[Scriptoris] Egg Tempera?

[Diane Rudin]

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[ Picked text/plain from multipart/alternative ]

Daniel V. Thompson *The Practice of Tempera Painting* (New York: Dover Publications, undated paperback reprint of 1936 edition)  His presentation of information hearkens back to the Victorian era, but he was the preeminent scholar of the early twentieth century on medieval painting practices.  I have a copy that I'll sell you for $4.00 + S/H.

In the meantime:  tempera painting (pigment + egg yolk, not that stuff they sell for kids today) is always done on wood panels.  It dries too stiff for vellum/parchment, paper, or canvas.  Usual method is to prepare the panel, lay down any and all gold leaf, then paint.  Sometimes there was so much gold they just painted over the gold; I learned that reading the little plaques next to the artwork hanging in the permanent collection at the Museum of Fine Arts, Houston.

As to tempering pigment with medium (in this case, egg yolk) to get paints, it's not that difficult, just need some common sense.  Use a roughened surface (either a sand-blasted piece of thick glass [acid-etched will discolor/destroy many pigments] or the unfinished [read: not smooth] backside of a marble slab) and a muller (either sand-blasted glass, unfinished porcelain, or other non-smooth thingummy with a fairly flat side).  Put between a teaspoon and a tablespoon of pigment on your working surface and add slightly-water-thinned egg yolk USING A DROPPER one drop at a time.  Work each drop into the pigment.  Occasionally add a drop of water instead of medium.  Have a brush and panel handy to test to see if you've gotten the consistency you want.

Realize that this stuff won't keep.  You make it up, and then you use it right away.  For goodness' sake, don't let it dry on your brush if you ever want to use that brush again.  Anyone who's ever tried to get dried egg out of something will understand.  It won't reconstitute like watercolors or gouache.

Again, let me reiterate:  this is not for book illumination.  For that, use glair (whipped egg whites) or gum arabic, and the same process just described.

Good luck, and have fun!  Any more questions, don't hesitate to ask.

--Serena
 Donna Hufford <dhufford at earthlink.net> wrote:Greetings all

I was wondering if anyone out there has any experience with egg tempera. It
is something I have really been wanting to try but am having difficulty
finding definitive information for the actual mixture of egg yolk and
pigment.

Thank you

Siobhan
Northkeep


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