Impasto

This article is about the painting technique. For the pottery type, seeImpasto (pottery).

Still Life: Vase with Pink Roses(1890) is an oil painting byVan Goghwhich makes extensive use of the impasto technique.

Impastois a technique used inpainting,wherepaintis laid on an area of the surface thickly,usually thick enough that thebrushorpainting-knifestrokes are visible. Paint can also be mixed right on the canvas. When dry, impasto provides texture; the paint appears to be coming out of the canvas.

Etymology

The wordimpastois Italian in origin; in which it means "dough" or "mixture"; related to the verbimpastare,"to knead", or "to paste". Italian usage ofimpastoincludes both a painting and apotting technique.The root noun ofimpastoispasta,meaning "paste".

Media

Oil paintis the traditional medium for impasto painting, due to its thick consistency and slow drying time.Acrylic paintcan also be used for impasto by adding heavy body acrylic gels. Impasto is generally not used inwatercolorortemperawithout the addition of thickening agent due to the inherent thinness of these media. An artist working inpastelscan produce a limited impasto effect by pressing a soft pastel firmly against the paper.

Purposes

The impasto technique serves several purposes. First, it makes the lightreflectin a particular way, giving the artist additional control over the play of light in the painting. Second, it can add expressiveness to the painting, with the viewer being able to notice the strength and speed by which the artist applied the paint. Third, impasto can push a piece from a painting to a three-dimensional sculptural rendering. The first objective was originally sought by masters such asRembrandt,Titian,andVermeer,to represent folds in clothes or jewels: it was then juxtaposed with a more delicate painting style. Much later, the FrenchImpressionistscreated pieces covering entire canvases with rich impasto textures.Vincent van Goghused it frequently for aesthetics and expression.Abstract expressionistssuch asHans HofmannandWillem de Kooningalso made extensive use of it, motivated in part by a desire to create paintings which dramatically record the action of painting itself. Still more recently,Frank Auerbachhas used such heavy impasto that some of his paintings become nearly three-dimensional.

Impasto gives texture to the painting, meaning it can be opposed to moreflat,smooth, or blended painting styles.

Artists

Many artists have used the impasto technique. Some of the more notable ones including:Rembrandt van Rijn,Diego Velázquez,Vincent van Gogh,Jackson Pollock,andWillem de Kooning.

• Selected examples of paintings which make use of the impasto technique
• 
  Crags and CrevicesbyJane Frank(1960). As with manyabstract expressionistworks (and many so-called "action paintings"as well), impasto is a prominent feature.
• 
  Taos Mountain, Trail HomebyCordelia Wilson(1920). A landscape entirely executed with a bold impasto technique.
• 
  Starry Nightby van Gogh (1889). The impasto technique and line structure gives his viewers the feeling that the sky is moving.
• 
  Self PortraitbyRembrandt(1660). His use of impasto was surely inspired byTitian,and the addition of impasto showed a new method of illusion in the artist's work.

See also

• List of art techniques

External links

• Media related toImpasto (painting)at Wikimedia Commons
• Lindberg, Ted.Alfred Currier: Impasto
• National Portrait Gallery, London.Impasto
• Tate Britain Gallery, London. Frank Auerbach, Bacchus & Ariadne.
• How to thin acrylic paintEasy Achieve Beautiful.
• Acrylic ImpastoAcrylic Impasto Techniques by Anastasia Trusova