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
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
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.
I just discovered that one of my favorite paintings- Ginevra de' Benci was painted by Leonardo da Vinci in 1474/1478 in both tempera and oil.
It is a two sided painting. Can you tell which is done in tempera and which is done in oil?
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
2018
Art Talk: Introduction
Art Talk: Emotion in Bronze
Art Talk: Moore Across America
Art Talk: Bronze
Art Talk: Moore in America
Art Talk: King and Queen
Art Talk: Art Tells Our Story
Art Talk: Highlight Tour of the MET
Art Talk: The Burghers of Calais
Art Talk: Auguste Rodin
Art Talk: Art in Paris in the 1870s
Art Talk: Guest Blogger, Frankie O'Neill
Art Talk: "Felt is a happy fabric."
Art Talk: Murals in Klamath Falls
Art Talk: Woman with a Parasol- Madame Monet and Her Son
Art Talk: Respect and Compassion
2019
Art Talk: Art Connects Us
Art Talk: My mother's crystal
Art Talk: Mother and Child
Art Talk: Tour of the Galleria dell' Accademia
Art Talk: Walking tour of Florence, Italy
Art Talk: Chihuly at the Oklahoma City Museum of Art
Art Talk: Vatican tour highlights
Art Talk: Ceilings in the Vatican
Art Talk: Chihuly at Kew Gardens
Art Talk: MET Highlight tour
Art Talk: Japan at the MET
Art Talk: Up Close with French art at the National Gallery of Art in DC
Art Talk: Kelpies
Art Talk: Buying from local artists
Art Talk: Guest Blogger, Joia Doiron
Haveyoubeenhere 2019 Steemitworldmap travel contest- Four Wonderful Museums
