Art Term

Tempera

The technique of painting with pigments bound in a water-soluble emulsion, such as water and egg yolk, or an oil-in-water emulsion such as oil and a whole egg

Meredith Frampton
Nude with Flying Swans (1919)
Tate

© Tate

William Blake
The Ghost of a Flea (c.1819–20)
Tate

Some tempera paints are made with an artificial emulsion using gum or glue. Traditionally applied to a rigid support such as a wood panel, the paint dries to a hard film.

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