The word "canvas" is derived from the word "cannabis". For centuries, hemp was used as much, if not more, than flax as a textile fibre. The two fabrics were considered interchangeable in terms of properties, and some art historians maintain that it is impossible to distinguish between them without a microscopic examination. Nonetheless, because of the many steps required in its processing, linen has always been the costlier of the two.

At the beginning of the nineteenth century, American cotton began to flood the market, and hemp production went into decline. Cotton canvas, although less expensive than either linen or hemp, was less suitable as a painting surface. Its fibres were weaker, particularly when wet, and it was prone to developing mildews and moulds. It is only in the last hundred years that cotton has begun to outsell linen for artists' canvas.

The French Impressionists initially used either linen or hemp canvas as a painting medium, but as hemp became increasingly rare, they relied almost exclusively on linen. Although there was no noticeable difference in their painting, the shift to a more expensive surface had obvious repercussions on pocketbooks. Ingres, for example painted Roger et Angelique on an old damask tablecloth, stretched and primed.

Aubin van Berckel
aubin@opusframing.com