Final answer:
To achieve pale, delicate colors, artists can slowly blend oil paints on a white ground, use pastels which are finely ground powdered pigments mixed with binders, or use methods similar to the Impressionists who employed a light-colored background and lighter shades to enhance luminosity.
Step-by-step explanation:
To achieve pale, delicate colors, artists have several methods at their disposal. One method is to blend colors in oil paint, where a smooth white ground is prepared and layers upon layers of oil paint are built up gradually. As oil paint dries slowly and remains somewhat translucent, it allows for the blending of colors to achieve subtle gradations, as seen in the rosy flush of the Venus of Urbino's cheeks by Titian. For a more pronounced effect, Venetian painters like Bellini, Giorgione, and Titian even added ground-up glass to their pigments to enhance light reflection.
Another method involves using pastels, which are like fine chalk that can be used to leave soft, subtle changes in tone. These finely ground powdered pigments mixed with a binder can be blended to create a resonant quality that is difficult to achieve with other mediums like graphite or charcoal. The ability of pastels to blend easily allows artists to produce a wide spectrum of pale and delicate hues.
The Impressionists took a different approach by choosing a light-colored background and using white mixed with other colors to create bright light-reflective paints. They preferred to avoid dark, earthy colors and instead exploited the spectrum's lighter side to achieve their iconic luminous quality.