The Pioneers of Watercolor Between Europe and Egypt

Watercolors are unique in terms of transparency, and that they require extreme sensitivity and great ability to perform them, which made them one of the most difficult methods of painting, and the most in need of a delicate sense, full ability and extreme mastery, all of which made them a material worthy of the attention of a large number of painters, old and new. It was called a watercolor as it dissolves in water in addition to its transparency, which sometimes reaches the surface on which watercolors are used, and therefore it is preferable for the water to be pure so as not to disturb the texture of the image, while the water used to clean the brushes must be changed for the same reason whenever it loses its purity.

There are also colors that tend to be transparent to the painted surface and are known as gouache colors, which are soft and opaque watercolors with a small percentage of resin added to them in order to be more stable and adhesive to the painted surface. Tempera painting is an artistic style in which painting is executed using ground dyes in a water-soluble medium, and tempera is an ancient art medium, which was used in most cultures of the world until it was gradually replaced by oil paintings in Europe during the Renaissance. Frisco is a mural painting technique of watercolor painting on a wet gypsum surface so that the color becomes an integral part of the gypsum.

Thus, the researcher presented the most important pioneers of watercolor in Europe and Egypt, especially artists who dealt with the landscape in their artworks, which reflected the special nature of the place in which the artist lived, and among the pioneers of watercolor in Europe: Paul Sandby, William Turner, and John Constable. Among the most important pioneers of watercolor in Egypt: Habib Georgi, Shafik Rizk, and Kawkab Al-Assal.