If it can help appreciate impastos better: First, most paintings are created to be looked at from a distance, and not from up-close. In particular to this effe

If it can help appreciate impastos better: First, most paintings are created to be looked at from a distance, and not from up-close. In particular to this effect, painters regularly step back when working. Second, regarding impastos, the wikipedia article is quite expeditious: > it makes the light reflect in a particular way, giving the artist additional control over the play of light in the painting Here's a practical example: https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/7/70/Duparc-vieille-Dame.jpg https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/7/70/Duparc-v... https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/2/2b/Longchamp075_Duparc_vieille.jpg https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/2/2b/Longcham... Because the painting is lit from above (it's almost always the case), the portion of the impasto facing toward the light, receives more light than anything else in the painting: it's one way to "paint" "whiter than white", very convenient to create highlights. It's in particular noticeable on the nose of the previous painting. Noses are a bit greasy, and will thus reflect more light. On the other side of the impasto, a little shadow can be casted. It can be used to echo the form being depicted. This is being used, for example on her right lower eyelid, where there's a little cast shadow (and a highlight). It's some sort of a tiny bas-relief. But all those impastos from up-close look weird, unnatural. "Gross" even, in this particular case…