Oil painting

Oil painting is a technique in which pigments are processed into oil paint using drying oil as a binder and applied to a painting support that has been primed beforehand. Typical drying oils are linseed, walnut and poppy seed oil, whereby metallic siccatives and resins can be used as additives to the binder. This painting technique is regarded as the „classical supreme discipline” of painting, as countless paintings depict portraits, landscapes, still lifes and genres whose durability and brilliance of color are considered unsurpassed.

Artists value oil painting because of its good technical properties. To produce an oil painting, balsam turpentine oil, resin varnish (dammar or mastic resin solution) and/or oil are used as a painting medium, with turpentine serving as a thinner. Painting is done according to the old painter’s rule of „fat on lean”, whereby an incorrect painting method, such as too much oil or a too absorbent painting surface, can lead to problems such as wrinkles or cracks in the oil painting. Smoothly sanded oil paintings are more prone to cracking, known as craquelure. Older oil paintings often show signs of ageing such as net-like cracks, and the painting may yellow over time, depending on the oils and resins used. This process can be partially reversed by exposure to sunlight, while storage without exposure to light can intensify the yellowing process. Once all the layers of paint have completely dried and hardened, often after more than a year, an oil painting can be covered with a varnish to protect the surface.

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