Tuesday, May 27, 2014

Botticelli Paintings

By Darren Hartley


Botticelli adopted a certain conservativeness in his approach to painting. As a matter of fact, he employed the same methods over and over again throughout his career. Still, Botticelli paintings underwent revisions in traditional procedures to give in to new innovations. The employment of a paint with more transparency was evidence of this innovation. This paint, known as tempera grassa, was a combination of egg yolk and oil.

The pigments used in innovative Botticelli paintings were the finest of his time. They were applied in thin, opaque layers known as scumbles, while the reds and greens were frequently glazed. They acquired a compact density, producing an exquisite, enamelled effect and creating an extraordinarily luminous subtlety.

Over time, most of Botticelli paintings lost the fullness of their beauty. Abrasive and over-zealous restoration can take the blame. However, this loss can sometimes be a result of the tendency of colors to become more transparent or change their nature after a few years.

The flesh tones in Botticelli paintings constitute the most refined among its many components. The faces of women were pale and porcelain like, the infants and children endowed with more intensely colored, ruddier complexions while the men appeared with darker flesh.

Botticelli paintings showcased the skill of its artist with the media of chalk, pen, bistre and tempera. Botticelli was considered a pioneer in his use of paper tinted with roses, violets, yellows and grays. This established a middle value for figures, modelled up with whites in the light and down with darker colors.

The uniqueness in the Botticelli paintings consisting of the Dante illustrations lie in their being executed only in outline. They were initially scratched into the parchment and overdrawn with slate and ink. Some of the ink tracings were done with utmost care, others were less advanced while little progress was evident in the execution of their coloring.




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