pittura

Pittura is the Italian term for painting, the practice of applying pigments to a surface to create images, color, and form. It encompasses a range of media, supports, and styles used across history and cultures, though the term is often used to refer to Western painting traditions in the Italian-speaking world.

Common media include tempera, which uses egg yolk as binder on wooden panels; fresco, the technique of applying pigment to damp plaster; oil painting on canvas or wood, known for its versatility and layering; and water-based paints for works on paper. Surfaces include plaster walls, wooden panels, and canvas. Techniques involve underdrawing, glazing, impasto, and scumbling.

Historically, Italian pittura played a central role in the development of Western art. Early medieval and Renaissance artists such as Giotto, Masaccio, Botticelli, and Leonardo da Vinci advanced perspective, anatomy, and naturalism. The High Baroque, exemplified by Caravaggio and Bernini, emphasized dramatic lighting and realism. In the 19th and 20th centuries, Italian painters contributed to neoclassicism, futurism, and contemporary painting movements.

In museums and scholarship, pittura is studied as both a technical craft and a cultural artifact, with conservationists focusing on pigments, bindings, and supports. The term remains common in Italian discourse for referring to painting in general and is used in the study and classification of Italian artworks and art history.