Oil Paint
Oil paint is a slow-drying art medium made with pigment and a drying-oil binder that allows extended working time, smooth blending, and layered application.
Painter
Domenico Beccafumi
Domenico Beccafumi was a Sienese Mannerist painter known for unusual color, twisting figures, atmospheric light, and imaginative Roman-history scenes.
Domenico Beccafumi quick facts
Beccafumi's The Story of Papirius stages two episodes of a Roman legend within the same imagined city. He also produced the Sienese civic frescoes described by the National Gallery.
| Born | About 1484–1486 · near Siena, Republic of Siena (now Italy) |
|---|---|
| Died | 1551 · Siena, Republic of Siena (now Italy) |
| Nationality | Italian (Sienese) |
| Movements | Mannerism (Sienese tradition) |
| Paint types | Oil Paint |
| Painting surfaces | Wood · Plaster |
| Painting methods | Oil painting on prepared wooden panels, unorthodox figure poses, atmospheric light and color, historical continuous narratives, and decorative frescoes on plaster |
| Common subjects | Roman heroines, Biblical episodes, mythological antiquity, devotional scenes, city architecture, and narrative allegory |
| Notable works | The Story of Papirius · Marcia · Tanaquil · The Holy Family with Angels |
Sources: National Gallery: Beccafumi biography and Sienese frescoes, National Gallery: The Story of Papirius, oil on wood, National Gallery: Marcia, oil on wood, National Gallery: Tanaquil, originally wood, transferred to canvas, National Gallery of Art: The Holy Family with Angels, oil on panel.
Paint types used
London's National Gallery identifies The Story of Papirius, Marcia and Tanaquil as oil paintings originally executed on wooden panels. His Siena town-hall frescoes are a separate wet-plaster technique, not another modern paint type.
Surface types used
Wood was the original support for the National Gallery's historical panels. Tanaquil was later transferred from wood to canvas during conservation; this does not establish that Beccafumi originally painted it on canvas. His architectural frescoes used plaster.
Wood
Wood is a natural, porous material with grain patterns and absorbency that vary by species and cut. Its surface may also contain knots, resin, or an existing finish.
Plaster
Plaster is a porous mineral wall and ceiling finish that may be based on gypsum, lime, or other binders. Fresh plaster contains significant moisture and can be highly absorbent until fully dry and appropriately sealed.
Painters similar to Domenico Beccafumi
Pontormo's dramatic chromatic experiments and Salviati's Florentine classical allegories offer related, but distinct, approaches to Mannerist figures.
Pontormo
Pontormo was a Florentine Mannerist painter known for emotionally charged religious subjects, unconventional spaces, and intense, sometimes startling color.
Francesco Salviati
Francesco Salviati was a Florentine Mannerist painter who specialized in polished allegories, expressive court portraits, and ambitious architectural fresco cycles.