigments with liquid mediums required expertise for desired luminosity & texture.
• Brushes made from hog/squirrel/fox hair, variety of sizes.
• Bright colors, especially popular in Venice with technique colore (using colors over lines).

Fresco Technique

• Popular for large surfaces: walls, ceilings.
• Involves wet plaster (arriccio) with finer plaster (intonaco).
• Design sketched and painted with water-based pigments.
• Frescoes durable but required rapid execution.

Tempera Technique

• Ancient method, especially in Egypt.
• Mixes colors with egg yolk, oil, or white curd.
• Applied on gesso or wooden panels.
• Bright, translucent layers; difficult to mix on surface.

Oil Painting Technique

• Made from pigments and oil (linseed, walnut).
• Versatile application on wood, canvas, or walls.
• Known for depth, subtlety, and rich colors.
• Jan van Eyck popularized during Renaissance.
• Oils allowed blending, layering, and detail work.
• Preferred medium for lasting artworks.

Metallic Effects

• Gold, silver, tin leaf used for wealthy commissions.
• Metallic effects also achieved with oils.
• Application required skill to avoid imperfections.

Workshop Practices

• Grinding pigments was specialized, not for apprentices.
• Use of non-porous surfaces like marble for grinding.
• Variability in brushwork for different effects.

Notable Artists & Techniques

• Michelangelo: Sistine Chapel frescoes.
• Leonardo da Vinci: The Last Supper's fresco.
• Titian & Tintoretto: Exponents of colore technique.

Conclusion

• Renaissance techniques and color usage shaped art’s evolution.
• Oil painting emerged as the dominant method due to its flexibility and depth.

This summary captures key elements and techniques from the Renaissance period regarding the use of color and painting methods.