An easel is an upright support used for displaying and/or fixing something resting upon it, at an angle of about 20° to the vertical. In particular, painters traditionally use an easel to support a painting while they work on it, normally standing up; easels are also sometimes used to display finished paintings. Artists' easels are still typically made of wood, in functional designs that have changed little for centuries, or even millennia, though new materials and designs exist. Easels are typically made from wood, aluminum or steel. Easel painting is a term in art history for the type of midsize painting that would have been painted on an easel, as opposed to a fresco wall painting, a large altarpiece or other piece that would have been painted resting on a floor, a small cabinet painting, or a miniature created while sitting at a desk, though perhaps also on an angled support. It does not refer to the way the painting is meant to be displayed; most easel paintings are intended for display framed and hanging on a wall. In a photographic darkroom, an easel is used to keep the photographic paper in a flat or upright (horizontal, big-size enlarging) position to the enlarger.

Etymology

The word easel is an old Germanic synonym for donkey (compare similar semantics). In various other languages, its equivalent is the only word for both the animal and the apparatus, such as and earlier (the easel generally in full, "painter's donkey"), themselves cognates of the (ass).

History

Easels have been in use since the time of the ancient Egyptians. In the 1st century, Pliny the Elder made reference to a "large panel" placed upon an easel.

Design

There are three common designs for easels:

Differences

An easel can be full height, designed for standing by itself on the floor. Shorter easels can be designed for use on a table.

Use

It is most often used to hold up a painter's canvas or large sketchbook while the artist is working, or to hold a completed painting for exhibition. Here are some common uses for easels: