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Artists have not always painted on cloth or wooden panels.
Copper plates were also used as painting surfaces, particularly in parts of Europe from the 16th century onward.
The smooth metal surface allowed artists to create extremely fine details and precise brushwork.
Copper also doesn't absorb paint in the same way that canvas or wood does.
This could produce a particularly smooth-looking surface.
The material itself therefore influenced the visual character of the finished painting.
A painting that looks almost unnaturally polished may owe some of that appearance to the metal underneath it.
© National Gallery of Art