A History of Decorative Wall Art
From cave paintings to computer-generated art, humans have been using decorative wall art as a form of expression since the dawn of time.
The human eye favours a combination of movement and colour and the imagination constantly finds new ways of making our surroundings more pleasant.
Whether architecturally or graphically, there is nothing more aesthetically satisfying than a piece of art that speaks to us on an individual level.
Like music and food, the views on art are often highly subjective, leading to heated debate, divorce, and, in some cases, war - https://politicalviolenceataglance.org/2018/01/05/five-ways-art-and-war-are-related/
What’s the story of Wall Art?
One thing we can agree on is that art takes on a more profound form when we attach meaning to a piece. Whether personally or collectively, we all love a story.
And like art, stories are an innate part of being human - it’s in our DNA - and we relate to products, people and places that resonate with a narrative. We are instinctively warmed by a succession or culmination of themes that come together to create a feeling of belonging in time.
We often look at a shape and unconsciously see a face, a form, or a scene that seems familiar. We can find ourselves listening to a tune or witnessing an amalgamation of colour that conjures the imagination and throws us into a state of reminiscence.
Regardless of the story, if it can be framed and captured in a display of colour and shape, we want to decorate our homes with it and hang it on a wall.
Early Decorative Wall Art
From Norway to Australia people have expressed themselves on the walls of their homes, reflecting interests, hobbies, everyday life and culture.
Once thought to be the oldest wall art in the world, the best-preserved figurative cave paintings are at the Chauvet Cave, above a former river bed in the Gorges de L’Ardèche, France, and are said to be over 30,000 years old - https://www.smithsonianmag.com/history/journey-oldest-cave-paintings-world-180957685/ . The paintings of predatory animals such as lions, bison and hyenas are detailed with such precision, colour, and muscular accuracy that they would take pride of place in any home.
It’s obvious from these paintings that stories have been depicted on walls for all time and, the only remaining question is, why didn’t they detail human form in the same way and, if they did, where are the cave paintings of human faces? https://www.theguardian.com/artanddesign/2019/dec/12/humans-were-not-centre-stage-ancient-cave-art-painting-lascaux-chauvet-altamira
Although there are claims of a portrait being discovered near Angoulême, southwestern France, in 2006, which dates back 26,000 years, the innovation of the portrait doesn’t appear until Roman rule in Egypt, around the 1st Century, in the form of Fayum mummy portraits.
These highly regarded forms of art on wooden boards, attached to upper-class mummies, are well-preserved due to the dry climate and so retain the brilliance of colour - https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Fayum_mummy_portraits .
Over the centuries, different materials have been in use for wall painting, including the application of varnish and acrylics that protect against the weather.
The evolution of techniques called for a change in materials and egg tempera - https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Tempera - was a primary method of painting until after 1500 when it was superseded by oil painting.
Today’s muralists use POP clay. It’s mixed with glue to improve its durability. When the clay dries, colours are applied and then the protective varnish is added.
The word ‘mural’ in Wall Art.
Although, technically, anything painted directly onto a wall or ceiling is a mural - https://muralform.com/educational/the-history-of-murals/#:~:text=Murals%20date%20back%20to%2030%2C000,as%20the%20Upper%20Paleolithic%20times.
- but the word was not coined in the art world until as late as the 20th Century.
A manifesto calling for the development of a monumental public art movement in Mexico named it pintura mural (English: wall painting) in 1906.
Everyone from Stone Age Man, Ancient Egyptians, Greeks, Romans and the Malayali people of Kerala, India have all dabbled in wall art up until that time, and there isn’t any aspect of human life that hasn’t been depicted.
And it was around this time that the defining event of modern Mexican history became a defining moment in the history of the modern mural.
An art project beginning in the 1920s to promote political ideas of the post-Mexican revolution was funded by the government.
One eminent figure to emerge from the artistic jolt was David Alfredo Siqueiros - https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/David_Alfaro_Siqueiros
- one of three social realist painters who were given the responsibility of heading the project.
From the 1920s to the 1970s, many murals were created in public settings with messages of a social, political and nationalistic nature, and it’s a tradition that continues to this day, inspiring art movements throughout the world.
Being one of the Mexican Muralists -https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Mexican_muralism -
was a mainstay for Siqueiros, a staunch Mexican communist, and he strongly believed that he was helping the cause and his people with his murals, educating the masses through public wall art.
Passionate about art and politics, Siqueiros believed that the two were intricately intertwined and hoped to create a style that would bridge national and universal art.
Siqueiros said that art should be public, educational and ideological. Again, he believed fervently in the message; often painting stories of human struggle against authoritarian, capitalist rule.
Ahead of his time, Siqueiros liked to work with new technology. He used cameras, photomontage, spray guns, airbrushes, stencils and the latest paints to create a sublime masterpiece with a unique finish.
So meticulous, Siqueiros wanted to know everything about his tools and how they could be applied more effectively. In the 1930s, a mixing incident compelled him to research fluid dynamics - http://ffden-2.phys.uaf.edu/webproj/212_spring_2014/Mackenzie_Stamey/13372891095367dd00eede6/understanding-fluid-dynamics.html
- exploring the density of liquids and the science behind the varying compounds used to make pigments so he could perfect the art of ‘acrylic pouring’.
Siqueiros fell in love with the aesthetics of acrylic pouring or ‘fluid art’ and this accidental painting technique was something he went on to perfect - https://www.evafolksart.com/post/fluid-art#:~:text=A%20Very%20Brief%20History%20of,stumbled%20across%20this%20painting%20technique!
Fluid art is a harmonic culmination of science and art, complexity and beauty - http://ffden-2.phys.uaf.edu/webproj/212_spring_2014/Mackenzie_Stamey/13372891095367dd00eede6/understanding-fluid-dynamics.html -
and the technique has gone on to inspire some of the world’s greatest artists, including Jackson Pollock who attended a political art workshop in New York, in 1936.
Siqueiros was keen to introduce an enthusiastic Pollock to his drip and pour techniques, which later inspired a series of famous pieces for the American abstract impressionist.
Wall Art in the Frame.
Although the work of Jackson Pollock is often void of a frame, the container that borders the perimeter of a painting is something we often take for granted.
Used for protection and display, the picture frame adds to the visual appreciation of a painting and the design has been the same since Ancient Egypt when frames surrounded the Fayum mummy paintings for hanging purposes.
The traditional carved, wooded frames appeared around the 12th century and remain a popular choice due to the price, strength, and flexibility of shape and applied treatments.
Although more costly materials have been experimented with, throughout 14thCentury Europe, the majority of frames were heavy and largely unmovable pieces of a church’s architecture.
A transition from the Middle Ages to modernity saw the rise of art patrons extending beyond the church, and wealthy nobles were now bringing art into their homes as symbols of status.
In 1423, Italian painter, Gentile da Fabriano, created the Adoration of the Magi which, as far as we know, is the first altarpiece made with panel and frame in two separate pieces, making it the first independent frame.
And, as soon as quality sheet glass became more accessible, in the 19th Century, the evolution of the picture frame took the protection of paintings and photographs in a whole new direction, where pictures can be removed easily and reframed without damaging the art.
Why Collect Wall Art?
There are many personal reasons why we collect art. As we have already touched upon, art is subjective like food and music, and each individual chooses a piece of art to hang on their wall because it moves them, speaks to them, and evokes something within like nothing else -
Art can be very powerful and overwhelming. A piece can be so mesmerising that its intent and structure can often be brought into question, holding time in abeyance as the onlooker secretly pontificates its form.
Opinions of art are so divided that even the most famous paintings are often debated about with both critical acclaim and denunciation - https://www.madisonartshop.com/20-most-famous-paintings-of-all-time.html - and so the search for the perfect picture continues.
When the Art costs more than the Wall
Displaying decorative art is a way to express one’s personality. Art can be an investment and many people buy paintings as one would buy a house or a classic car.
Sadly, with some pieces of art being so valuable - and often considered prices - https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_most_expensive_paintings#:~:text=This%20is%20a%20list%20of,1500). - the owner becomes over-protective and sometimes locks the painting away in darkness, in a protective, temperature-controlled vault or safe, preserving the artistry but not permitting the pleasure.
Many people feel deeply passionate about the art industry and they feel compelled to purchase art in an attempt to strengthen and support the creative community.
Wall not Included
Whatever your reason for buying beautiful wall art, please feel free to peruse the art in my shop and don’t hesitate to consider introducing it to a wall