Oil Painting Through The Ages is a new segment in which I will be wading through art's rich history, exploring how painting was used in the many beautiful and unique eras of art. Each era is full of masterpieces that Oil Painting Express can help recreate for you. For the first installment, we will begin at the Middle Ages.

The middle ages were a period that lasted about a thousand years, from the end of the Roman Empire in 400 C.E. to the beginning of the Renaissance around 1400, covering a vast amount of time for art. This thousand years contained many sub-art-eras within it. This time is also referred to as the dark ages, a term that is said to be coined by philosopher, Petrarch, who felt that compared to Greek and Roman ages, this time was a dim-dip in human achievement.

From what we see of the art of the middle ages today, it seems to be almost exclusively religious. At the beginning of this era, art was almost solely found in churches, as buying art was very expensive. The churches had grown very rich and had the means for large murals, painted texts and grand architecture. The art we are most familiar with from this time depicts scenes from the Christian bible.

However, secular art did exist at this time as well, which often depicted courtly love or knightly heroism. Unfortunately much of the secular art was given wear and tear as was not stored as well as the religious works. Most of it has since been damaged, destroyed or lost. By the 14th century however, the Medieval society had gained enough wealth that the bourgeois were becoming avid art-collectors.

The art work of this time was extremely detailed, though not realistic. It's emphasis was on the iconic. The work was also heavy with symbolism. Blue pigments were first introduced to oil paints in this time, and were used with care, often only using the rare blue paint to paint the gowns worn by the Virgin Mary rather than the landscape.

However painting was not the art medium of choice. Much of the art of the time was reserved for architecture, mosaics, sculpture and even jewel adorned gold plated book covers. Painting was commonly used in illustrating the mostly religious texts and manuscripts.

Adding medieval paintings to a modern home brings an earthy, soulful feeling to the space. Medieval art would hang beautifully in a bright home with long panels of wooden floors and large windows or in a darker cabin-style home with wooden walls. Whatever your interior design and art-plans, medieval art is an option rich with history. This art truly tells a story, not only in the deep background of the piece, but the works are often scenes from religious stories, telling stories themselves.

Let Oil Painting Express bring a glowing medieval inspired painting to your space. This would surely be one work of art to treasure.