Impasto means that areas of the canvas are heavily built up with many layers of paint. Texture is seen in the way of brush marks or palette knife marks. The application of the paint can be very expressive as in Van Gogh’s paintings and is said to be the artist revelling in manipulating the paint and using its sensuous properties.
I prefer sticks, trowels, knives and dripping fluid paint or a heavy impasto with sand, broken glass or other foreign matter added.” – Jackson Pollock
First noticed in the art work of the Rennaissance impasto became all the more important in the nineteenth century and almost compulsory in modern art with the reality of the surface of the painting being as important as the smooth picture and the painting being referred to as “painterly” ie “the artists revelling in the manipulation of the paint” ref:http://www.tate.org.uk/learn/online-resources/glossary/i/impasto
Impasto reflects light differently to flatly applied paint and can give a sculptural appearance to the art work.
Rembrandt, Titian and Vermeer used impasto in the folds of clothing where it was often used with more delicate painting
Titian
sourced on line March 2015 from: https://www.nga.gov/collection/gallery/gg23/gg23-41.html
“Venus’ face small strokes are blended to reproduce her ideal complexion, and a careful line traces brows. But as she draws an arm across her breast, contours are softened to suggest a pliant body giving way under touch. A deep layering of translucent red glazes—unreadable up close—resolves into the folds of dense velvet at a greater distance. In the border, an intricate embroidered pattern is conjured by quick flashes of yellow and white highlights. ref: http://www.nga.gov/content/ngaweb/Collection/highlights/highlight41.html
Tintoretto
Finding of the Body of St Mark by Tintoretto
Although not related to my search for impasto by Tintoretto I have became interested in this picture because of the composition in which the eyes and hands of the figures take us ina sweeping semicircle at the front of the picture and then up to what appears to be a body being lowered from a balcony, and in the perspective as it sweeps past the raised hand to a light behind the white of the old man’s head at the golden section.
I was also interested in the findings in ref:http://www.encyclopedia.com/topic/Tintoretto.aspx
of how Tintoretto went about painting many of his pictures: “Tintoretto worked and drew very quickly, using only lights and shadows in the modeling of his forms, so that his figures look as if they had gained their plasticity by a kind of magic. In the rendering of large compositions he is reported to have used as models small figures which he made of wax and placed or hung in boxes so cleverly illuminated that the conditions of light and shade in the picture he was painting would be the same as those in the room in which it was to be hung.”
I could find little of the use of impasto by Tintoretto although I trust it would have been a useful tool for the painting of light in which he excelled.
Rembrandt Was well known for his use of impasto to the extent of it leading to a form of early abstraction.
Belthazar’s feast Rembrandt ref:http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Belshazzar%27s_Feast_%28Rembrandt%29
Reading from the book: “Techniques of the Great Masters of Art” the manner in which the jewels around Balthazar’s cloak were painted were dependent on impasto.”he molded the jewellery with a blunt brush into ridges and troughs which reflect or hold light using the handle to scrape texture into the paint. He then uses a fine brush to bring out the peaks with yellow or white so accentuating the actual reflected light. Close up the brooch is an abstraction.
Vermeer
Out of all the artist’s, I would not have thought that Vermeer used impasto as his images appear so move and polished. Once again reverting to the book “Techniques of the great Masters of Art” Vermeer seems to have mixed a perfect flat glaze The skirt in the GUoitar player consists of grey underpainting then broad flat areas of white and dark grey green with minimal texture or brushwork. However the frame of the picture (behind the subject) and the necklace around her neck are imapstoed and touched with light colours in a an abstract fashion to reflect the light.
The Guitar Player by Vermeer ref:http://www.wikiwand.com/ro/Chitar%C4%83
Constable
Turner
playing with creativity 