Semi precious stones ground finely into powders, colorful rare earths, gossamer leaves of hammered gold and silver, these are the materials used by painters in the past; these are the materials that draw us into museums to gaze in awe at their works today.

Seventeenth-century Spanish polychrome sculpture was intended to appear as lifelike as possible. Compared to bronze or marble statues, sculpted and painted wooden figures–often with glass eyes and wigs–achieve a remarkable realistic effect. Artists specialized in particular Spanish polychromy techniques, such as estofado : painting and incising to create rich silk fabrics with raised patterns in gold and silver used for the garments, and encarnaciones : blending and applying of oil paint for lips, hair, and modulations of the skin.

Infrared cameras now reveal concealed drawings under the surface of many of the Renaissance’s most revered paintings. Learn how this radical drawing technique was done.