Editing Impasto

{{Short description|Painting technique}}
{{About|the painting technique|the pottery type|Impasto (pottery)}}
[[File:Roses - Vincent van Gogh.JPG|thumb|right|100000x260px|''[[Still Life: Vase with Pink Roses]]'' (1890) is an oil painting by [[Vincent van Gogh|Van Gogh]] which makes extensive use of the impasto technique.]]
'''Impasto''' is a technique used in [[painting]], where [[paint]] is laid on an area of the surface thickly,<ref>''Impasto.'' In: {{cite book |date= 2015 |editor1-last= Weyer |editor1-first= Angela |editor2-last= Roig Picazo |editor2-first= Pilar |editor3-last= Pop |editor3-first= Daniel |editor4-last= Cassar |editor4-first= JoAnn |editor5-last= Özköse |editor5-first= Aysun |editor6-last= Vallet |editor6-first= Jean-Marc |editor7-last= Srša |editor7-first= Ivan |title= EwaGlos. European Illustrated Glossary Of Conservation Terms For Wall Paintings And Architectural Surfaces. English Definitions with translations into Bulgarian, Croatian, French, German, Hungarian, Italian, Polish, Romanian, Spanish and Turkish. |url= http://elearn.hawk-hhg.de/projekte/ewaglos/pages/download.php |location= Petersberg |publisher= Michael Imhof |page= 100 |doi= 10.5165/hawk-hhg/233 |last1= Weyer |first1= Angela |last2= Roig Picazo |first2= Pilar |last3= Pop |first3= Daniel |last4= Cassar |first4= JoAnn |last5= Özköse |first5= Aysun |last6= Jean-Marc |first6= Vallet |last7= Srša |first7= Ivan (Ed.) |access-date= 2016-02-09 |archive-date= 2020-11-25 |archive-url= https://web.archive.org/web/20201125155445/http://elearn.hawk-hhg.de/projekte/ewaglos/pages/download.php |url-status= dead }}</ref> usually thick enough that the [[brush]] or [[painting-knife]] strokes are visible. Paint can also be mixed right on the canvas. When dry, impasto provides texture; the paint appears to be coming out of the canvas.

== Etymology ==
The word ''impasto'' is Italian in origin; in which it means "dough" or "mixture"; related to the verb {{wikt-lang|it|impastare}}, "to knead", or "to paste". Italian usage of {{lang|it|impasto}} includes both a painting and a [[impasto (pottery)|potting technique]]. The root noun of {{lang|it|impasto}} is {{lang|it|pasta}}, meaning "paste".<ref>{{Cite book|title=Webster's New World dictionary of the American language|date=1982|publisher=Warner Books|others=Guralnik, David B. (David Bernard), 1920-2000.|isbn=0446311928|edition=New rev., expanded pocket-size|location=New York, N.Y.|oclc=10638582}}</ref>

== Media ==
[[Oil paint]] is the traditional medium for impasto painting, due to its thick consistency and slow drying time. [[Acrylic paint]] can also be used for impasto by adding heavy body acrylic gels. Impasto is generally not used in [[watercolour|watercolor]] or [[tempera]] without the addition of thickening agent due to the inherent thinness of these media. An artist working in [[pastels]] can produce a limited impasto effect by pressing a soft pastel firmly against the paper.

== Purposes ==
The impasto technique serves several purposes. First, it makes the light [[Reflection (physics)|reflect]] in a particular way, giving the artist additional control over the play of light in the painting. Second, it can add expressiveness to the painting, with the viewer being able to notice the strength and speed by which the artist applied the paint. Third, impasto can push a piece from a painting to a three-dimensional sculptural rendering. The first objective was originally sought by masters such as [[Rembrandt Harmenszoon van Rijn|Rembrandt]], [[Titian]], and [[Vermeer]], to represent folds in clothes or jewels: it was then juxtaposed with a more delicate painting style. Much later, the French [[Impressionists]] created pieces covering entire canvases with rich impasto textures. [[Vincent van Gogh]] used it frequently for aesthetics and expression. [[Abstract expressionists]] such as [[Hans Hofmann]] and [[Willem de Kooning]] also made extensive use of it, motivated in part by a desire to create paintings which dramatically record the action of painting itself. Still more recently, [[Frank Auerbach]] has used such heavy impasto that some of his paintings become nearly three-dimensional.

Impasto gives texture to a painting, meaning that it may be contrasted with more [[Flatness (art)|flat]], smooth, or blended painting styles.

== Artists ==
Many artists have used the impasto technique. Some of the more notable ones including: [[Rembrandt|Rembrandt van Rijn]], [[Diego Velázquez]], [[Vincent van Gogh]], [[Jackson Pollock]], and [[Willem de Kooning]].

<gallery mode="packed" heights="200" caption="Selected examples of paintings which make use of the impasto technique">
File:Jane Frank Crags And Crevices.jpg|''Crags and Crevices'' by [[Jane Frank]] (1960). As with many [[abstract expressionist]] works (and many so-called "[[action painting]]s" as well), impasto is a prominent feature.
File:Cordelia Wilson - Taos Mountain Trail Home.jpg|''Taos Mountain, Trail Home'' by [[Cordelia Wilson]] (1920). A landscape entirely executed with a bold impasto technique.
File:Van Gogh - Starry Night - Google Art Project-x0-y0.jpg|''[[Starry Night]]'' by van Gogh (1889). The impasto technique and line structure gives his viewers the feeling that the sky is moving.<ref>{{Cite book|title=Van Gogh : the life|last=Naifeh, Steven, 1952-|date=2011|publisher=Random House|others=Smith, Gregory White.|isbn=9781588360472|edition= 1st|location=New York|oclc=763401387}}</ref>
File:Rembrandt - Self-portrait, 1660.JPG|''[[Self-Portrait (Rembrandt, Altman)|Self Portrait]]'' by [[Rembrandt]] (1660). His use of impasto was surely inspired by [[Titian]], and the addition of impasto showed a new method of illusion in the artist's work.<ref>Walter Liedtke, Carolyn Logan, Nadine M. Orenstein, Stephanie S. Dickey, “Rubens and Rembrandt: A Comparison of Their Techniques,” ''Rembrandt/not Rembrandt in the Metropolitan Museum of Art'', New York: Metropolitan Museum of Art, 1995.</ref>
</gallery>
==See also==
* [[List of art techniques]]

==References==
{{Reflist}}

==External links==
* {{commons category inline|Impasto (painting)}}
* Lindberg, Ted. [http://www.alfredcurrier.com ''Alfred Currier: Impasto'']
* National Portrait Gallery, London. [http://www.npg.org.uk/collections/explore/glossary-of-art-terms/impasto.php Impasto]
* [https://archive.today/20131008003731/http://uploads4.wikipaintings.org/images/frank-auerbach/bacchus-and-ariadne.jpg Tate Britain Gallery, London. Frank Auerbach, Bacchus & Ariadne.]
* [https://loonycraft.com/how-to-thin-acrylic-paint/ How to thin acrylic paint] Easy Achieve Beautiful.
* [https://atrusovaartist.com/blog/acrylic-impasto-techniques-tips-and-inspiration.html Acrylic Impasto] Acrylic Impasto Techniques by Anastasia Trusova

[[Category:Artistic techniques]]
[[Category:Painting techniques]]