What was the reason egg tempera was a ubiquitous technique during the early italian renaissance?
Answers
Tempera Painting was the main medium used during the Early Renaissance for smaller scale paintings on wooden panels. Any pigment which is tempered with a water soluble binder such as egg yolk, glair (egg white), gum arabic or animal glue is referred to as tempera paint.
The technique of tempera involved mixing egg yolk with ground color pigments to form an emulsion that could be thinned with water and applied with a brush. The resultant paint was carefully built up in thin layers and dried to a hard matt finish. It is a technique suited to the use of graceful lines, gentle tones and a limited palette of delicate colors. Tempera had a greater luminosity and depth of tone than fresco but less radiance and intensity than oil painting. Its main disadvantage, however, was its quick drying time which made the smooth blending of tones very difficult.