Painting On Copper Plate

The use of copper as a substrate for an oil painting dates back to medieval times.

Painting on copper plate. This painting by frans snyder a flemish artist called still life with fruit wan li porcelain and squirrel was painted with oil on copper. In this article i will show you how to prepare a copper plate for oil painting. Oil on copper paintings were prevalent in the mid sixteenth century in italy and northern europe. It is a great support to work on.

I loved how luminous the colors of the painting seemed. The flemish masters and other artists including jan breughel the elder claude el greco guido reni guercino rembrandt carlo saraceni ambrosius bosschaert ii copley fielding and vernet painted on copper. Panel in the year 1616. Copper also served as an engraving plate for etchings and prints by master artists.

How to prime a copper plate priming is traditional when painting on copper plate. Painting on copper is a different experience than painting on canvas or board. Plan on trying a variety of brushes of both natural and synthetic fibers in order to discover which ones work best for you. Copper based pigments were an important ingredient in ancient paints and the metal itself was frequently employed as a canvas on which renaissance artists painted.

The usefulness of copper in metalwork is known to all but few people realize how much it has contributed to art and painting throughout history.