Oil Painting
Oil paint is classed as higher in status because of history and economics. 15th century Venice was a damp environment, being a city on water - so paintings would depreciate in value and quality. Merchants needed to buy and sell easily and quickly. To invest in a painting, they needed an asset that would move, hence they painted on wood, but wood was heavy. Fortunately however, they discovered oil paint. How it's made: Pigment is grinded in (mainly linseed) oil to make a paste. It's good in a damp environment because of course oil repels water. Because Venice was full of sailors etc... of course ships had sails, which meant that Venice was full of canvas. Because pigment is ground in oil it means it's flexible. I makes for a very durable, long-lasting image. Netherlands was even more mercantile. In Holland, the idea of oil painting being top level started to kick off. It was the only method of painting large scal...
