Product Details

• Amazon Sales Rank: #793205 in Books
• Published on: 1990-12-05
• Original language: English
• Number of items: 1
• Binding: Hardcover
• 215 pages

Synopsis
This book is the catalogue for an exhibition held at the National Gallery in London from November 1990 to April 1991. In this book a curator, a conservator, and two scientists use modern methods of examination to investigate exactly how Impressionist paintings were done and what materials were used. Beginning with an essay that sets the techniques of the Impressionists within a wider context of French 19th-century painting practice, the authors go on to discuss such subjects as open-air painting, the Impressionist use of colour, and the paint layers and surfaces of Impressionist paintings. Focusing in particular on the vivid new ready-mixed paints that became available to these painters, the authors show how this development allowed artists to free themselves from traditional studio practice and to express their vision more boldly. The core of the book is devoted to a detailed discussion of 15 paintings from the National Gallery in London which were examined using X-radiography, infra-red photography, and the analysis of pigments and paint media.

The book is illustrated not only with these paintings and with comparative pictures but also with raking-light and infra-red photographs, X-rays, and cross sections of paint samples.