An overall view of the history of (Western) painting supports and their preparation. It would address some questions like why did painters switch from using wooden panels to canvas? Who made the supports- the artists or a commercial entity? Why were some supports prepared with dark red or black ground layers while others were prepared with white grounds? How did artists exploit the variable textures of their supports? What other supports were historically used besides wood and canvas? What were some not very suitable supports that have been used and how have they fared? What kind of damages are inherent to different kinds of supports?

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