423:
259:
563:(1497/98–1543) used oak while working in southern Germany and England. In the Middle Ages, spruce and lime were used in the Upper Rhine and often in Bavaria. Outside of the Rhineland, softwood (such as pinewood) was mainly used. Of a group of twenty Norwegian altar frontals from the Gothic period (1250–1350) fourteen were made of fir, two of oak, and four of pine (Kaland 1982). Large altars made in Denmark during the fifteenth century used oak for the figures as well as for the painted wings. Lime was popular with
93:
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115:) represent the oldest surviving Greek panel paintings. Most classical Greek paintings that were famous in their day seem to have been of a size comparable to smaller modern works – perhaps up to a half-length portrait size. However, for a generation in the second quarter of the fifth-century BC there was a movement, called the "new painting" and led by
123:, apparently painted on wood, decorating the interiors of public buildings with very large and complicated subjects containing numerous figures at least half life-size, and including battle scenes. We can only attempt to imagine what these looked like from some detailed literary descriptions and vase-paintings that appear to echo their compositions.
535:. The Panel Paintings Initiative is a response to the growing recognition that significant collections of paintings on wood panels may be at risk in coming decades due to the waning numbers of conservators and craftspeople with the highly specialized skills required for the conservation of these complex works of art.
638:
The oak favored as a support by the painters of the northern school was, however, not always of local origin. In the seventeenth century about four thousand full-grown oak trees were needed to build a medium-sized merchant ship; thus, imported wood was necessary. Oak coming from Königsberg as well as
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and many other painters preferred it for the greater precision that could be achieved with a totally solid support, and many of his most important works also used it, even for paintings over four metres long in one dimension. His panels are of notoriously complicated construction, containing as many
181:
period, and
Byzantine icons were imported, there are next to no survivals in an unaltered state. In the 12th century panel painting experienced a revival. Altarpieces seem to have begun to be used during the 11th century, with the possible exception of a few earlier examples. They became more common
519:
In theory, dendro-chronology gives an exact felling date, but in practice allowances have to be made for a seasoning period of several years, and a small panel may be from the centre of the tree, with no way of knowing how many rings outside the panel there were. So dendro-chronological conclusions
281:
By the 15th century with the increased wealth of Europe, and later the appearance of humanism, and a changing attitude about the function of art and patronage, panel painting went in new directions. Secular art opened the way to the creation of chests, painted beds, birth trays and other furniture.
455:
Wood panel is now rather more useful to art historians than canvas, and in recent decades there has been great progress in extracting this information. Many fakes have been discovered and mistaken datings corrected. Specialists can identify the tree species used, which varied according to the area
370:
A carpenter would construct a solid wood piece the size of the panel needed. Usually a radial cut piece was preferred (across rather than along the length of the tree; the opposite of most timber cuts), with the outer sapwood excluded. In Italy it was usually seasoned poplar, willow or linden. It
413:
was developed. This was more tolerant, and allowed the exceptional detail of Early
Netherlandish art. This used a very painstaking multi-layered technique, where the painting, or a particular part of it, had to be left for a couple of days for one layer to dry before the next was applied.
663:
was already in use by a number of painters during the first decades of the seventeenth century and was used often in the
Netherlands in the nineteenth century. Even so, when canvas or copper was not used, the main oeuvre of the northern school was painted on oak panels.
182:
in the 13th century because of new liturgical practices—the priest and congregation were now on the same side of the altar, leaving the space behind the altar free for the display of a holy image—and thus altar decorations were in demand. The habit of placing decorated
382:
would be applied, each layer sanded down before the next applied, sometimes as many as 15 layers, before a smooth hard surface emerged, not unlike ivory. This stage was not necessarily done after the 16th century, or darker grounds were
406:, which uses an egg-yolk medium. Using small brushes dipped in a mixture of pigment and egg-yolk, the paint was applied in very small, almost transparent, brushstrokes. Thin layers of paint would be used to create volumetric forms.
201:
including members of the donor's family are also often shown, usually kneeling to the side. They were for some time a cheaper alternative to the far more prestigious equivalents in metalwork, decorated with gems,
452:(which consists of eighteen separate panels, seventeen added as the artist enlarged his composition), often suffer greatly over time. Each warps in its own way, tearing the overall piece apart at the seams.
374:
The wood would be coated with a mixture of animal-skin glues and resin and covered with linen (the mixture and linen combination was known as a "size"); this might be done by a specialist, or in the artists
651:, a Dutch writer on painting techniques, considered oak to be the most useful wooden substrate on which to paint. However, exceptions are seen rather early in the seventeenth century: sometimes walnut,
293:
the change took about a century longer, and panel paintings remained common, especially in
Northern Europe, even after the cheaper and more portable canvas had become the main support medium. The young
940:
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on occasion. By the 18th century it had become unusual to paint on panel, except for small works to be inset into furniture, and the like. But, for example, The
National Gallery in London has two
197:. All were painted with religious images, commonly the Christ or the Virgin, with the saints appropriate to the dedication of the church, and the local town or diocese, or to the donor.
282:
Many such works are now detached and hung framed on walls in museums. Many double-sided wings of altarpieces (see picture at top) have also been sawn into two one-sided panels.
107:
Panel painting is very old; it was a very prestigious medium in Greece and Rome, but only very few examples of ancient panel paintings have survived. A series of 6th century BC
441:
Wood panels, especially if kept with too little humidity, often warp and crack with age, and from the 19th century, when reliable techniques were developed, many have been
399:, used at Al-Fayum and in the earliest surviving Byzantine icons, which are at the Saint Catherine's Monastery. This uses heated wax as the medium for the pigments.
206:, and perhaps ivory figures, most of which have long been broken up for their valuable materials. Painted panels for altars are most numerous in Spain, especially
520:
tend to be expressed as a "terminus post quem" or an earliest possible date, with a tentative estimate of an actual date, that may be twenty or more years later.
186:
of saints on or behind the altar, as well as the tradition of decorating the front of the altar with sculptures or textiles, preceded the first altarpieces.
334:
Many other painting traditions also painted, and still paint, on wood, but the term is usually only used to refer to the
Western tradition described above.
713:
221:
or other religious works. However, it is estimated that of all the panel paintings produced there, 99.9 percent have been lost. The vast majority of
449:
643:
is often found among works by
Flemish and Dutch artists from the 15th through the 17th centuries; the origin can be established by the patterns of
911:
897:
853:
723:
484:
and other woods. The
Netherlands ran short of local timber early in the 15th century, and most Early Netherlandish masterpieces are Baltic
422:
247:
146:(about 200 AD), is one of the handful of non-funerary Graeco-Roman specimens to survive. Wood has always been the normal support for the
173:
Although there seem from literary references to have been some panel paintings produced in
Western Europe through the centuries between
635:. In France, until the seventeenth century, most panels were made from oak, although a few made of walnut and poplar have been found.
77:
245:, which is very early indeed for oil painting also. In these works the frame and panel are sometimes a single piece of wood, as with
883:
867:
840:
826:
758:"Behind the scenes in Conservation: A structural repair of Rubens's 'Het Steen' | Behind the scenes | National Gallery, London"
162:) date from the 5th or 6th centuries, and are the oldest panel paintings which seem to be of the highest contemporary quality.
258:
159:
874:
814:
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366:) published in 1390, and other sources. It changed little over the centuries. It was a laborious and painstaking process:
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sequences have been developed for the main source areas of timber for panels. Italian paintings used local or sometimes
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442:
933:
673:
320:
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304:
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are the two techniques used in antiquity. Encaustic largely ceased to be used after the early
Byzantine icons.
967:
576:
155:
255:), where the frame was also painted, including an inscription done illusionistically to resemble carving.
81:
68:
medium in the 16th century, panel painting was the normal method, when not painting directly onto a wall (
951:
977:
371:
would be planed and sanded and if needed, joined with other pieces to obtain the desired size and shape.
127:
946:
906:
at the J. Paul Getty Museum, April 1995, Edited by Kathleen Dardes and Andrea Rothe, pp. 149–177.
445:. This can result in damage to the paint layer, as historical transfer techniques were rather brutal.
342:
532:
315:
plates) were another rival support, from the end of the 16th century, used by many artists including
96:
210:, which is explained by the poverty of the country at this time, as well as the lack of Reformation
92:
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568:
354:, early 15th century, on a three-piece panel. The raised edges are probably gesso rather than wood.
267:
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564:
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163:
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907:
902:
Wadum, Jørgen, 'Historical Overview of Panel-Making Techniques in the Northern Countries', in
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techniques can give an approximate date-range (typically to a range of about 20 years), and
308:
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Canvas took over from panel in Italy by the first half of the 16th century, a change led by
36:
648:
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359:
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and the artists of Venice (which made the finest canvas at this point, for sails). In the
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Once the panel construction was complete, the design was laid out, usually in charcoal.
527:
is a multi-year project in collaboration between the Getty Conservation Institute, the
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316:
198:
178:
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623:. However, in general, oak was the most common substrate used for panel making in the
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848:
at the J. Paul Getty Museum, April 1995, Edited by Kathleen Dardes and Andrea Rothe,
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351:
151:
139:
65:
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have been used. Fir wood is shown to have been used in the Upper and Middle Rhine,
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230:
217:
The 13th and 14th centuries in Italy were a great period of panel painting, mostly
135:
108:
41:
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312:
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233:, and some other secular scenes. However, one of the earliest surviving oils on
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when he was in Venice and on oak when in the Netherlands and southern Germany.
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501:
218:
211:
194:
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45:
890:
Lucas Cranach the Elder: Painting materials, techniques and workshop practice
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wood—an unusual choice. In Northern Europe, poplar is very rarely found, but
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324:
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207:
17:
904:
The Structural Conservation of Panel Paintings – Proceedings of a Symposium
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The Structural Conservation of Panel Paintings – Proceedings of a Symposium
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30:
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588:
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are not uncommon. In the northeast and south, coniferous trees such as
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imported into Europe was used by later painters, including examples by
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167:
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https://www.maltechnik-wallraf.de/02-support-of-fundamental-importance
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60:, either a single piece or a number of pieces joined together. Until
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for his paintings in France; Hans Baldung Grien (1484/85–1545) and
789:
More information on the objectives of the project can be found on
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421:
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341:
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131:
91:
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The Grove Encyclopedia of Medieval Art and Architecture, Volume 1
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on panel. The outer wings are hinged, and painted on both sides.
917:
Dendrochronology (Tree-Ring Dating) of Panel Paintings, Cornell
596:
556:
485:
481:
84:). Wood panels were also used for mounting vellum paintings.
448:
Paintings on wood panel that were expanded, such as Rubens'
831:
Campbell, Lorne. National Gallery Catalogues (new series):
954:, Wallraf-Richartz-Museum & Fondation Corboud, Cologne
437:
panel painting, made out of 18 individually added pieces.
504:
to the Netherlands. Southern German painters often used
402:
This was replaced before the end of first millennium by
134:, provide the bulk of surviving panel painting from the
543:
Artists would typically use wood native to the region.
225:
are on panel, and these include most of the earliest
130:, preserved in the exceptionally dry conditions of
647:. In the last decade of the seventeenth century,
947:Online demonstration from the Fitzwilliam Museum
138:– about 900 face or bust portraits survive. The
443:transferred to canvas or modern board supports
872:Gealt, Adelheid M. (1989). "Panel Painting".
833:The Fifteenth Century Netherlandish Paintings
378:Once the size had dried, layer upon layer of
8:
323:used panel for their small works, including
718:. Oxford University Press. pp. 44–48.
189:The earliest forms of panel painting were
158:traditions, the earliest of which (all in
27:Painting made on a flat panel made of wood
395:The usual ancient painting technique was
126:The first century BC to third century AD
860:The Pictorial arts of the West, 800–1200
450:A View of Het Steen in the Early Morning
427:A View of Het Steen in the Early Morning
29:
695:
409:By the beginning of the 15th century,
56:is a painting made on a flat panel of
547:(1471–1528), for example, painted on
358:The technique is known to us through
7:
418:Conservation and scientific analysis
103:. Encaustic on wood—note the cracks.
892:, Amsterdam University Press 2007,
819:The Oxford History of Classical Art
338:Panel construction and preparation
248:Portrait of a Man (Self Portrait?)
25:
579:(1472–1553). Cranach often used
193:(altar backs), altar fronts and
44:and his brothers, 1432. A large
362:'s "The Craftsman's Handbook" (
271:, a German panel painting from
712:Hourihane, Colum, ed. (2012).
702:Boardman, 103–104 (illus. 105)
615:. Pinewood was used mainly in
1:
875:Dictionary of the Middle Ages
659:, or Indian woods were used.
456:where the painting was made.
319:. Many Dutch painters of the
299:as seventeen pieces of wood (
272:
223:Early Netherlandish paintings
627:, northern Germany, and the
311:, copper sheets (often old
160:Saint Catherine's Monastery
1004:
762:www.nationalgallery.org.uk
674:Cradling (art restoration)
525:Panel Paintings Initiative
109:painted tablets from Pitsa
941:National Gallery Glossary
119:, for very large painted
305:National Gallery, London
253:National Gallery, London
64:became the more popular
934:Encyclopædia Britannica
619:and beech wood only in
595:, and various types of
577:Lucas Cranach the Elder
82:illuminated manuscripts
575:(d. 1562), DĂĽrer, and
438:
355:
278:
243:Gemäldegalerie, Berlin
104:
99:of boy in 2nd-century
49:
943:(archived 7 May 2009)
888:Heydenreich, Gunnar,
496:and shipped down the
425:
345:
261:
241:of about 1410 in the
136:Imperial Roman period
128:Fayum mummy portraits
95:
33:
533:J. Paul Getty Museum
331:portraits on panel.
97:Fayum mummy portrait
973:Painting techniques
388:Painting techniques
364:Il libro dell' arte
239:Madonna with angels
229:, such as those by
988:Painting materials
573:Christoph Amberger
565:Albrecht Altdorfer
439:
356:
279:
105:
50:
912:978-0-89236-384-1
898:978-90-5356-745-6
862:, 1993, Yale UP,
854:978-0-89236-384-1
801:Wadum pp. 149–177
791:The Getty website
725:978-0-19-539536-5
555:(1452–1519) used
553:Leonardo da Vinci
468:wood, most often
309:cabinet paintings
101:Greco-Roman Egypt
16:(Redirected from
995:
929:"Panel Painting"
858:Dodwell, C. R.;
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567:(c. 1480–1538),
529:Getty Foundation
472:, but including
462:dendrochronology
432:
429:, 131 x 229 cm,
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268:Paradiesgärtlein
37:Ghent Altarpiece
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360:Cennino Cennini
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199:Donor portraits
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923:External links
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317:Adam Elsheimer
175:Late Antiquity
154:and the later
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978:Medieval art
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780:Campbell, 29
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765:. Retrieved
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743:
738:Dodwell, 263
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684:Medieval art
645:growth rings
637:
561:Hans Holbein
542:
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411:oil painting
408:
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237:is a French
231:Jan van Eyck
216:
188:
172:
142:, also from
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106:
53:
51:
42:Jan van Eyck
35:
18:Oil on panel
313:printmaking
291:Netherlands
276: 1410
219:altarpieces
184:reliquaries
144:Roman Egypt
983:Gothic art
962:Categories
878:. Vol. 9.
809:References
767:2023-10-02
679:Gothic art
531:, and the
516:and Goya.
321:Golden Age
212:iconoclasm
195:crucifixes
179:Romanesque
117:Polygnotus
78:miniatures
76:(used for
46:altarpiece
657:cedarwood
629:Rhineland
609:Nuremberg
514:Rembrandt
466:Dalmatian
397:encaustic
325:Rembrandt
301:Het Steen
264:Frankfurt
227:portraits
208:Catalonia
164:Encaustic
835:, 1998,
668:See also
661:Mahogany
653:pearwood
605:Augsburg
589:chestnut
510:mahogany
488:, often
474:chestnut
346:Russian
287:Mantegna
177:and the
156:Orthodox
72:) or on
633:Cologne
631:around
498:Vistula
404:tempera
375:studio.
204:enamels
191:dossals
168:tempera
121:friezes
88:History
66:support
937:Online
910:
896:
882:
866:
852:
839:
825:
722:
641:Gdańsk
621:Saxony
613:Saxony
611:, and
599:, and
593:spruce
585:walnut
549:poplar
508:, and
502:Baltic
494:Warsaw
490:Polish
478:walnut
470:poplar
435:Rubens
296:Rubens
235:canvas
113:Greece
74:vellum
70:fresco
62:canvas
817:ed.,
690:Notes
617:Tirol
581:beech
383:used.
380:gesso
148:Icons
132:Egypt
908:ISBN
894:ISBN
880:ISBN
864:ISBN
850:ISBN
837:ISBN
823:ISBN
720:ISBN
601:pine
587:and
506:pine
348:icon
329:Goya
262:The
166:and
58:wood
34:The
597:fir
557:oak
486:oak
482:oak
350:by
150:of
80:in
40:by
964::
931:–
760:.
655:,
607:,
571:,
480:,
476:,
431:c.
303:,
273:c.
214:.
52:A
770:.
728:.
111:(
20:)
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