The Oil Painter's Bible - chapter 5
THE OIL PAINTER'S BIBLE - CHAPTER 5
Master Class - advanced oil painting principles and techniques
from the Renaissance to the present by Virgil Elliott, APSC, ASPA
111 Goodwin Avenue, Penngrove, California 94951-8660, U.S.A.
Telephone: (707) 664-8198
E-Mail: [email protected]
© 2000 Virgil Elliott. All rights reservedPRINCIPLES OF VISUAL REALITY
The greatest art is that which moves the viewer in a positive way, which touches perhaps dormant
sensibilities inherent in human nature, and awakens and/or fortifies man's better qualities in so doing.
Great performances in all the arts accomplish this same goal. A well-written operatic aria, for example,
sung brilliantly and with feeling by a virtuoso soprano, can move an audience profoundly, raising the hair
on the neck and bringing tears to the eyes, leaving at least some of them gasping and choking back sobs of
deeply felt emotion as they try to maintain their composure. Experiencing such profound appreciation for
a masterly performance leaves one forever changed for the better. It cannot do otherwise. Great Literature
provides many comparable experiences. In painting, it is possible to achieve the same thing.
Great Literature provides many
comparable experiences. In
painting, it is possible to
achieve the same thing. The
reader is referred to
Rembrandt's "Judas Returning
the Thirty Pieces of Silver" for
an excellent example. The
depth of Judas' remorseful
anguish is compellingly
conveyed by his body language
as well as his facial expression,
and the viewer cannot help but
be deeply moved upon viewing
it.
Compassion and sympathy are called forth as the audience feels the anguish of the subject, so
eloquently is it expressed in the painting. Compassion , empathy, sympathy; these are all aspects of man's
better nature. To change people for the better—what more noble purpose could an artist be called upon to
fulfill? To what higher calling could we aspire?
In each of the examples presented above, the means by which the experience is made possible is
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