Art Talk: Egg Tempera

For this post of Art Talk I am discussing the medium of painting-- Egg Tempera-- which was widely used in Renaissance art which I have been highlighting this month.

Giotto's Madonna and Child is a beautiful example of tempera on wood.

Giotto
Madonna and Child, 1320
Tempera on poplar panel

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Colored pigments + egg yolk + water (or another liquid agent) =Egg Tempera

In some ways, egg tempera shares more commonalities with pastels or colored pencils than with acrylics, oils, or watercolor paints. Because it does not lend itself well to blending or color mixing, egg tempera relies on cross-hatching and overlays of glazing to achieve dimensionality. Pigments through the ages- Egg Tempera

Sandro Botticelli
Giuliano de' Medici, 1478/1480
Tempera on panel

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The tempera style of painting was used from Early Egyptian to the Renaissance. Sometime in the mid 1400s oil painting became the more popular and preferred style of painting.

Tempera dries matt (dull) and opaque and oil dries hard and transparent.

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Posts for the Italian Renaissance series for March 2020
March 5th Art Talk: NGA Italian Renaissance Tour
March 11th Art Talk: Raphael
March 17th Art Talk: Venus
March 25th Art Talk: Egg Tempera

Sources:
Tempera
Pigments through the ages- Egg Tempera
History World- OIL AND TEMPERA

Art Talk Series Highlights

2020
Art Talk: Recycled Plastic Art Movement
Art Talk: Gates of Paradise
Art Talk: NGA Italian Renaissance Tour
Art Talk: Raphael