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A pastel (US: / pæˈstɛl /) is an art medium that consist of powdered pigment and a binder. It can exist in a variety of forms, including a stick, a square, a pebble, and a pan of color, among other forms. The pigments used in pastels are similar to those used to produce some other colored visual arts media, such as oil paints; the binder is ...
pastel, dry drawing medium executed with fragile, finger-size sticks. These drawing crayons, called pastels, are made of powdered pigments combined with a minimum of nongreasy binder, usually gum tragacanth or, from the mid-20th century, methyl cellulose. Made in a wide range of colour values, the darkest in each hue consists of pure pigment ...
- The Editors of Encyclopaedia Britannica
The medium is available in a variety of forms, including loose powdered pastel and pastel pencils, but most often, pastel is applied directly with the color stick. The broad side, when gently applied, produces areas of light tone revealing the texture of the paper, while more defined, saturated strokes may be achieved using the tip of the stick and applying it with greater pressure.
Nov 15, 2022 · Considered the father of modern pastel painting, Degas (1834–1917) transformed pastel work into a major medium. Rather than using pastels for studies, he created finished pieces. Instead of following the 18th-century method of blending pigments in a single layer, he used a fixative to prevent blending and smudging, enabling him to use multiple layers of pastel to create astoundingly complex ...
Aug 26, 2017 · Joseph Vivien (1657–1734) was one of the first successful pastel portraitists of the eighteenth century, producing superb works such as this portrait of an unknown man from about 1725. For this, he used other innovations, laying his pastels down on blue paper, and working in large format, here 90 x 66 cm.
Oct 29, 2023 · Pastel is probably the most expressive and versatile medium ever invented for drawing. Born of experiments with colored chalks in the late 16th century in Northern Italy, it went beyond chalk's dry colors, becoming more saturated, luminous and radiant. It was also inherently flexible and could be combined with watercolor, chalk, crayon ...
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Pastel on paper; 25 1/2 x 21 3/4 in. (64.8 x 55.2 cm). Private collection. Pastel was praised in the eighteenth century because of the lifelike quality, or "bloom," it conferred upon its subjects. This distinctive appearance results from the physical characteristics of the medium and the way in which it reflects light.
