Decorative Painting Throughout History
Humans have always adorned their surroundings with color. Prehistoric man used earth pigments to decorate their cave dwellings; Egyptians added color and design to their temple walls through pictures and hieroglyphics; the Minoans are credited for their painted murals in the living rooms for the rich and mighty.
While the form may have changed throughout the past 31,000 years, man's desire to adorn his "space" is still alive and well. And if we look closely at just the past 150 years, the industry of decorative painting has--and is--most definitely evolving.
In the 18th and 19th centuries, one could retain the title of "decorative painter" only after years of apprenticeship with a senior craftsman. He would have learned to render grain and veining patterns in wood and stone, imitate metal patinas, gild, glaze, distress, and stencil--and these were only prerequisites. It's sufficient to say that a decorative painter didn't specialize in just one area, but was a craftsman of all.
It's true that fashion shifts in and out of favor, even with an aesthetic and technical craft such as decorative finishing, but time can attest to the fact that an appreciation for beauty, especially in the home, is unabating.
We've seen a resurgence in recent years in the popularity of decorative painting, due in part to enhanced product technology that makes it easier for the experienced faux finisher and neophyte alike, and partly as a reaction against mass production in all aspects of life today. Consumers are forgoing the concept of quick, reproduced availability in favor of handcrafted uniqueness once again.