Street painting

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Street painting at 2004 Sidewalk Arts Festival.

A street painter working in New York City.

A street painter working outside Centre Pompidou. The painting being copied is Vermeer's Het meisje met de parel.

Street painting is the activity of rendering artistic designs on pavement, such as streets, sidewalks and town squares, by using erasable materials.

1 Origin
2 Current trends
3 Reference
4 External links

[edit] Origin

Street painting is recorded throughout Europe since the 16th century. Street painters in Italy are called madonnari, (madonnaro is the singular form) because early street painters rendered images of the Madonna.

Madonnari are itinerant artists who live a life of travel and freedom. Aware of the festivals and holidays of each area, they travel to join in the festivities. They create images on sidewalks or public squares using colored chalk, and live on donations and small commissions. After the holiday or festival, or with the first rain, both the painting and the painter vanish.

Due to the impermanence of madonnari art work, it was not visually documented. However, poets and writers have described it for over 400 years. Contemporary street painting is documented with video, photographs, and numerous articles.

Until recently, madonnari were folk artists, reproducing simple images with crude materials. World War II disrupted the tradition and reduced the number of these itinerant artists.

Around 1980, a revival of the street painting began with artists appearing on the streets of Europe, bringing with them new ideas, techniques and enthusiasm. They infused their work with fresh subject matter and innovative materials.

[edit] Current trends

The new street painters use high quality commercial and handmade pastels, experimenting with gold leaf, silver paint, colored sand and glass, even birdseed.

Subject matter is no longer confined to the Madonna. The new street painters copy the Old Masters — Rembrandt, Michelangelo, Dürer and Raphael, among others. The broader subject range are popular, and as the artists work their baskets are filled with coins.

The street painters begin rendering more complicated compositions, often working a painting for days and weeks at a time.

To accommodate the public desire for larger and better-finished images, they made their work portable. Heavy sheets of paper were used and with the first sign of inclement weather, the artist rolled up the painting and carried it to another location. The paper would tear and wear thin, and the artist started a new picture. Eventually, prepared canvas replaced the paper supports.

In 1972, the small community of Grazie di Curtatone in northern Italy started the first International Street Painting Competition. The purpose of the competition was to record and publicize the work of those considered to be the last practitioners of the traditional art. The oldest of the painters were in their 90s. Over the years, the competition has drawn younger painters and larger crowds. The festival remains popular and street painting competitions around the world are modeled on the event.

Street painting has become both an organized festival event, and an unsanctioned expression in many parts of the world.