Oil Paint

Background

When Jan van Eyck started painting, oil painting was not very common, but it was about to become "the favored painting method throughout Europe." Van Eyck is actually frequently, and falsely, credited with the invention of oil paint. While this is not true, it is a testament to his mastery of the material that this lie was propagated throughout history. 

How and Why

The medium of oil paint matched perfectly with the form and function of Jan van Eyck's art. He was intensely interested in the ability to mimic or replicate objects and natural phenomena to remarkable detail. With this material, he could use “layer[s] of translucent pigments to create rich colors, tonality” and, “the illusion of light and textured surfaces." Even better, oil paint did not reveal brush strokes. This feature hid the painter's hand in the creation of these scenes which seek to achieve a sense of devotional immersion where an indication of the artist's presence would only get in the way.

This remarkable technique was not used for purely formal reasons. This attention to detail and naturalism with oil paint was used to “translate empirical observations into art” in order to “enrich the narrative potency” and empathetic capabilities “of their scenes." 

As discussed further in "Devotional Paintings" this empathetic quality was essential to the functions of these pieces.

Gardner, Helen, and Fred S. Kleiner. Gardner's Art through the Ages: a Global History. Wadsworth Cengage Learning, 2013.

Smith, Jeffrey Chipps. The Northern Renaissance. Phaidon Press Limited, 2011.

Italian Renaissance

Differing Perspectives

While the Northern Renaissance artists were focused on the details of minutiae, farther South, painters were interested in exploring a different kind of naturalism. Southern Renaissance painters began to experiment with the use of science and math to craft increasingly accurate depictions of anatomical proportions and one-point perspective to suggest a specific spatial immersion.

This differing focus reveals a difference in values. Italian painters were focused on evoking the past of cultural history and embracing humanism through anatomical depiction and spatial accuracy. These paintings stand as testaments to the individual capacity for excellence of humanity, but the work of their Northern Neighbors was a radically different and profound study of minutiae. This obsession was influenced by “broad religious trends such as the rise of mysticism with its humanization of the divine and stress on sensual perceptions." Eventually trade would bring certain elements from each movement closer to each other, the movement of oil painting to Italy for example, but despite the similarity in name, the desires of each movement were actually quite different. 

Smith, Jeffrey Chipps. The Northern Renaissance. Phaidon Press Limited, 2011.