Materials and working practices influence a painter just as much as contemporary intellectual and cultural developments. 'Techniques of Painting' aims to help readers develop a painterly eye by learning to recognize different materials and methods of application and to appreciate how these features contribute to how a painting looks. Like all 'Closer Look' volumes, this is a 'how-to-look' guide, rather than a 'how-to-do' guide, enabling readers to identify different types of painting in all collections. The pictures illustrated range from 13th-century panel paintings in egg tempera to 19th-century oils on canvas, including works by Duccio, Sassetta, Rubens, Rembrandt, Degas, Monet and Van Gogh, all from the National Gallery, London.
