Andrew Wyeth
Andrew Wyeth was an American painter known for closely observed landscapes, interiors, and people from Chadds Ford, Pennsylvania, and coastal Maine.
Paint Type
Egg Tempera
Egg tempera is a traditional paint made by combining pigment with an egg-yolk binder and water. It dries quickly in thin layers and is normally used on a rigid, smooth, absorbent ground rather than a flexible painting support.
Egg tempera surface compatibility
Egg tempera works best on rigid panels prepared with a smooth tempera-compatible ground. Flexible supports are generally avoided because the thin, relatively brittle paint and ground layers can be stressed as the support moves.
| Surface | Compatibility | Preparation | Primer or ground | Finish | Guide |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Painting Board | Excellent when the board is rigid and prepared for egg tempera | Use a clean, stable, rigid board and make the surface as smooth and even as the chosen technique requires. | Traditional gesso or a purpose-made tempera ground. | Build the painting in thin layers and allow it to mature fully before any optional protective treatment. | — |
| Wood Panel | Excellent when rigid, stable, and properly grounded | Use a well-seasoned, stable panel and prepare it to receive a smooth tempera ground. | Traditional gesso or another ground specifically suitable for egg tempera. | Apply thin layers rather than a heavy flexible paint film; final protection is optional and technique-specific. | — |
Sources: Natural Pigments comparison of tempera grounds, Kremer Pigmente tempera recipe, and Sennelier Egg Tempera.
Painters who used egg tempera
Explore painters in the PaintZeal reference who worked with egg tempera.
George Tooker
George Tooker was an American painter known for meticulously layered egg tempera scenes that turn offices, subways, waiting rooms, and other modern spaces into quiet studies of isolation and social tension.
Paul Cadmus
Paul Cadmus was an American painter known for highly controlled figurative paintings, social satire, and a long commitment to egg tempera.
Koo Schadler
Koo Schadler is an American painter known for contemporary egg tempera paintings, metalpoint drawings, and teaching traditional painting methods.
Reginald Marsh
Reginald Marsh was an American painter and illustrator known for energetic scenes of New York City crowds, Coney Island, burlesque theaters, and street life.
Robert Vickrey
Robert Vickrey was an American painter and illustrator known for meticulously detailed egg tempera paintings that combine realistic observation with unsettling symbolic imagery.
Egg tempera articles
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