Palette knife painting for Sale

The painting knife, or palette knife, as it is often called, has been a part of painters' tools for many centuries. Originally, it wasn't used to apply paint or to produce impastos but to mix pigments, to superimpose one layer of paint over another to modify it appearance or to remove excess paint from the canvas. Consisting of a curved handle and a flexible steel blade, its shape is comparable to that of a small trowel. It was during the Renaissance that the palette knife began to be used for something other than its original purpose and that artists started to use it to paint. Before that, painters sought to create a realistic and therefore smooth result. But artists such as Rembrandt, Titian or Fragonard noticed that scraping paint to create impasto helped to create eye-catching texture, relief and light.

Gustave Courbet is well-known for having brought palette knives back into fashion in the 19th century, a pivotal period when the art of painting, and art in general, underwent many changes and transformations. He was followed by the Impressionists and the modern painters (Monet, Van Gogh, Turner, etc) who used it to create thick impastos. Impressionists were particularly keen on this tool which was well-suited to the way in which they sought to represent light realistically, as our eyes see it. The invention of the easel and paint tubes allowed them to leave their workshops and to paint outside, enabling them to depict the shimmering reflections of water and the ever changing nature. They applied paint quickly in small thin strokes on the canvas and created texture using the knife. To create this effect, they used oil paint and acrylic, working them as little as possible so as to ensure their thick, dense appearance.

On Artsper, find works by Richard Dubure, Martta Weg and Ryan Hewett who all use the palette knife in unique ways in their practice!

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Painting, Road & Belt, ShuJie Wang

ShuJie Wang

Painting . 80 x 80 x 2 cm Painting . 31.5 x 31.5 x 0.8 inch

$1,173

Painting, Les Trois Rois, ShuJie Wang

ShuJie Wang

Painting . 60 x 60 x 2 cm Painting . 23.6 x 23.6 x 0.8 inch

$997

Painting, Les Amoureux, ShuJie Wang

ShuJie Wang

Painting . 60 x 80 x 2 cm Painting . 23.6 x 31.5 x 0.8 inch

$1,114

Painting, Passage, Corinne Foucouin

Corinne Foucouin

Painting . 38 x 46 x 2 cm Painting . 15 x 18.1 x 0.8 inch

$938

Painting, Osmose, Gilbert Morales

Gilbert Morales

Painting . 50 x 70 x 3 cm Painting . 19.7 x 27.6 x 1.2 inch

$1,020

Painting, Autrefois, Claudine Janel

Claudine Janel

Painting . 55.5 x 46.5 x 2 cm Painting . 21.9 x 18.3 x 0.8 inch

$422

Painting, Irma La Rousse, ShuJie Wang

ShuJie Wang

Painting . 90 x 70 x 2 cm Painting . 35.4 x 27.6 x 0.8 inch

$1,994

Painting, Sans titre 89, Guntduth

Guntduth

Painting . 65 x 50 x 2 cm Painting . 25.6 x 19.7 x 0.8 inch

$469 $281

Painting, Natural beauty, ShuJie Wang

ShuJie Wang

Painting . 70 x 50 x 2 cm Painting . 27.6 x 19.7 x 0.8 inch

$1,056