Art 210: Tempera and Flemish Painting Methods

Tempera painting was the next method we studied.  This ancient process was the typical medium used before the advent of oil painting in the 15th century.  Tempera combines egg yolk with pigments (organic dye colors) to form a very fast drying paint.  Because the paint dries so quickly the paint is applied with an extremely fine, small brush, in a series of quick strokes.  These strokes are layered, weaving values of color delicately.

The prepared surface we painted on was a gesso wood panel.  The gesso we made was a combination of rabbit skin glue and calcium carbonate chalk.  This serves as both a size and a ground.  A size protects the surface from corrosion.  The ground provides the appropriate color and texture to paint on.  So for this gesso panel we applied about 10 layers of gesso to our panel (allowing 30 minutes for drying time between each layer).  After the gesso was allowed to dry completely we sanded the surface with progressively finer grits of sandpaper (60-220 grit).  By the time we were done it was like marble - a dream to paint on.

We each researched a different tempera painting to replicate.  I chose a detail of a Fra Angelico's 'Annunciation' - which is actually a large fresco in Florence which uses a similar process.  It is difficult to find an accurate rendering of the color that exists in this painting...

The entire fresco.

 

Detail, and an alternate color rendering.

We made our own tempera paints by first mixing pigment and water to create a paste, then the yolk is added right before we begin to paint.  And again we began with an underpainting, or value study of our image.  Extreme lights and darks were titanium white and verdacio green, the mid value was an earth green.  

  

Details of tempera value study.

At this point we began the Flemish process.  This layers translucent oil paints over the tempera underpainting.  The underpainting is preserved with a layer of shellac.  Again, just like the encaustic I feel like something is lost when color is added.  I just haven't learned how to really see this color yet.  I guess the color in my rendering seem a little too obvious... check it out.