tempera painting

tempera painting
Painting executed with ground pigment mixed with a water-soluble material, such as egg yolk, gum, or wax.

The special ground for tempera painting is a rigid wood panel coated with thin layers of gesso, a preparation usually made of plaster of Paris and glue. Tempera paint is resistant to water and allows overpainting with more colour; the thin, transparent layers of paint produce a clear, luminous effect. The exclusive medium for panel painting in the Middle Ages and early Renaissance, it was largely superseded in the 15th century by oil paint.

* * *

      painting executed with pigment ground in a water-miscible medium. The word tempera originally came from the verb temper—that is, “to bring to a desired consistency”; dry pigments are made usable by “tempering” them with a binding and adhesive vehicle. Such painting was distinguished from fresco painting, the colours for which contained no binder. Eventually, after the rise of oil painting, the word gained its present meaning.

      The standard tempera vehicle is a natural emulsion, egg yolk, thinned with water. Variants of this vehicle have been developed to widen its use. Among the man-made emulsions are those prepared with whole egg and linseed oil, with gum, and with wax.

      The special ground for tempera painting is a rigid wood or wallboard panel coated with several thin layers of gesso, a white, smooth, fully absorbent preparation made of burnt gypsum (or chalk, plaster of Paris, or whiting) and hide (or parchment) glue. A few minutes after application, tempera paint is sufficiently resistant to water to allow overpainting with more colour. Thin, transparent layers of paint produce a clear, luminous effect, and the colour tones of successive brushstrokes blend optically. Modern tempera paintings are sometimes varnished or overpainted with thin, transparent oil glazes to produce full, deep-toned results, or they are left unglazed for blond effects.

* * *


Universalium. 2010.

Игры ⚽ Поможем написать реферат

Look at other dictionaries:

  • Tempera — (also known as egg tempera ) is a type of artist s paint and associated art techniques that were known from the classical world, where it appears to have taken over from encaustic and was the main medium used for panel painting and illuminated… …   Wikipedia

  • TEMPERA (technique picturale) — TEMPERA, technique picturale Mot dont l’acception comporte une équivoque. Le terme italien signifie littéralement «tremper» ou «détremper» des pigments de couleur dans un liquide qui les véhiculera et les liera entre eux et au support. Dans les… …   Encyclopédie Universelle

  • painting — /payn ting/, n. 1. a picture or design executed in paints. 2. the act, art, or work of a person who paints. 3. the works of art painted in a particular manner, place, or period: a book on Flemish painting. 4. an instance of covering a surface… …   Universalium

  • tempera — /tem peuhr euh/, n. 1. a technique of painting in which an emulsion consisting of water and pure egg yolk or a mixture of egg and oil is used as a binder or medium, characterized by its lean film forming properties and rapid drying rate. 2. a… …   Universalium

  • tempera — tem•per•a [[t]ˈtɛm pər ə[/t]] n. pl. per•as 1) fia a technique of painting in which an emulsion consisting of water and pure egg yolk or a mixture of egg and oil is used as a binder or medium, characterized by its lean film forming properties and …   From formal English to slang

  • tempera — ► NOUN 1) a method of painting with pigments dispersed in an emulsion that mixes with water, typically egg yolk. 2) emulsion used in tempera. ORIGIN from Italian pingere a tempera paint in distemper …   English terms dictionary

  • Tempera — Tem pe*ra, n. [It.] (Paint.) A mode or process of painting; distemper. [1913 Webster] Note: The term is applied especially to early Italian painting, common vehicles of which were yolk of egg, yolk and white of egg mixed together, the white juice …   The Collaborative International Dictionary of English

  • tempera — [tem′pər ə] n. [It < temperare < L: see TEMPER] 1. a) a process of painting in which pigments are mixed with size, casein, or egg, esp. egg yolk, to produce a dull finish b) the paint used in this process 2. POSTER COLOR …   English World dictionary

  • Painting — For other uses, see Painting (disambiguation). The Mona Lisa, by Italian painter Leonardo da Vinci, is one of the most recognizable artistic paintings in the world. Painting is the practice of applying paint, pig …   Wikipedia

  • painting, Western — ▪ art Introduction       history of Western painting from its beginnings in prehistoric times to the present.       Painting, the execution of forms and shapes on a surface by means of pigment (but see also drawing for discussion of depictions in …   Universalium

Share the article and excerpts

Direct link
Do a right-click on the link above
and select “Copy Link”