The term 'panel painting' denotes a picture painted on a panel (either a one-piece or multi-piece panel), usually made of wood, although metal and other rigid materials are used. Until canvas became popular in the sixteenth century, most movable paintings in Europe (viz, excluding murals or artworks on vellum) were created on panels. Indeed, right up until 1600, panels were as common as canvases.
They were especially popular with painters producing altarpiece art and miniatures, who might use wood or copper (even slate) panels.
The preference of most Italian Old Masters was white poplar, while Dutch, Flemish and other northern European painters tended to use oak. Other types of panel wood included: beech, cedar, chestnut, fir, larch, mahogany, spruce, teak and walnut. Among modern artists, synthetic materials like fibre-board and plywood, are popular.
HistoryAlthough panel painting in Greek art was quite commonplace, most Greco-Roman panel art has been destroyed. The largest surviving group of panel paintings from Antiquity are the Egyptian mummy portraits, dating from about 100 BCE to 250 CE. However, the finest ancient examples are the Byzantine panel pictures in Saint Catherine's Monastery, Mount Sinai, completed about 400-600. Later, towards 1200, changes in church practices (aligning both priest and congregation on the same side of the altar) provided space behind the altar for an icon or religious image and thus caused a revival in fine art panel painting. Panels became a popular form of Russian medieval painting, being well developed by the Novgorod school of icon painting. Three of the greatest Byzantine/Russian icon panel painters include: Theophanes the Greek (c.1340-1410), founder of the Novgorod school; his pupil Andrei Rublev (c.1360-1430), famous for the Holy Trinity icon; and Dionysius (c.1440-1502), noted for his panels executed for the Volokolamsky Monastery. Typical icongraphy included Jesus Christ or the Virgin, alone or accompanied by saints.
Greg's panels are pretty pure examples of why this support is so preferable to canvas. They have the right combination of depth and simplicity of construction to be both light and easily hung, as well as a birch surface, reliable for all painting applications.
ReplyDeleteAnd the price point is the best I've seen.
I'll be continuing to source Greg's craftsmanship for custom jobs and as a supplier for students at the Valley Art Studio School (valleyartstudioschool.com).
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