So I spent the majority of my day today researching tempera paints and pigments and writing my research paper on them. I honestly learned a lot, and I learned why many great oil paintings are have so many cracks in them. It's because when oil paint is applied in large quantities, when it dries, it shrinks and cracks. That's why the Mona Lisa and many other famous pieces have those thin cracked veins running through them.
Anyway, here's my paper, if you'd like to read it.
What’s that stuff?
PAINTBy Matt Hoffman
When most people think about cave men, they think of savage, unsophisticated, half human and half ape people. But they don’t think about is how they invented one of the highest regarded professions and were the first to express their artistic talents. People don’t realize that cave people were the first to paint.
Now the paintings that these early humans made were nothing like they are today. They didn’t have paintbrushes, canvases, they couldn’t go to the store and buy paint off the shelf. They also didn’t paint the same things we paint today. They painted pictures on the cave walls of their triumphs, of their battles, of animals they had killed. And they painted this all with dirt, clay, charcoal and other easily accessible materials, mixed with animal fat or spit. Some pigments or colors were more of a necessity than others, red for example. In many ancient civilizations, archeologists have found trails to areas with deposits of hematite, and mines to go along with them. Hematite was used for red coloration, which often symbolized death, red standing for blood.
Pigments are still used today for painting and coloring all sorts of things. “Pigments are chemical compounds which reflect only certain wavelengths of visible light” (UCMP 1997). That’s saying that your green shirt may not actually be green, but all it’s reflecting is green. There are three general classes of pigments, all serving purposes in the organic world. Chlorophylls, greenish in coloration, absorb light and convert it to energy for plants. Carotenoids, often red, yellow or orange, cannot directly convert sunlight to food, and must send their light energy to the chlorophylls. Phycobilins are either blueish or reddish, and not only absorb light energy for the plants, but can be used in cancer research due to some of their unique properties.
However, there are some serious health concerns with using some specific pigments, which can be harmful to the human body. Most people know that lead based paints and pigments are dangerous, but there are many, many other dangerous ones as well. Paints like Cobalt Green, Cerulean Blue, Burnt Umber, Manganese Blue, Viridian Green, Cadmium Red and Vermilion are all confirmed to be toxic. There are many other pigments, some safe, some dangerous, and some are even carcinogenic. The Society Of Tempera Painters has compiled a list of many dangerous pigments, some of which were just mentioned. Be sure to read the label of any pigment you purchase and follow its instructions and/or guidelines.
After the pigment is in it’s powdered form, it can go into any number of different kinds of paint, including oil, acrylic, watercolor and one very different one, tempera. What sets tempera apart from the others, is that it uses a very strange ingredient to expedite the hardening process, eggs. That’s right, tempera paint has eggs in it, normal household eggs. The reason we put eggs into tempera paint is because it hardens quickly and it holds strong. Tempera paint usually consists of just egg yolk, water or milk and the pigment used for coloration.
The technique of adding egg yolks to paint is extremely old, and can be traced back to the time of the Egyptians, over 5,000 years ago. This makes tempera paint the oldest known form of a specialized paint. Artists have used tempera paint throughout the ages, and continue to use it today. The reasons it’s been so popular include the fact that it dries very quickly, and it will not fade over time. Unlike many other paints, it will be as resilient the day it’s made, as it will be a hundred years later. However, like everything, it’s got its drawbacks. Tempera paint is temperamental, and because it dries so quickly, must be used quickly and it small strokes. It’s also very thin, so each color must receive many layers. In addition, it must be painted onto a ridged and hard surface, otherwise it will flake off and all will be for not.
When oil based paint was introduced in the 16th century, nearly all of the egg tempera painters switched to this new medium, which was easier to work with. Then around 1900, tempera paint made a turn around and came back into fashion with the translation of the book The Craftsman’s Handbook, originally written by Cennino Cennini in 1390, which went in depth on many artistic techniques of the time. Painting with tempera paints is still very popular today, and probably will be for quite some time.
The reason oil paints replaced tempera paints in the 16th century include several important factors. Oil paint dries much slower, which can be viewed as a good thing or a bad thing. Paintings take longer to be completed, but they can have better shading, because the painter can make almost perfect transitions between colors. Also painters can make larger paint batches and use the same one over the course of several sessions. In addition, it can be applied in large quantities, as well as small ones, making it so the painter can do fine detail as well as thick strokes. However, unlike tempera, oil can fade over time, and if it’s applied in too large of quantities, the painting may develop cracks due to the paint drying and shrinking. Both painting styles have their upsides and downsides, and it’s really up to the painter’s preference.
Children’s paint sets are often labeled as tempera paint, however they almost never actually include eggs, and tempera is used more as an indication of bright colors, than it’s actual meaning.
Painting has come a long way in the past 30,000 years. It’s gone from charcoal and spit based paints to ones made of cadmium, oil, acrylic and countless other forms. It doesn’t take a rocket scientist to understand that the expression of ones self is important, it really just takes a caveman.
References
"AAM The Renaissance Connection: Lesson Plans: Tempera versus Oil Paint." The Renaissance Connection, from the Allentown Art Museum. 18 Feb. 2008
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"Egg Tempera - Resources for Artists." Squidoo Homepage. 18 Feb. 2008 .
Kelley, Alessandra. "Why Egg Tempera? Advantages and Disadvantages." Alessandra Kelley, Fine Art and Egg Tempera Instruction. 18 Feb. 2008 .
"Photosynthetic Pigments." UCMP - University of California Museum of Paleontology. 18 Feb. 2008 .
"Pigments through the Ages - Introduction." WebExhibits. 18 Feb. 2008 .
"Sanford & A Lifetime of Color: Study Art." A Lifetime of Color - Home. 18 Feb. 2008 .
"Society of Tempera Painters - Historical." Society of Tempera Painters. 18 Feb. 2008 .
(some of the sources got a bit messed up on blogger because they had symbols like "<>" and stuff, however they're correct on the real deal.)
