Oil painting is done on surfaces with pigment ground into a medium of oil — especially in early modern Europe, linseed oil. Other oils occasionally used include poppyseed oil, walnut oil, and safflower oil. These oils result in different properties in the oil paint, such as less yellowing of different drying times. The oil usually takes weeks to dry.

It was probably developed for decorative or functional purposes in the High Middle Ages. Surfaces like shields — both those used in tournaments and those hung as decorations — were more durable when painted in oil-based media than when painted in the traditional tempera paints. Many Renaissance sources credit northern European painters of the 15th century with the "invention" of painting with oil media on wood panel — Jan van Eyck often mentioned as the "inventor". The popularity of oil grew in 16th century Venice, where a water-durable medium was essential.