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.
Painter
Jared French
Jared French (1905–1988) was an American painter known for carefully controlled egg-tempera pictures of idealized figures and enigmatic beach scenes, and for his close artistic ties to Paul Cadmus and George Tooker.
Jared French quick facts
Explore French's life, egg-tempera and oil paintings, precise layered technique, symbolic figuration, rigid supports, and links to the PaJaMa photography collective.
| Born | 1905 · Ossining, New York, U.S. |
|---|---|
| Died | 1988 · Rome, Italy |
| Nationality | American |
| Movements | Magic Realism · American figurative painting |
| Paint types | Egg tempera · Oil paint (including works combining oil and tempera) |
| Painting surfaces | Gesso-prepared painting board · Canvas · Paper (sometimes mounted on linen and wood) |
| Other media | Ink and staged photography |
| Painting methods | Thin, carefully controlled tempera layers, sharply modeled human figures, and deliberate spatial arrangements |
| Common subjects | Idealized figures, coastal settings, symbolic gestures, relationships, and psychologically ambiguous scenes |
| Known for | Egg-tempera paintings associated with Magic Realism and collaborative PaJaMa photographs with Margaret French and Paul Cadmus |
| Notable works | State Park · Summer's Ending · Learning |
Sources: Whitney Museum: Jared French, Whitney: State Park, Whitney: Summer's Ending, Whitney: The Rope, Smithsonian: Learning, Smithsonian: Nude and Dress Suit, Smithsonian: artist biography.
Paint types used
French frequently used egg tempera and also made works combining oil and tempera, documented by museum collection records.
Oil Paint
Oil paint is a slow-drying paint made with pigment and a drying oil binder. It is widely used for artwork because it blends smoothly and develops rich color.
Surface types used
Museum records document French's paintings on composition board, gesso panels, canvas, and paper sometimes mounted to other supports.
Painting Board
Painting board is a rigid artist support made from hardboard, wood, or another stable panel material. It may be sold raw or prepared with a medium-specific ground layer.
Canvas
Canvas is a woven fabric used as a flexible support for painting. Artist canvas is commonly made from cotton or linen and sold either raw or coated with a ground layer.
Paper
Paper is an absorbent sheet material made primarily from cellulose fibers. Its weight, sizing, surface texture, and wet strength determine how much paint it can accept before buckling, pilling, bleeding, or warping.
Painters similar to Jared French
Explore painters linked through egg tempera, meticulously arranged figurative scenes, Magic Realism, and shared artistic circles.
Paul Cadmus
Paul Cadmus was an American painter known for figurative paintings, social satire, and sustained use of egg tempera throughout much of his career.
George Tooker
George Tooker was an American painter known for egg tempera scenes of offices, subways, waiting rooms, and other modern spaces, often centered on isolation and social tension.
Robert Vickrey
Robert Vickrey was an American painter and illustrator known for detailed egg tempera paintings combining realistic observation with symbolic imagery.
Koo Schadler
Koo Schadler is an American painter known for contemporary egg tempera paintings, metalpoint drawings, works on prepared paper and rigid panels, and teaching traditional painting methods.