Classical hand-painted oil paintings have the following characteristics:
First, subject matter and content
Distinct subject matter grades: It reveres the art of ancient Greece and Rome as models, often taking history, religion and mythology as themes, depicting various deities or using religious mythological stories to symbolize reality, such as God, the Virgin Mary, Venus, etc. There are also works depicting the luxurious and hedonistic life scenes and plots of the royal family and nobility, as well as works depicting historical events, war themes and heroic figures.
Strong narrative quality: It often uses typical events to express contemporary ideological themes. Gestures, still lifes, scenes, costumes, etc. in the paintings all have their narrative significance.
Second, artistic style and expression techniques
Rationality above all: Emphasizing pure objective description, rejecting emotions and imagination, paying attention to the perfection of form and the clarity and strictness of lines, pursuing the balance and completeness of composition, and striving to make the work produce a kind of solemn and stern beauty.
Emphasizing typical traits over individuality: Highlighting universal typical manifestations while excluding those of special individuality.
Serving the monarchy: With the distinct feature of serving the monarchy, the works often reflect the will and aesthetic taste of the rulers.
Third, painting techniques
Based on sketching: A “realistic” technique that uses focal perspective, light and shade lighting, and colors consistent with the natural color to achieve the effect of reproducing the true appearance of objective objects. It emphasizes sketching modeling mainly based on lines and Outlines, and highlights concise, clear and distinct artistic language.
Emphasize the relationship between color and form: Advocate that color serves form, attach importance to the harmonious changes of color saturation and transparency, as well as the application of light and shadow, form and color.
Multi-layer painting technique Most of them adopt the multi-layer painting method, handling each color layer well and controlling the drying speed and coverage of different color layers. For example, the transparent multi-color method is a painting method that does not use white pigments but only pigments diluted with color mixing oil for multi-layer painting. During the painting process, the next layer can only be painted when the first layer of pigment is completely dry. Because the paint used each time is relatively thin, the color covering the lower layer will show through, forming a subtle tone with the color of the upper layer, which can express the texture and thickness of the painting object, making the entire picture more lively.
Exquisite techniques and in-depth depiction: The painter meticulously portrays the details, creating an alternating superposition of transparent and opaque color layers through multiple indirect strokes, making the picture rich in layers.
Fourth, visual effects
The color tone is calm and reserved: The overall color tone and composition are very calm and reserved, without much contrast.
Exquisite character forms: Emphasizing the meticulous portrayal of character forms, pursuing idealized character images and harmonious beauty.
Atmosphere creation: By means of color, light and shadow, etc., a specific atmosphere is created. For instance, in “The Death of Marla”, the greatness and spirit of sacrifice of the characters are highlighted through simple composition, calm tones and strong contrast.