Reverse glass painting

Throughout the 19th century painting on glass was widely popular as folk art in Austria, Bavaria, Moravia, Bohemia and Slovakia.

[7] In realism, for example, pupils and eyebrows are painted first, before applying color to the skin or the eye’s sclera.

[6] In Kandinsky's illustrations, thick and defined lines are applied at the beginning of each reverse glass painting.

[6] Four of Kandinsky's works of art investigated in-depth show more than two layers of applied paint that vary in thickness.

[6] The technique varies, but Kandinsky's paintings show internal layers with rapid sweeping brush strokes in large regions and stippling of color in other areas.

It was used in reverse paintings during the 16th and 18th centuries in Europe and China as a protective layer for pieces to last longer and preserve over the years.

[9] Unlike wood or canvas, glass requires preparation before applying color for long-lasting adhesion.

[9] Two American artists, Marsden Hartley and Rebecca Salsbury James, made artworks using reverse glass painting.

Other American artists working in the medium of reverse glass painting include Benjamin Greenleaf.

Unlike Africa or South America, artworks from China were far from being considered "primitive" due to their long art history, dating back thousands of years.

[8] Chinese reverse glass painting greatly influenced artists like Gabriel Münter, Wassily Kandinsky, Franz Marc, and Heinrich Campendonk.

After the line art, Chinese reverse glass paintings are filled with different colors applied to various areas to create the details.

[16] One of the earliest surviving examples of this art in Iran is from the Qajar dynasty, during the reign of Fath Ali Shah (from c.