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Oil Painters to Learn From...(Part Two)

© Susan A. Wenz-Denise

The first part of this article, Oil Painters to Learn From... explained how famous oil painters in art history can provide the best examples for contemporary artists to follow, not only because of their already recognized accomplishments, but also because of the widespread availability of their paintings in museums all over the world. It then began a list of numerous oil painters who have marked history as accomplished painters in their fields. Here below is a continuation of that list, in no particular order. Again, each may not be the only artist deserving to be recognized for each style, genre, or technique, but they are each highly acclaimed in those areas and the viewing of their paintings is readily available throughout the world.

Jan Vermeer (1632-1675) - Vermeer painted mostly common indoor themes of everyday life, often including women working around the house. The fascination of his painting was the ability to take these ordinary subjects and create magnificent paintings using the intricate combination of light, color, proportion and scale, all of which enhanced the mood and reality of the subjects. Especially effective was the sense of illumination he created from specific light sources in his paintings.

Georges Seurat (1859-1891) - Of the French Impressionists, Georges Seurat practically invented the technique called Pointillism. Not only did this new technique of inimitable dots open up new doors in color theory, but the use of brush stroke within Pointillism transformed Impressionism into a more freer painting, allowing artists to focus more on the rendering of sensations. Fellow artists paid homage to Seurat by working in his example, although transforming the style into their own. Van Gogh, noted in the first part of this article, is one artist whose influence by Seurat is evident in his use of brush stroke and color.

Paul Klee (1879 - 1940) - Paul Klee was part of the expressionist group called The Blue Rider. This group was mostly responsible for the transition from expressionism into abstract art. As such, much of Klee's work embodies the beginning process behind the essence of abstract thinking in art. Although not entirely an oil painter, Klee did work in oils often, wherein he frequently incorporated letters and numerals into his paintings. He also produced series of works that explore mosaic and other effects. Toward the end of his career he produced the paintings that he is most noted for, characterized by heavy black lines that were often reflections on death and war.

Jan Vermeer/The Milkmaid/1858-60	Paul Klee/Embrace/1939	Henri Matisse/The Music/1910	Paul Gauguin, Self-Portrait 1882	Mary Cassat/La Toilette /1891
Egon Schiele/Two Women/1915	Rembrandt van Rijn/Portrait of Nicolaes Ruts/1631

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