In the "Fog off Mount Desert" by Frederic Edwin Church,1850 and "La Condition Humaine" by Rene' Magritte, 1933; the medium used in the painting is oil on canvas. The choice of this medium is popular due to the fact that it allows manipulation without compromising the artwork. This is possible because oil dries slowly, linseed is most preferred. Because of the slow drying process the artist can make changes to the painting without separation or cracking, at anytime until he or she is certain it has reached desired perfection. Church used light brush strokes to give his painting a thin appearance.
In Magritte's painting the same medium was chosen for the same reasons. It prolongs the period of time to allow changes without destroying the work already done. Yet in "La Condition Humaine" stronger brush strokes were used to show the differences in the picture within the picture. In both paintings the image is the most important of the painting. Mount Desert in Church's portrait and the smaller painting in the portrait in "La Condition Humaine". Apparently more time and concentration were placed in creating the mountain and the smaller portrait. Using the oil medium allowed that time for correction and concentration on replicating the images seen while painting.
