Fresco to Oils
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part of the architecture that surrounds the viewer. These figures are close to us—we see them as a part of our space.
They are intimately integrated into the space of the chapel, flanking a window— a real window, across which the communication between them takes place, and which operates as a source of light for the chapel. The life of the object itself is as dependent upon these choices as the image. Albert Pinkham Ryder is a muchadmired painter and has influenced generations of artists. His paintings are often mysterious, full of large swirling forms that describe strange landscapes
Figure 1. The Deposition by Jacopo Pontormo, 1526-28, Capponi Chapel, San Felicita, Florence. Oil on panel.
MRS BULLETIN/DECEMBER 1996
Fresco to Oils
or seascapes. Many are relatively small, and because of the scale, the texture and character of the surface are very evident when we view them in a museum or in reproduction. Typically, passing across those painted large forms is a network of cracks. More than likely, the thickness of the paint, the materials used, and the process employed in building the layers of paint all contributed to the cracking. The pattern of cracks seems to relate to the images in a way. It is difficult to think of Ryder's paintings without the cracks. But it is unfortunate at the same time that the unique qualities that make a Ryder painting so compelling (the rich multilayer glazes for example) also make it so fragile. They are difficult if not impossible to repair. Painters over the centuries have been very attentive to the demands of particular materials. Methods of composition have been developed to accommodate the characteristics of the materials used. If a pigment has proven to be unsatisfactory, it is either abandoned or used with a binding medium that allows it to remain stable. Often paintings incorporate more than one binding medium because the artist needs to use a range of pigments, some compatible with one binder, others compatible with a different binder. Likewise the effects resulting from the use of one medium might be desired in one area of a painting while the effects generated by the use of another medium are felt to be more appropriate for another part of the image. The determination of what materials are suitable for a given situation or of what materials are suitable for the making of paintings in the first place is often made through the study of the work of past masters. The methods of working and the application of a wide variety of materials to the process have been quite well-documented. However the innovations of past painters are often not satisfactory enough to facilitate the demands of the imagination. The paint used by artists to project their ideas and observations can be as simple as a mixture of pigment and binder, with pigment providing the color and the binder adhering the particles of pigment together and to the support. A paint may also contain a vehicle that dilutes the pigment/binder mixture, allowing the paint to be spread more easily. The vehicle evaporates as t
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