Iam taking an art class and I need to know how to find out why artist like leanardo used wood panel to paint?

like if they used it because wood panel was smoother so the ppicture came out more clear. Or Canvas that would have been more roough maybeIam taking an art class and I need to know how to find out why artist like leanardo used wood panel to paint?
Leonardo was a very experimental person... He had a lot of interesting knick knacks as invetions too. PERHAPS he wanted to try something new for painting....Iam taking an art class and I need to know how to find out why artist like leanardo used wood panel to paint?
Speaking for myself, I sometimes use wood panels to paint. I like it for highly detailed pieces because if properly prepared the detail can be wonderful. I use untempered hardboard. I coat it with about 4 or 5 coats of gesso that have been thinned a little and sand the surface lightly between coats. Let the gesso dry well between coats. This is how many big time wildlife painters get those fantastic results.
Leonardo simply carried on the common practice of his time. The old Medieval artists painted on wood because they used egg tempera paint. Tempera required a priming that was extremely brittle, therefore a rigid support like wood was necessary to prevent the painting from cracking. As oil paint became more and more common in the Renaissance, artists simply just kept on painting on wood. It has nothing at all to do with the smooth surface.





It was just what everyone did. Somewhere along the line, artists realized that linen was adequate, too, as long as they used a different primer, one that wouldn't crack. They discovered oil primer.





It was soon realized that linen was far more convenient than wood because it was lighter, less prone to warping, and could be rolled and stored until needed.
google it and find out
Canvas is not as stable as wood and it also doesn't age as well. If you want a picture to last, you paint it on properly prepared wood.
It has been said that ';The whole world is your canvas.'; This could have been all that was available at the time. Many times it is by preference as well. Art can be done on anything that is available.


I have really not considered this myself and in my years of teaching art, this question has never arisen.


Good Luck with you answer
Da Vinci was an innovator in many, many ways but had the foresight to stick to the traditional of painting on wood panel, because he rightly believe best quality wood panels stand up the best over time -i.e. the painting appplied to it and the effort made in painting can not be accidently ruined which is the case with stretched canvas.


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Hi,





I'm going to answer this without doing any search, so I may be inducing you in error. But here goes : in the time of Leonardo, painters usually used wood pannels (sp?), not canvases. Linen was something expensive, I guess.


Another thing : Leonardo painted usually with Tempera and canvas is not suitable for tempera.





Take care,





Jos茅


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