PhilSchirmer.com
Title
Artist Phil Schirmer Egg Tempera Paintings
Description
Egg tempera is an ancient technique, dating back to Egyptian and Greek civilizations. It reached its peak of popularity in the 15th century, but fell into a gradual decline with the development of oil painting.
In 1899, Christiana Herringham translated "The Craftsman's Handbook," a manual for artists written by an Italian named Cennino Cennini in 1450. When Cennini wrote his manuscript, tempera painting had been perfected by centuries of trial and error but by the 19th century much of that knowledge had been lost. Herringham's translation brought the ancient technique back to life and generated a revival of interest in tempera painting which has continued since.
Contemporary tempera painters have developed variations on Cennini's methods, but the technique remains essentially the same. The first step is to prepare a traditional gesso by mixing crushed marble or precipitated chalk with rabbitskin glue. This is heated and applied in six to eight coats to a masonite panel (the Italians used either poplar or linden wood panels). After drying, the surface is smoothed by a wooden block dipped in water. The panel is then lightly sanded and left to cure for a few days before painting.
Contact
- phil schirmer
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- rockland me
- us 04841
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- +1.2075941075
