For hundreds of years, artists have been creating masterworks using oil on canvas. While the technique dates back to the seventh century (and likely a long time before that), it wasn’t until the 15th century, when the use of oil paint became more sophisticated, thanks to the influence of the Renaissance.
Several oil paintings stand out as particularly significant. They can be used to chart the evolution of the medium, and the changing techniques used by oil painters over time.
Mona Lisa by Leonardo da Vinci (1503-1506)
The Mona Lisa is without question the most famous painting ever produced. It’s best known for its use of ‘sfumato’, which was described by Da Vinci as ‘without lines or borders, in the manner of smoke’. The technique produces soft transitions in colours around the subject’s eyes, in particular, and it helps to contribute to her smiling, enigmatic expression. The subtlety of the Mona Lisa’s features, and the emotion they express, was a result of years of study into human anatomy.
Guernica by Pablo Picasso (1937)
This painting is arguably the most famous anti-war work in history. It was painted in 1937, shortly after Guernica had been bombed by Nazi Germany and Fascist Italy. The subject of the painting is incredibly gruesome. However, the painting’s surrealist style prevents it from being outright disgusting. Instead, what is produced is a sense of unease. Art scholars have debated over the meaning of several of the painting’s elements for years.
The Night Watch by Rembrandt (1642)
This masterwork by Rembrandt makes use of another, perhaps better known, artistic technique: chiaroscuro. This technique involves the juxtaposition of light and dark – although in this case the contrast is more subtle than in previous works by, say, Caravaggio.
This group portrait arrived at the height of the Dutch Golden Age, and helped to establish group portraiture as a worthwhile pursuit.
The Death of Sardanapalus by Eugène Delacroix (1827)
This work was inspired by the play of the same name, by Lord Byron. The work is particularly violent, and centres around a large bed with a red covering. It features many nude and semi-nude women, several people being stabbed (including one man who has stabbed himself), and a horse being attacked.
The painting caused considerable controversy at the time, but it proved inspirational. Just as it had been inspired by Byron’s play, it prompted Franz Liszt to compose an opera based around Sardanapalus – albeit one he never finished.
The Persistence of Memory by Salvador Dalí (1931)
This work by Dali is among the most widely recognised Surrealist works. It features a number of melting clocks set against a landscape. The perspective is nonsensical, which adds to the sense of weirdness
