History of Oil Paint
In 1992 I was taught that no one really knows for sure the history of oil paint and how it came to be. I fantasized that back in the days of egg tempera painting, some artist was struggling with the fast drying time of the egg yolk-water-pigment mixture. I further suspected that one morning, while lingering over breakfast, they noticed that egg yolk that had butter in it didn’t dry as fast to the plate. I imagined that there was immediate experimentation following that observation with a little pigment, a little yolk, a little water and a little oil –perhaps walnut, poppy or linseed oil. Since water evaporates quickly and doesn’t mix with oil, I’d bet that the water was ditched first and the artist soon scratched the yolk from the recipe and viola! oOil paint was born. Or something like that. I like my history of oil paint, do you? Sadly, it is far from the truth!
Jan Van Eyck, The Marriage of Arnolfini, 1434, egg tempera painting
Our modern history of oil paint’s popularity can be traced to the egg tempera painters of the late 15th century who switched over to oil.
A quick look at Wikipedia’s take on the history of oil paint gives a nod in the direction of western Afghanistan where oil paints were used for their durability on metal shields and other tournament objects during the 5th through 9th century. (That was something I didn’t know until I went to Wikipedia).
A better history of oil paints can be found in an old document written by a medieval monk named Theophilus who, back in the early 12th century between the years 1100 and 1125, outlined how to create and use oil paints from oil and pigment. This handwritten account in Latin survives in Vienna. It’s possible Theophilus had knowledge of the Middle Eastern methods, but what I find interesting is that he was documenting the high art techniques of the Middle Ages! This suggests that the history of oil paint’s popularity is much older than the beginning of the Renaissance.
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