The word ‘easel’, as we now use it, has traveled quite an indirect path before entering the English vernacular. It began as an old Germanic synonym for donkey as ‘esil’, or ‘ass’. Gradually, it morphed into Old English as ‘esol’, then into Dutch as ‘ezel’, or the full term ‘schildersezel’ (painter’s donkey), from which we get our modern word. Easels, however, are known to have been in use since the time of ancient Egyptians.
The Middle Ages brought painting down off the walls and onto floor easels, and introduced some innovative additions to the tool, specific to the needs of the artists using them. For example, in the 12th century, easel-type writing desks, similar to what we'd now think of as podiums or tabletop easels, became essential for monks who illuminated manuscripts. In order to light up the surface of their workspace, and to save on candles or lamp oil, these artist easels had a small mirror mounted on them that could be angled, much like today's reading lamp, to catch and reflect the sun onto the artwork in progress. Like many artists after them, these medieval pioneers used their resources to customize their art easels and display easels to personalized perfection.
