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6/3/2013 12:30 AM By George O'Hanlon
Tempera grassa, which Pietro Annigoni learned from the Russian artist Nikolai Lokoff, is a variation of tempera painting that some believe to have been used by artists in the 16th century, although there is little evidence so far to support this claim.
As an aside, little research has been done to date to characterize paint films consisting of egg-oil emulsions. Natural Pigments contributed materials for a study conducted by Kristin deGhetaldi, Andrew W. Mellon Painting Conservation Fellow, at the National Gallery, Washington, DC, in an attempt to study films made with varying proportions of egg and oil. Hopefully, with the data provided by this study, scientists will be able to identify paintings that are egg-oil emulsions (and not simply egg yolk added to pigment or oil during the painting session).
Perhaps one of the best written sources on tempera grassa is in Egg Tempera Painting, Tempera Underpainting, Oil Emulsion Painting, A Manual Of Technique, by Vaclac Vytlacil and Rupert Davidson Turnbull. The authors provide basic recipes, among much other good information, on different oil-water to water-oil emulsions:
LEAN TEMPERA
Emulsions
1 Egg, 2 Water or
1 Egg, 1 Damar, 2 Water
Colours Ground in 1 Egg, 1 Damar, 2 Water<
MEDIUM FAT TEMPERA
Emulsion
1 Egg, 1 Linseed Oil, 2 Water
Colours Ground in 1 Egg, 1 Oil, 2 Water
PASTOSE TEMPERA
Emulsions
1 Egg, 1 Oil, 2 Water
1 Egg, 1 Sun-thickened Oil, 2 Water
Colours Ground in 1 Egg, 1 Oil, 2 Water
Note 1: The simplest method of mixing the following emulsions is to use one egg as the unit of measure. Cut a small hole in the top of the egg, pour out the contents, and use the empty shell for measuring out the oil, varnish, and water, etc. This has the advantage of not making too much emulsion at one time. It will be found, especially in hot weather, that the emulsions go bad if made in large quantities, unless, of course, you are painting unusually large pictures. In hot weather it is advisable to stand the emulsion in a dish of cold water, or better still; in an ice-box.
Note 2: The greatest care must be observed to use only bottles or jars, for the emulsion, that are absolutely clean! Bottles that have contained an emulsion that has gone bad may, by being boiled in soapy water and then soaked in some strong disinfectant, be used again, but we have always found that it saves time and is safer to throw away such bottles and use fresh ones, as the slightest particle of the old bad emulsion is enough to make a fresh one turn bad very quickly.
Note 3: The following procedure is recommended for the making of all the above emulsions:—Always begin with the egg. Put it in a bottle, preferably a short fat bottle, cork it tightly and shake vigorously, till the yolk and white are well mixed. Then add the oil or varnish and again shake for one or two minutes. Always add the water last, and then shake vigorously for at least five minutes, better for ten minutes.
Reprint of the book is available, and is available online: Egg Tempera Painting, Tempera Underpainting, Oil Emulsion Painting; A Manual Of Technique. A first edition is in the Natural Pigments library.
Tempera grassa, which Pietro Annigoni learned from the Russian artist Nikolai Lokoff, is a variation of tempera painting that some believe to have been used by artists in the 16th century, although there is little evidence so far to support this claim.
As an aside, little research has been done to date to characterize paint films consisting of egg-oil emulsions. Natural Pigments contributed materials for a study conducted by Kristin deGhetaldi, Andrew W. Mellon Painting Conservation Fellow, at the National Gallery, Washington, DC, in an attempt to study films made with varying proportions of egg and oil. Hopefully, with the data provided by this study, scientists will be able to identify paintings that are egg-oil emulsions (and not simply egg yolk added to pigment or oil during the painting session).
Perhaps one of the best written sources on tempera grassa is in Egg Tempera Painting, Tempera Underpainting, Oil Emulsion Painting, A Manual Of Technique, by Vaclac Vytlacil and Rupert Davidson Turnbull. The authors provide basic recipes, among much other good information, on different oil-water to water-oil emulsions:
LEAN TEMPERA
Emulsions
1 Egg, 2 Water or
1 Egg, 1 Damar, 2 Water
Colours Ground in 1 Egg, 1 Damar, 2 Water<
MEDIUM FAT TEMPERA
Emulsion
1 Egg, 1 Linseed Oil, 2 Water
Colours Ground in 1 Egg, 1 Oil, 2 Water
PASTOSE TEMPERA
Emulsions
1 Egg, 1 Oil, 2 Water
1 Egg, 1 Sun-thickened Oil, 2 Water
Colours Ground in 1 Egg, 1 Oil, 2 Water
Note 1: The simplest method of mixing the following emulsions is to use one egg as the unit of measure. Cut a small hole in the top of the egg, pour out the contents, and use the empty shell for measuring out the oil, varnish, and water, etc. This has the advantage of not making too much emulsion at one time. It will be found, especially in hot weather, that the emulsions go bad if made in large quantities, unless, of course, you are painting unusually large pictures. In hot weather it is advisable to stand the emulsion in a dish of cold water, or better still; in an ice-box.
Note 2: The greatest care must be observed to use only bottles or jars, for the emulsion, that are absolutely clean! Bottles that have contained an emulsion that has gone bad may, by being boiled in soapy water and then soaked in some strong disinfectant, be used again, but we have always found that it saves time and is safer to throw away such bottles and use fresh ones, as the slightest particle of the old bad emulsion is enough to make a fresh one turn bad very quickly.
Note 3: The following procedure is recommended for the making of all the above emulsions:—Always begin with the egg. Put it in a bottle, preferably a short fat bottle, cork it tightly and shake vigorously, till the yolk and white are well mixed. Then add the oil or varnish and again shake for one or two minutes. Always add the water last, and then shake vigorously for at least five minutes, better for ten minutes.
Reprint of the book is available, and is available online: Egg Tempera Painting, Tempera Underpainting, Oil Emulsion Painting; A Manual Of Technique. A first edition is in the Natural Pigments library.
C
angiantismo is a technique for changing the tones of pigments in tempera and fresco painting without losing the saturation of their colors. Traditionally the artist would lighten a tone by adding white or darken it by adding brown or black. However, with the limited range of color pigments available for tempera and fresco, this traditional approach tended to reduce the luminosity of the colors in a painting. With the 'cangiantismo' technique the artist would create a lighter or darker tone by using the pure form of a different color whose natural hue matched the required tone. For example, if you look at Saint Joseph's brilliant yellow garment, Michelangelo uses a pure yellow for the lightest tones, changing to a vibrant orange for the mid-tones, descending to a burnt sienna and burnt umber for the darker and darkest tones respectively. This creates a more vibrant range of tones where the colors both retain their vitality and act successfully as a vehicle for defining form.
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