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| Jan Verkolje Portrait of Johanna Anthonetta Blonk 1693 oil on copper private collection |
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| Jan Verkolje Portrait of Abraham van Bleyswijck-Guilliaamszn 1693 oil on copper private collection |
"Only toward the end of the sixteenth century would copper plates come into use as a new support for painting. Artists, were, of course, familiar with copper plates from printmaking, and there are a few rare instances in which paintings were executed on the backs of plates used for etchings or engravings. Normally special plates were produced for painting on copper, either hammered or – less commonly – rolled into sheets 2-4 mm thick. They were not very large, rarely exceeding 50 cm on a side. ... The stability of copper plates was not the decisive element that made them so popular, nor was the fact that paintings produced on them could easily be transported. More important was an aesthetic quality, one that artists found fascinating. On copper plates it was possible to execute especially intricate and radiant paintings, inasmuch as the support was hard and smooth and did not absorb oil pigments. The surfaces of such pictures were as glossy as enamels, and the effect was uncommonly brilliant. Moreover, on copper it was possible to execute the most intricate details, a feature exploited by a number of artists for marvelous cabinet paintings. Not only were religious motifs and mythological scenes produced on copper plates, but so were landscapes, genre scenes, and still lifes – in which fine brushwork was particularly desirable."
– from Captured Emotions : Baroque Painting in Bologna, 1575-1725, edited by Andreas Henning and Scott Schaefer (Getty Museum, 2008)
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| Carlo Saraceni Venus and Mars ca. 1600 oil on copper Museo Thyssen-Bornemisza, Madrid |
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| David Teniers Peasants playing cards 17th century oil on copper private collection |
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| Jacob van Velsen Fortune teller 1631 oil on copper Louvre |
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| Simon de Vos Allegory of the Five Senses 1640 oil on copper private collection |
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| Denys van Alsloot Landscape with Cephalus and Procris early 17th century oil on copper private collection |
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| Léonard Limosin Portrait of Anne de Montmorency 1556 enamel on copper Louvre |
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| Willem van Nieulandt the Younger View of the Roman Forum 17th century oil on copper private collection |
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| Cigoli Venus and Adonis ca. 1600-1610 oil on copper private collection |
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| Jacopo Zucchi Coral Fishers ca. 1585 oil on copper Galleria Borghese, Rome |
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| Henry Bone Lady Hamilton as Bacchante 1803 enamel on copper Wallace Collection, London |
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| Gustave Doré Landscape with Gorge 1878 oil on copper private collection |
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| circle of Frans Hals Portrait of a man with a lute 1630s oil on copper Wadsworth Atheneum, Hartford, Connecticut |