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
Francis Picabia
Francis Picabia was a French avant-garde painter associated with Dada, known for machine imagery, shifting styles, abstract paintings, and playful provocations.
Francis Picabia quick facts
Picabia moved from early abstraction into irreverent machine imagery during Dada, sometimes using unconventional pigments and constructed supports.
| Born | 1879 · Paris, France |
|---|---|
| Died | 1953 · Paris, France |
| Nationality | French |
| Movements | Dada; earlier Cubist-influenced abstraction |
| Paint types | Oil Paint · Gouache Paint · Watercolor Paint |
| Painting surfaces | Canvas · Paper · Painting Board |
| Painting methods | Reworking large oils, machine-inspired imagery, collage-like construction, and gouache and watercolor combined with drawing media |
| Common subjects | Machines, abstract forms, dancers, imaginary mechanical devices, and satirical figures |
| Notable works | The Spring · I See Again in Memory My Dear Udnie · Very Rare Picture on the Earth · Dada Movement |
| Unusual materials | Metallic paint and gold or silver leaf on wood in Very Rare Picture on the Earth |
| Other practice | Dada journals, printed material, poetry, and experimental film |
Sources: MoMA: Francis Picabia, MoMA: The Spring, MoMA: New York, gouache and watercolor, MoMA: Fuel Pump, Guggenheim: Very Rare Picture on the Earth, Guggenheim: artist biography.
Paint types used
Picabia used oil for large abstract paintings, gouache and watercolor for studies, and metallic paint in experiments with machine imagery.
Gouache Paint
Gouache paint is an opaque, water-based art medium made with pigment and a water-soluble binder, drying to a matte finish that can be reactivated with water.
Watercolor Paint
Watercolor paint is a water-based art medium made with pigment and a water-soluble binder, typically applied in transparent washes on absorbent paper.
Surface types used
Canvas supported Picabia's early oils, paper held watercolor and gouache studies, and rigid board held paintings incorporating metallic materials.
Canvas
Canvas is a woven fabric support, commonly cotton or linen, used for painting and sold either raw or prepared with a compatible ground layer.
Paper
Paper is an absorbent sheet material made from pressed fibers, with weight, sizing, and surface texture controlling moisture tolerance and paint behavior.
Painting Board
Painting board is a rigid artist support made from hardboard, wood, or another stable panel, sold either raw or prepared with a medium-specific ground.
Painters similar to Francis Picabia
Picabia's early abstractions intersected with Cubist experiments by Picasso and color-centered modernism developed by Robert Delaunay.
Pablo Picasso
Pablo Picasso was a Spanish artist whose long career moved through many styles and media, from the Blue and Rose periods to Cubism, classicism, Surrealism, sculpture, printmaking, and ceramics.
Robert Delaunay
Robert Delaunay was a French painter associated with Orphism, known for luminous color contrasts, abstract circles, and repeated views of the Eiffel Tower.