Activity #10: Mediums and Techniques

In 1547, Titian Venetian created Saint John the Evangelist on Patmos using the medium oil on canvas. Medium is referred to as the material from which a work of art is made as well as the liquid mixed with a pigment ( powdered color) to make paint that also binds together the particles of color without dissolving them (Getlein, 168). Oil paints are simply self-explanatory, and consist of pigment compounded with oil. Titian’s work is demonstrative of several known characteristics of oil paintings. Oil paint dries very slowly and consequently allows the artist the opportunity to blend colors subtly, apply very thick or thin layers of paint and rework various sections of their paintings (173). The darker or richest colors in Titian’s painting such as the raven and the suspended angel’s wing appear to be made with thick applications of pigment while the lighter values represents thinner applications. Oil is known as sensuous medium with a distinctive feel and smell (176). Visually speaking, the painting appears to be created with soft brushstrokes some of which are purposely visible in creating the elements of the scene. Oil paints are also known to yellow and darken with age which leaves the viewer to imagine the luster and vibrancy the painting once possessed now replaced with a dullish view.





Domenico Veneziano created Saint John in the Desert in 1445 using the medium of tempera on panel. Tempera is described as paint in which the pigment is mixed with an aqueous, emulsified medium, typically egg yolk (171). Unlike oil tempera dries very quickly, making it difficult if at all possible for colors to easily blend once they are set. An advantage of tempera though is its retention of a painting’s luster and brilliance for centuries (171). Thus, despite its lack of gleam and shine Veneziano’s painting appears well preserved. In this work, the paint’s texture is undeniably apart of the painting. Veneziano used harsher brush strokes in his painting; likely to conform to the environmental theme of the scene. This in combination with shifts in value of earthy tones and implied directional lines suggests the painting has a rugged and textured feel.