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EXPLORE / MAKING

Oil painting

Pigment mixed with a drying oil produces a slow-drying paint. Artists can blend colours, build layers and vary the surface from smooth passages to thick impasto.

THE TOOLKIT

Pigment · drying oil · brushes · prepared support

WHAT TO LOOK FOR

Compare thin, translucent areas with thick marks. How does the texture of a brushstroke change your experience of light?

READ FURTHERMuseum learning resource ↗

A simplified process; practices vary across places and periods.

From material to image.

  1. 01

    Prepare the support

  2. 02

    Mix pigment and binder

  3. 03

    Lay in colour

  4. 04

    Build and revise layers

Find it in the collection

Water Lilies (Agapanthus)↗
France, late 19th century-early 20th century · c. 1915–26

Water Lilies (Agapanthus)

Claude Monet

FranceEurope
Adeline Ravoux↗
Netherlands · 1890

Adeline Ravoux

Vincent van Gogh

NetherlandsEurope
The Pigeon Tower at Bellevue↗
France, 19th century · 1890

The Pigeon Tower at Bellevue

Paul Cezanne

FranceEurope
Reading↗
France, 19th century · 1873

Reading

Berthe Morisot

FranceEurope
Frieze of Dancers↗
France, 19th century · c. 1895

Frieze of Dancers

Edgar Degas

FranceEurope
In the Waves (Dans les Vagues)↗
France, 19th century · 1889

In the Waves (Dans les Vagues)

Paul Gauguin

FranceEurope
Early Morning After a Storm at Sea↗
United States · 1900–1903

Early Morning After a Storm at Sea

Winslow Homer

United StatesNorth America
Portrait of Lisa Colt Curtis↗
United States · 1898

Portrait of Lisa Colt Curtis

John Singer Sargent

United StatesNorth America
A Bearded Man Wearing a Hat↗
Netherlands · c. 1655–60

A Bearded Man Wearing a Hat

Studio of Rembrandt van Rijn

NetherlandsEurope
Portrait of Isabella Brant↗
Flanders · c. 1620–25

Portrait of Isabella Brant

Peter Paul Rubens

FlandersEurope
Study for "The Bear Hunt" (for the Alcázar, Madrid)↗
Flanders · c. 1639

Study for "The Bear Hunt" (for the Alcázar, Madrid)

Peter Paul Rubens

FlandersEurope
A Genoese Lady with Her Child↗
Flanders · c. 1623–25

A Genoese Lady with Her Child

Anthony van Dyck

FlandersEurope
The Red Kerchief↗
France, 19th century · c. 1868–73

The Red Kerchief

Claude Monet

FranceEurope
Low Tide at Pourville, near Dieppe, 1882↗
France, 19th century · 1882

Low Tide at Pourville, near Dieppe, 1882

Claude Monet

FranceEurope
Paul Lafond and Alphonse Cherfils Examining a Painting↗
France, 19th century · c. 1878–80

Paul Lafond and Alphonse Cherfils Examining a Painting

Edgar Degas

FranceEurope
Mount Sainte-Victoire↗
France, late 19th-early 20th Century · c. 1904

Mount Sainte-Victoire

Paul Cezanne

FranceEurope
The Brook↗
France, late 19th-early 20th Century · c. 1895–1900

The Brook

Paul Cezanne

FranceEurope
Edge of the Woods Near L'Hermitage, Pontoise↗
France, 19th century · 1879

Edge of the Woods Near L'Hermitage, Pontoise

Camille Pissarro

FranceEurope
Romaine Lacaux↗
France, 19th century · 1864

Romaine Lacaux

Pierre-Auguste Renoir

FranceEurope
Portrait of Don Juan Antonio Cuervo↗
Spain · 1819

Portrait of Don Juan Antonio Cuervo

Francisco de Goya

SpainEurope
Branch Hill Pond, Hampstead↗
England, 19th century · 1828

Branch Hill Pond, Hampstead

John Constable

EnglandEurope
Hampstead Heath, Looking Toward Harrow↗
England, 19th century · c. 1821

Hampstead Heath, Looking Toward Harrow

John Constable

EnglandEurope
Portrait of Agostino Barbarigo↗
Italy, Venice · after c. 1571

Portrait of Agostino Barbarigo

Paolo Veronese

ItalyEurope
The Burning of the Houses of Lords and Commons, 16 October 1834↗
England, 19th century · 1835

The Burning of the Houses of Lords and Commons, 16 October 1834

Joseph Mallord William Turner

EnglandEurope
Gardener's House at Antibes↗
France, 19th century · 1888

Gardener's House at Antibes

Claude Monet

FranceEurope
Spring Flowers↗
France, 19th century · 1864

Spring Flowers

Claude Monet

FranceEurope
Young Woman Arranging Her Earring↗
France, 20th century · 1905

Young Woman Arranging Her Earring

Pierre-Auguste Renoir

FranceEurope
The Lock at Pontoise↗
France, 19th century · 1872

The Lock at Pontoise

Camille Pissarro

FranceEurope
Knife Sheath↗
Korea, Goryeo dynasty (918–1392) · 1100s

Knife Sheath

Creator not recorded

KoreaEast Asia
Saint Peter Repentant↗
France · 1645

Saint Peter Repentant

Georges de La Tour

FranceEurope
Portrait of a Man, Possibly Girolamo Rosati↗
Italy · 1533–34

Portrait of a Man, Possibly Girolamo Rosati

Lorenzo Lotto

ItalyEurope
Portrait of Tieleman Roosterman↗
Netherlands · 1634

Portrait of Tieleman Roosterman

Frans Hals

NetherlandsEurope
The Large Plane Trees (Road Menders at Saint-Rémy)↗
Netherlands · 1889

The Large Plane Trees (Road Menders at Saint-Rémy)

Vincent van Gogh

NetherlandsEurope
The Race Track (Death on a Pale Horse)↗
United States · c. 1896–1908

The Race Track (Death on a Pale Horse)

Albert Pinkham Ryder

United StatesNorth America
The Biglin Brothers Turning the Stake↗
United States · 1873

The Biglin Brothers Turning the Stake

Thomas Eakins

United StatesNorth America
Stag at Sharkey's↗
United States · 1909

Stag at Sharkey's

George Bellows

United StatesNorth America
Twilight in the Wilderness↗
United States · 1860

Twilight in the Wilderness

Frederic Edwin Church

United StatesNorth America
The Power of Music↗
United States · 1847

The Power of Music

William Sidney Mount

United StatesNorth America

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