Impasto is a painting technique in which paint is applied to the canvas or panel in thick, heavy strokes or layers, thick enough that the brush or palette knife marks remain visible as raised texture on the finished surface. The technique exploits the body and slow drying time of oil paint, which can hold its shape when applied thickly, unlike thinner, more fluid media. Rembrandt used impasto selectively to catch real light on the raised highlights of a face or costume, and the technique became especially associated with the Post-Impressionists, above all Vincent van Gogh, whose visible, energetic brushstrokes are themselves an expressive record of the act of painting. Impasto continued to be a central technique for later movements including Abstract Expressionism, where painters such as Willem de Kooning used thickly built paint surfaces as a primary expressive device in their own right.
Connections
Associated With
Pointillism developed in reaction to the free, thick impasto brushwork of the Impressionists it followed.
Van Gogh applied paint in thick, visible impasto strokes, as in The Starry Night.
Sources
Wikipedia
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Impasto is a technique used in painting where paint is laid on an area of the surface thickly, 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.
Frequently Asked Questions
Why does impasto depend on oil paint specifically?
Oil paint's body and slow drying time let thick strokes hold their shape and keep visible brush or palette-knife texture.
Impasto applies paint in thick, heavy strokes or layers, thick enough that the brush or palette knife marks remain visible as raised texture on the finished surface. The technique exploits the body and slow drying time of oil paint, which can hold its shape when applied thickly, unlike thinner, more fluid media. Rembrandt used impasto selectively to catch real light on the raised highlights of a face or costume, and the technique became especially associated with the Post-Impressionists, above all Vincent van Gogh, whose visible, energetic brushstrokes are themselves an expressive record of the act of painting; later movements including Abstract Expressionism, with painters such as Willem de Kooning, made thickly built paint surfaces a primary expressive device in their own right.
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