Introduction The History Tempera Paints vs. Oil Paints Drying Oils The Extraction of Linseed Oil Linolenic Acid So What? Oil Painting and History Bibliography
Clearly, the shift from tempera paints to oil paints has had a large impact on the history of art. It has not only had an impact, however, on art history. Rather, this movement is a part of a much broader and more general movement in history, the Renaissance. The acceptance and widespread use of oil paints is crucial in this period because it embodies the changes which were occurring at this time. It is difficult to look at the Renaissance without looking at the drastic changes which were occurring in the field of art. The Renaissance encompassed a move towards realism; the use of oil paints was one of the tools used by artists during this period to represent their subjects more realistically than was possible with tempera paints.