Art Encyclopedia - Palette Knife

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Palette Knife
A Palette knife is a flexible blade used for for mixing oil paints on the palette. It is also used for scraping paint off the canvas or for applying paint.

Palette knives became popular in the 18th century, ordinary knives being used for the purpose before this. Today the blades are invariably made of steel, but other materials, including ivory, have been used in the past. Courbet is sometimes credited with inventing the specialized painting knife, but Constable had earlier used a similar implement.