Classical European oil paintings can look almost three-dimensional. Skin glows, fabric shimmers and rooms recede into space, all thanks to careful layering and a deep understanding of light.
This study explains the techniques behind that texture and depth, and shows you how to spot glazes, thick highlights and perspective when you stand in front of an old master.
Questions and Answers
How did oil painting begin in Europe?
Instructions for oil-based painting appear around 1125, but it was 15th-century Early Netherlandish painters who first made oil the usual painting medium. Jan van Eyck (died 1441) is often credited with inventing it, but that is a myth; he was an innovator who used glazes and wet-on-wet techniques for luminous detail. Our oil painting guide traces the history.
What are glazes?
A glaze is a thin, almost transparent layer of paint that lets light pass through it, creating luminous effects. Renaissance artists typically let each glaze dry before applying the next.
What is impasto?
Impasto is heavy, raised paint texture. Early examples appear in the later work of Giovanni Bellini around 1500. Rembrandt van Rijn’s mature handling of paint was richly varied and deeply layered, and a 2025 study of The Night Watch found high impasto in the illuminated passages and smoother, more translucent paint in the shadows.
How do painters create depth?
They use overlapping shapes, perspective and aerial perspective, where distant objects look lighter, less saturated and bluer, a technique Leonardo da Vinci promoted. They also use contrast: Caravaggio lit figures with a strong light against dark backgrounds.
Why do old paintings have cracks?
Craquelure is a network of cracks that develops as paint layers age and shrink. Over time the paint layer also becomes more brittle and struggles to cope with temperature and humidity changes.
Where can I see the tradition continue?
Robert Liberace is described on WooArts as inspired by Renaissance and Baroque art, Luo Li Rong blends Eastern traditions with Renaissance and Baroque techniques, and Petrus van Schendel was influenced by the Dutch masters and Rembrandt’s chiaroscuro.
Artists and Posts Mentioned
Sources
- Wikipedia: Oil painting
- Eclectic Light Company: Who invented oil paint?
- Wikipedia: Jan van Eyck
- National Gallery: Glaze
- National Gallery: Impasto
- Wikipedia: Aerial perspective
- National Gallery: Craquelure
- Wikipedia: Craquelure
- npj Heritage Science (2025): Rembrandt’s paint in The Night Watch
- Wikipedia: Caravaggio
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