Cracking Eggs-

Exploring the ancient method of egg tempera painting- Brian Keeler

Egg tempera painting is new to me but the medium is as time-honored as ancient Egypt.  Panel paintings in egg tempera from the time that the pyramids were built still survive to attest to its durability- with the color looking as vibrant as the day they were painted.  In respect to archival durability, egg tempera might only be second to buon fresco, or true fresco.  There are wonderful examples of fresco from ancient Pompeii, Knossos and, of course, in the Renaissance at famous sites such as the Sistine Ceiling, the cathedral Assisi and the Arena Chapel in Padua, both with Giotto's fresco paintings.

I would say that egg tempera is (somewhat) new to me, as I worked in a type of tempera painting in art school under the brand name of Shiva. But this was not true egg tempera paint. My father also worked in an opaque paint that some called tempera as well. He later worked with acrylic that has the fast drying aspects of tempera without all the intricate archival and prepatory challenges. Egg tempera gets fairly confusing, as even in museum attributions there are paintings done with water based mediums that are labeled as tempera - just not egg tempera.

Above- A 16" x 16" egg tempera painting by the author. This allegorical work, titled, "Seneca Icarus- with Cadillac" is largely invented but based on the landscape over one of the Finger Lakes. The panel is aluminum and purchased from a company that makes archival paints, pigments and other materials, "Natural Pigments LLC."

The Appeal of Egg Tempera

Egg tempera paintings are quite prevalent and most of the famous paintings of the late medieval period and early Renaissance were done in egg tempera on wood panels.  My interest was piqued last summer when I took a workshop at the Rome Studio ( in Rome, Italy) with an accomplished artist, Michael Bergt of Santa Fe, NM.  I have known of Michael's work for a long time, having first seen his work through the curatorial work of John O'Hern, while he was the director of the Arnot Art Museum in Elmira, NY. Michael's wonderful allegorical paintings appealed to me and connected with my own interest and paintings of similar Greco-Roman mythologies.  The paintings of mine shown here are in this genre.

Above- This oil painting on a pentagonal panel was based on the small egg tempera painting shown above. The five-sided panel and mythological theme were inspired by looking at Renaissance art, which often used elaborately shaped panels and frames.

The appeal of egg tempera to me is in part its connection to the Italian Renaissance and the unique position at the transition in the late 15th century to oil painting. It is a fascinating period at the crux of the new learning and increased skills of the artists in rendering the visible world in a representational way.  There is one famous example from the school of Verrochio in Florence where his students, including Leonardo da Vinci, also worked on this piece. This painting is The Baptism of Christ from 1475. It is believed that this painting employed both egg tempera and oil with successive glazes and overpainting, possibly of both mediums.  The linear quality has an appeal as well, as egg tempera is typically thought of and used as a method that is applied as if drawing.  Hence, we have a melding of the act of drawing, sculpting and painting at once.  The sculpting aspect occurs as the strokes are often articulating the roundness of forms of a portrait or a nude much as sculptor would have his chisel gouge around a marble block. The main exponent of this (painting-while -sculpting) technique is Mantegna, the 15th century Italian artist who happens to be the brother-in-law of the Venetian painter Bellini.  Mategna's work is inspired by sculpted figures from ancient Rome. 

I was introduced to egg tempera in Michael's class; the medium had immediate appeal as it was very approachable and not complicated.  I have since done some reading of excellent texts on the subject. One is a very concise small volume by Michael, "A Guide to Egg Tempera Painting," which he provided with the class.  Since returning,  I purchased the comprehensive book by Koo Schadler, titled, "Egg Tempera Painting- A Comprehensive Guide."   And indeed it is thorough and comprehensive.   I also acquired an excellent streamed video course by Julio and Candace Reyes.   And between these latter two resources, it has increased my appreciation and understanding of egg tempera.  And my appreciation of the nuance and complexity of the technique has broadened as well.   It is now seen as a rather daunting endeavor with many fine points.  The primary one that is most challenging (which I have not tried yet) is the preparation of the panels.

The main obstacle to an easy segue into this medium is the fact that acrylic gesso cannot be used as sealant/primer and under surface to cover the wood or hardboard panels (substrate). The acrylic gesso is too slick and not absorbent enough to create a bonding with the egg tempera. Paper and canvas are not often used either as they can bend, causing the paint to crack or peel off.  One has to use heaters, double boilers on a stove and apply rabbit skin glue (or other hide glue) at an exact temperature to seal the panels and the same glue is to be used in the mix of true gesso.

Schadler and Bergt both go into the process and there are indeed many exact aspects, like the temperature of the mix of glue and gesso that cannot be overlooked. There is also a time factor that could postentially add stress- the successive coats of gesso need to be applied on the same day.   I like to think of the process of panel preparation in the Renaissance studios of Verrochio, Mantegna, Fra Angelico and many other painters. Perhaps the panels were produced in workshops by craftsmen and not by the painters- or some combination?  The upshot is that they knew how to do it and we have many exquisite examples to look at in museums and in the cathedrals of Europe.

Andrew Wyeth's work and his process of creating masterpieces in egg tempera during the 20th century give us a contemporary artist's interpretation. After working in oil for a short time in his early career he transitioned to egg tempera for all of his panel paintings for the rest of his life. George Tooker is another 20th century painter whose work I have long admired along with Paul Cadmus- both who worked in egg tempera.

The process of egg tempera has some significant similarities to oil painting, yet some important differences too.   Although the final appearance and applications of egg tempera show the linear strokes and hatching-  the paint goes on in successive stages of thin paint.  Even glazes can be added, not with oils or varnishes, but with the paint thinned with water. The glazes and the paint will dry very quickly, within a minute if the mix and ratio of water, pigment and egg is correct.  The general process painting with egg tempera is slow and built up in thin layers.  So rather than going for details immediately, we patiently pursue the gradual development.

Above- "Seneca Summer Bacchanal" A small egg tempera on panel based on mytholgical theme. You can observe the cross hatching technique here were the brush strokes go with the form in figures.

Above- A charcoal drawing done from a small terracotta statue by Clodion at the Metropolitan Museum of Art In NYC. The egg tempera painting shown above was based on this sketch. To view a video of this drawing being made in the museum go this link- https://youtu.be/RFnb56ysdac?si=70JAv11dmAz3HSiO

The egg yolk and its extraction and mixing seemed challenging at first but with the video of Reyes' and the explanations of Schadler and Bergt it is now done without issue.  The paint application with the proper balance of pigment, egg and water is more of a delicate art. With practice we develop the rhythmic cadence of the brush and paint.  The thick impasto of oil is a definite no, no with egg tempera.  And the expressive bravura of oil, say of a Sorolla, El Greco or Sargent is not really possible with egg tempera either.  

 So, the appeal of making a foray or even a longer journey into a new medium is the widening of the general appreciation for the process of painting. Of course, looking at the many egg tempera paintings from the Renaissance and contemporary painters is now much more rewarding.  The beauty, softness, and delicate transitions are part of the new appreciation.  Yes, oil is better for blending and softening in some respects.  And the economy of line, and the artistry of calligraphic brushstrokes capturing something in one or two passes of the brush is not to be denied- in oil painting.  We can see the other approach in egg tempera of methodical and slow rendering with many passages and layers to express the image.

Here's a quote from Andrew Wyeth about egg tempera compared to oil paint-

"Oil is hot and fiery, almost like a summer night, where tempera is a cool breeze, dry. crackling like winter branches blowing in the wind.  I am a dry person, really, I am not a very juicy painter.  There's no fight in oil. It doesn't have the austere in it.  The difference is like the difference between Beethoven and Bach."

To view a demonstration of the egg tempera technique with Michael Bergt (in Rome)- go to this link-

https://youtu.be/xIM_t3-d4nQ?si=7_KmVJpeEFguSdQX

To view a video made at the Brandywine Museum in Chadds Ford, PA with Vicoria Wyeth explaing about an egg tempera paitning "Dryad" a painting of a hollowed out tree trunk by here grandfather, Andrew Wyeth - go this link. https://www.facebook.com/reel/872315501952605