Gouache

Gouache (from the Italian guazzo, pool ') is a water soluble colorants. It consists of coarsely milled pigments with the addition of chalk. As the binder, gum arabic is used.

It can be used both for opaque and translucent for painting techniques. Thus, it combines the advantages of watercolor paint ( glaze ) and the oil paint ( impasto ).

Technique

Gouache can be vermalt in thin or thick layers and alla prima (without accompaniment or glaze ). White parts of the image may well be made more opaque and must not be omitted, as in the watercolor painting.

After drying has gouache on a velvet matte finish. Good gouache color brightens not on after drying, provided that it is artists' colors with light-fast pigments. It can be dissolved like any water-based paint after drying again.

Gouache is mainly used for substrates such as paper or cardboard, but can also be as tempera, oil or acrylic paint will vermalt on canvas and other textile substrates.

Development of gouache painting

The first use of gouache -like colors is occupied for the book painting of the early Middle Ages. She found earlier but usually only use in the scenes and decorative painting. It was only in the 15th century discovered significant artists this technique for themselves. Raphael, Titian and Dürer used gouache for studies and designs, among others painted their oil paintings with gouache. Famous representatives of the modern gouache painting are Henri Matisse, Marc Chagall, Paul Wunderlich or Otto Müller.