和諧粉彩-whispers of harmony and color-the words of gentleness evoke the spirit of the oil pastel painting for kids. Pastels float effortlessly across the centuries, sweeping through the landscape of art like some sort of soft, yet vibrant, breeze. This mesmeric art form, characterized by the dreamy and ethereal quality that it bears, allows artists to dance with colors on their canvas with a freedom not found anywhere else.
Pastels have not always held the position they do within the art world. In the whirling mists of art history, during times when the Renaissance held sway with oils and temperas, pastels waited patiently in the wings. It was in the 16th century that they stepped onto the grand stage with the promise of something untried. The artists started to notice the creamy texture and voluptuous hue which it offered them-a respite from the really tedious ritual of drying oils.
The 18th century was when pastels captured the hearts of European artists like Edgar Degas and Mary Cassatt. They painted with a certain amount of passion seemingly out of bounds of any plethora of possibilities. Smiles appeared on their portraits; the most icy of demeanors could melt in that single stroke. Pastels presented an irresistible allure of immediacy. Corrections were possible sans waiting hours on end – a mom’s best friend if art were cooking.
But when the hour struck for the 20th century, with the Impressionists coming on with their manifesto-like statements and whirling colors, unflinching Pastel just shook hands with this revolution. The medium seemed a bridge from drawing to painting, with its medium wearing its heart on the sleeve. You could almost say that pastel-if painters were birds-was their wings. Fast forward to the present, and pastels hold their own against contemporary projects. They changed, they moved-finding their new place.