Atempera

Atempera, also known as egg tempera, is a painting technique in which pigments are dispersed in a water-soluble binder, most commonly egg yolk. The mixture is thinned with water and applied in fine, quick-drying layers that build color and detail. Traditionally it is used on rigid supports such as wooden panels prepared with a gesso ground.

History and use: Tempera has ancient roots in early civilizations and was widely used in Byzantine, medieval, and Renaissance Europe. In Italy, egg tempera was the dominant method for panel paintings and altarpieces before oil painting became prevalent in the 15th century. It remained favored in certain regional workshops and for small works, and experienced revivals in later centuries, particularly in the 19th and 20th centuries, when artists valued its precise, luminous finish.

Technique and handling: The egg binder creates a fast-drying film that preserves sharp detail and clean lines. Painters apply many thin, separate strokes and glazes; blending is limited once the paint has dried. The preparation requires mixing small amounts of pigment with egg yolk and water, often with careful tempering to maintain a smooth, glue-like consistency. Because layers dry quickly, planning, underdrawing, and careful sequencing are essential.

Materials, supports, and preservation: Traditional tempera relies on pigments bound with egg on a rigid surface, typically a prepared wood panel with gesso. The result is a durable, matte to satin finish, though the paint is less forgiving of bending or cracking than oils. On appropriate supports, egg tempera can remain stable for centuries; on flexible substrates it is more prone to cracking or flaking. Modern practice sometimes uses tempera in combination with other media, but traditional tempera emphasizes the egg yolk binder as the principal medium.