Tempera

Tempera is a special way to paint.

Artists mix dry color powder with egg yolk. This makes a paint that dries very fast. It stays bright for a long time.

People used this paint in ancient Egypt. They also used it in old India. Artists must paint on hard boards. If they use soft cloth, the paint may crack. It is a very old and beautiful art.

Tempera is a way to make paint.

To make it, artists mix dry color powder with a binder. A binder is a sticky material that holds the color together. The most famous kind is egg tempera. For this, artists use only the egg yolk. They mix the yolk with water to make the paint.

This art is very old. People used egg tempera in ancient Egypt. They also used it in old India. In Europe, it was the main paint for many years. Artists like Michelangelo used it for many paintings.

Tempera dries very fast. Because it dries quickly, artists must work with care. They often use many small strokes to make a picture. This is called cross-hatching.

You cannot use tempera on soft cloth. If you do, the paint will crack and fall off. It works best on hard wood boards. One great thing about tempera is its color. The colors do not change or turn yellow over time. They stay bright and true for a long time.

Tempera is a special way to make paint.

It uses dry color powder mixed with a binder. A binder is a sticky material that holds the color together. The most famous type is egg tempera. This uses only the egg yolk as the binder. Other types use milk protein or plant gums. Some people even use poster paint made from cornstarch. This is called distemper, but it looks more like gouache.

Artists love it because the colors stay true. Unlike oil paint, tempera does not turn yellow over time.

Making egg tempera is a careful process. An artist must first separate the yolk from the white. They puncture the yolk membrane to drain the liquid. Then, they mix the yolk with water. Some recipes use a bit of vinegar to keep it fresh. Others might use white wine instead of water. The artist then adds the powdered pigment to the yolk. They must keep the mixture from getting too thick or too watery.

Because it dries so fast, the artist cannot store it. They must make fresh paint every single day.

This art form has a very long history.

Some of the oldest egg tempera is from Sardinia. These murals date back to 3400 BCE. Ancient Egyptians also used tempera on walls and sarcophagi. In India, artists used it in the Bagh Caves. For many years, it was the main paint in Europe. It was used for important books and wood panels. Most paintings by Michelangelo were made with egg tempera. He even used both tempera and oil on his Doni Tondo.

Tempera works best on hard, stiff surfaces. It does not work well on soft canvas. If you use canvas, the paint will crack and chip. Most artists use wooden boards or hard boards like MDF. They often prepare the surface with a layer called gesso. This helps the paint stick well.

Because the paint dries so quickly, artists use a special technique. They apply many tiny strokes in a pattern called cross-hatching. This allows them to be very precise with their work. The finished painting has a smooth, satin look.

Even though oil paint became more popular, tempera never truly left. It saw many revivals in the 19th and 20th centuries. Many American artists, like Andrew Wyeth, used it. In India, the Bengal school of artists used tempera too. Today, it is still a tradition in Greece and Russia. Artists use it to paint beautiful Orthodox icons. It remains a way for people to create art that lasts for centuries.

Tempera is a permanent and fast-drying painting medium. It consists of dry pigments mixed with a water-soluble binder. This binder is a substance that holds the color particles together. The term comes from the Italian phrase "dipingere a tempera," which means to paint in distemper. It also relates to the Late Latin "distemperare," meaning to mix thoroughly.

Artists value tempera for its durability and color stability. Unlike oil paints, tempera colors do not darken, yellow, or become transparent as they age. This makes it a reliable choice for works meant to last for centuries.

The most famous version is egg tempera. To make it, an artist must carefully prepare the egg yolk. They discard the egg white and the yolk membrane. The membrane is punctured so the liquid inside can drain into a container. This yolk is then diluted with a liquid, usually water. Some historical recipes use white wine or a small amount of vinegar. Vinegar acts as a preservative, though too much can discolor pigments like ultramarine.

The artist mixes the yolk with a roughly equal volume of powdered pigment. They must constantly adjust the mixture to balance a "greasy" and "watery" consistency.

There are several distinct types of tempera based on the binder used. Egg tempera is the classical standard. Casein paint is another type, which uses milk protein as the binder. There is also polyvinyl acetate tempera, which uses a synthetic binder called PVA. Some people call distemper "tempera," but it actually uses binders like cornstarch or gum arabic. This distemper is more similar to gouache in its visual effect.

Another variation is tempera grassa. This is created by adding oil to the egg yolk in a ratio of no more than 1:1. It offers some color effects of oil paint while remaining water-soluble.

Tempera has a deep and ancient history. The earliest known egg tempera examples are prehistoric murals in Sardinia from 3400–2700 BCE. Scientists have also found egg tempera in murals from the Palace of Nestor in Pylos, dating to 1200 BCE. In India, high-quality tempera art was created in the Bagh Caves between the 4th and 10th centuries. In Europe, tempera was the primary medium for panel paintings and illuminated manuscripts. It was the dominant method used in the Byzantine world and through the Early Renaissance.

Even Michelangelo used egg tempera for most of his surviving panel paintings.

The technical requirements of tempera are quite strict. Because the paint is not flexible, it must be used on stiff, rigid surfaces. If an artist tries to use canvas, the paint will crack and chip away. Instead, they use wood panels or hard boards like MDF. The surface is often prepared with an absorbent ground called gesso.

Because the paint dries so rapidly, artists cannot apply it in thick layers. They instead use a precise technique called cross-hatching. This involves applying many small, thin, semi-opaque or transparent layers of paint. This process results in a smooth, satin, or matte finish.

While oil paint eventually replaced tempera in popularity, the medium saw many revivals. In the 19th and 20th centuries, groups like the Pre-Raphaelites rediscovered the technique. In America, many artists used it, including the Regionalist Andrew Wyeth and the science fiction artist John Schoenherr. In India, the Bengal school of artists used tempera as a primary way to express themselves. Artists like Jamini Roy and Ganesh Pyne helped establish it for a new age of Indian art.

It remains a traditional medium for painting Orthodox icons in Greece and Russia.

Understanding tempera also requires awareness of the materials used. Many traditional pigments are highly toxic. For example, cinnabar contains mercury, orpiment contains arsenic, and lead white contains lead. Modern artists often use synthetic pigments to stay safe, but they must still be careful not to breathe in pigment dust. Furthermore, egg tempera cannot be stored in tubes like modern paints. Once prepared, it must be used immediately. This is why tubed egg tempera is actually tempera grassa, as it requires oils and preservatives to stay liquid in a container.