Paint is a material or mixture that, after applied to a solid material and allowed to dry, adds a film-like layer. As art, this is used to create an image, known as a painting. Paint can be made in many colors and types. Most paints are either oil-based or water-based, and each has distinct characteristics.
A charcoal and ochre cave painting of Megaloceros from Lascaux, France
Paint used every day: White paint on a wall in Suzdal, Russia
Watercolors as applied with a brush
The "painter's mussel", a European freshwater mussel. Individual shell halves were used by artists as a small dish for paint.
Painting is a visual art, which is characterized by the practice of applying paint, pigment, color or other medium to a solid surface. The medium is commonly applied to the base with a brush, but other implements, such as knives, sponges, and airbrushes, may be used.
Mona Lisa (1503–1517) by Leonardo da Vinci is one of the world's most recognizable paintings.
An artistic depiction of a group of rhinos was painted in the Chauvet Cave 30,000 to 32,000 years ago.
Prehistoric cave painting of aurochs (French: Bos primigenius primigenius), Lascaux, France
The oldest known figurative painting is a depiction of a bull that was discovered in the Lubang Jeriji Saléh cave in Indonesia. It was painted 40,000–52,000 years ago or earlier.
