Impasto

The word impasto is Italian in origin; in which it means "dough" or "mixture"; related to the verb impastare, "to knead", or "to paste".

Impasto is generally not used in watercolor or tempera without the addition of thickening agent due to the inherent thinness of these media.

The first objective was originally sought by masters such as Rembrandt, Titian, and Vermeer, to represent folds in clothes or jewels: it was then juxtaposed with a more delicate painting style.

Much later, the French Impressionists created pieces covering entire canvases with rich impasto textures.

Abstract expressionists such as Hans Hofmann and Willem de Kooning also made extensive use of it, motivated in part by a desire to create paintings which dramatically record the action of painting itself.