Facts about Tempera Painting
- 13
Ultramarine blue pigment in tempera paintings degrades to a grayish tone when exposed to acidic environments, causing many Renaissance artworks to lose their original vivid blue drapery and sky colors over centuries.
- 12
Plumbonacrite, a lead compound formed when white lead pigment oxidizes in tempera paintings, causes visible darkening and deterioration visible in many 16th-century works stored in humid conditions.
- 11
During the 15th century, tempera artists mixed their egg emulsion with additives like vinegar or urine to extend drying time and improve paint workability on panel surfaces.
- 10
In 1550, Giorgio Vasari documented that tempera paintings retained their vibrant colors for centuries because the fast-drying emulsion created a sealed surface resistant to the darkening that plagued early oil paintings.
- 09
Artists in 15th-century Italy preferred poplar wood panels for tempera painting because the soft wood's fine grain provided an ideal surface for detailed brushwork and could be carved to create raised decorative frames integral to the panel structure.
- 08
Binding agents in tempera paintings consisted primarily of egg yolk mixed with water, which created a water-soluble emulsion that allowed artists to achieve luminous effects impossible with oil-based media of the same period.
- 07
Lapis lazuli, the ultramarine pigment prized for tempera painting, cost 10 to 12 times more than gold during the Renaissance, making it affordable only for the most important figures in commissioned works.
- 06
Medieval panel paintings in tempera required artists to wait 24 hours between glaze layers to prevent the fast-drying emulsion from lifting previously applied pigment.
- 05
Tempera paintings on wood panels from the Renaissance often show crazing patterns in their paint layers because the rigid gesso ground and fast-drying medium created stress incompatible with wood's natural expansion and contraction.
- 04
Botticelli's Primavera, completed around 1482, utilized tempera on poplar wood panel, which allowed the artist to achieve the painting's distinctive bright, jewel-like colors through precise layering of translucent glazes.
- 03
Cennino Cennini's 14th-century manual Il Libro dell'Arte documented tempera painting techniques requiring artists to prepare wooden panels with gesso, a plaster-based ground layer essential for adhesion and luminosity.
- 02
Egg tempera, the dominant medium for panel paintings from the 12th through 15th centuries, required artists to apply thin glazes in layers because the fast-drying emulsion could not be blended wet like oil paint.
- 01
The Sistine Chapel ceiling, painted by Michelangelo between 1508 and 1512, employed a true fresco technique rather than tempera, requiring pigments to be applied to wet plaster for permanent integration.