The art of painting is the creation of a two-dimensional visual language using line, color, tones, and texture in order to produce sensations of volume, space, movement, light and/or illusionary depth on a flat surface. This language may be used to depict real or supernatural phenomena, to interpret a narrative theme or to create wholly abstract visual relationships. A variety of mediums are used to achieve these effects including oil, watercolor, acrylic, and pastel. Painting can be done on canvas, paper, or board and is usually done with a brush but other implements such as sponges and palette knives are also used.
The history of painting can be traced back to prehistoric cave drawings made with iron oxide pigments, but it was not until the Renaissance that artists developed paints that could be mixed with water and applied with brushes to create realistic images. The use of perspective and lighting to make objects appear more three-dimensional was also a significant advancement that helped establish the dominant style of painting today, known as realism. Examples of paintings that are considered to be in this style include Leonardo da Vinci’s Mona Lisa and Henri Matisse’s Dishes and Fruit.
Another major advancement in painting occurred around this time, with the invention of the metal paint tube, which enabled artists to use more controlled applications of color and paint. This paved the way for the development of modernism in painting, which relied on abstraction and geometric forms to convey emotion. Artists such as Pablo Picasso, Mark Rothko, and Georgia O’Keeffe experimented with reducing a subject to its primary colors, shapes, and patterns in order to show its essence rather than its fine detail, which is often what is seen by the naked eye.
During the 20th century, painting continued to evolve, with artists making huge leaps in their styles, influenced by technological advances, changes in social conventions and philosophy, and the influence of world events. Examples of these developments can be seen in the works of Max Ernst, Wassily Kandinsky, Mark Rothko, and Jackson Pollock.
In The Art of Painting, a large curtain is drawn back to reveal a model standing before an artist with a paintbrush in hand. The model wears a laurel wreath, which identifies her as Clio, the Greek goddess of history. The painting is set in an elegant room with a large wall map of Europe, emphasizing the link between art and history. Salvador Dali references the image in his surreal painting The Ghost of Vermeer of Delft Which Can Be Used as a Table (1934).