Egg Tempera Techniques

By Brian Shea

Hi! This is my small part of the web, and my page here talks about the process of Egg Tempera, also known as panel painting. It was used by many painters in the 15th century. I also have a few links to my other classmates' information on egg tempera, like materials and information on other pieces, the "Madonna and Child with Two Saints" and the "Birth of the Virgin". If you want to learn about the process of egg tempera painting, then keep reading.

Back then, the painter would first start with a wooden frame. There would be tight-grained planks of wood for the support. Faults in the wood would be covered up, and sometimes the whole structure would be covered with a layer of linen. Up to eight layers of gesso, a kind of plaster made of rabbit skin glue and powdered gypsum, would be put on the structure. The layers of gesso would be scraped down and polished until the surface was smooth. The design for the painting, as well as the major drapery folds, would first be sketched on a piece of paper, called a cartoon. The outlines of the image would be transferred to the panel with a metal point.

Then, up to six coats of a red clayish substance, called bole, mixed with egg whites are applied to the painting,

as a glue for the gold leaf. Gold leaf is thin, and are easy to rip. It is made by pounding gold coins, along with bits of metal, until they form very thin sheets of gold. The gold was applied, then burnished. Designs were inscribed on it.

Drapery painting (the painting of the clothing in the piece) was done before flesh painting began. All the areas where flesh would be were painted in green and white. Flesh-colored paint was painted over it. Details were reinforced with black and sinoper. Gold lines were applied on top of the drapery by adhering thin scraps of gold with a sticky oil mordant.