The Nigerian Mvies

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Monday 2 June 2014

Paintings Of Botticelli

By Darren Hartley


Botticelli paintings revise traditional procedures to adopt recent innovations. They use tempera grassa, a medium in which the egg yolk was modified by the addition of oil to make the paint more transparent. Botticelli followed the methods that had been perfected in the previous century, showing the conservativeness in his approach.

The pigments used in refined Botticelli paintings were the finest of his time. They were applied in thin, opaque layers known as scumbles, while the reds and greens were frequently glazed. They acquired a compact density, producing an exquisite, enamelled effect and creating an extraordinarily luminous subtlety.

Over time, most of Botticelli paintings lost the fullness of their beauty. Abrasive and over-zealous restoration can take the blame. However, this loss can sometimes be a result of the tendency of colors to become more transparent or change their nature after a few years.

The flesh tones in Botticelli paintings constitute the most refined among its many components. The faces of women were pale and porcelain like, the infants and children endowed with more intensely colored, ruddier complexions while the men appeared with darker flesh.

Botticelli paintings showcased the skill of its artist with the media of chalk, pen, bistre and tempera. Botticelli was considered a pioneer in his use of paper tinted with roses, violets, yellows and grays. This established a middle value for figures, modelled up with whites in the light and down with darker colors.

Unique Botticelli paintings come in the form of the Dante illustrations which were executed only in outline. Actually, Botticelli intended to color them but did not find the time to do so. Comprising of 92 parchment sheets, they vary greatly in completion, some were not even begun.




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