Basking in 15th Century Paintings

While in London, we opted out on returning to the Tate Modern and instead spent a good part of one day at The National Gallery. It was well worth it, the collection at The NG is breathtaking and classic.

As I continue my study of unique color pallets, I spent most of my attention on 15th century masterpieces. Such as Jan van Eyck's painting The Arnolfini Portrait (1434).

He knew how to create an illusion with pigment by developing a stable varnish that would dry at a consistent rate. He created this by mixing linseed and nut oils with resins. The result is a beautiful translucent image. The intensity of the color pigment also traps light that translates into brilliance. An incredible development in oil painting. Standing before this painting was intense, I've known of it since I was quite young.

There is a huge portion of the NG dedicated to the Italian Renaissance. Gallery after gallery full of Botticelli, Bellini & Crivelli amongst others. I was drawn to Carlo Crivelli's work the most. It was almost impossible not to, a huge gallery was dedicated to his work. A great technical talent, his work was visually intense and the gold leaf accents he used really brought out a 3-D element. The Annunciation, with Saint Emidius (1486) is now a favorite of mine. It really speaks to me on many levels.

After leaving the NG for the day, I was on a natural high. I viewed hundreds if not a couple thousand masterpieces and was visually ignited from this experience.