61 PLASTICITY
THE MEDIUM TAKES ON THE QUALITIES OF THE SUBJECT
Plasticity is the process by which a medium takes on the properties of the substance that it represents. The most common and effective examples of plasticity occur in painting when the artist manipulates the layering and fluid properties of the paint so that the paint film itself takes on a fleshlike appearance. This is very apparent in many Baroque-era paintings by artists such as Rembrandt, Velasquez, and Rubens. It has also been used to spectacular effect by a number of contemporary artists, including Lucian Freud (1922–2011) and Jenny Saville (1970–).
Plasticity is not limited to the rendering of flesh, and the history of painting is full of ravishing examples in which the physical ...
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