A Stirring Renaissance - Egg Tempera Movement - Making Art History

One fine London summer’s day, while great white pelicans basked in sunlight on the lake, we originated a restoration of the legendary egg tempera art medium, sitting on a St. James’s Park bench.

Exploring the ancient fine art technique of egg tempera and focusing on the inception of Egg Tempera Movement, “Egg Tempera: Mixing Past and Future”, a feature story written by egg tempera master fine artist Elena Vladimir Baranoff, starred in Artists On Art Magazine and Realism Today, a leading publication celebrating American artists trained in traditional methods.

Dry Pigment For Egg Tempera, Brush & Egg Shell

EGG TEMPERA: MIXING PAST AND FUTURE

Selected Excerpts

Everyone knows Florentine masters Sandro Botticelli, Domenico Ghirlandaio, Fra Filippo Lippi, and deeply admires their astounding art, the brilliant, velvety colors of their paintings – that is egg tempera, one of the most historic fine art techniques known to mankind….

The expression “Greatness Is In Simplicity” could not be better suited for this organic and valuable technique. At its base are natural ingredients, various mountain rock and earth stones ground to fine powder, water and egg yolk.

Prepared with traditional emulsion, this time-honored medium is valued for the intensity and radiance of colors, remaining constant for centuries. Nothing can compare to the beauty of its hues. Remarkably steadfast to various external influences, such as moisture, atmospheric fluctuation in temperature, egg tempera is a medium for all time….

The Rt. Rev & Rt. Hon Lord Bishop of London By Elena Vladimir Baranoff - Work In Progress – Genuine Egg Tempera On Gesso Panel

Nowadays, when the technique is virtually lost to fine artists, there is great lack of in-depth understanding of the medium, the unique way of its preparation and implementation.

Many believe “Il Libro dell'Arte” by Cennino Cennini, the Italian artist and writer, to be the book of books, where egg tempera technique is concerned. However, Cennino did not reveal and share all aspects in his technical guide for the apprentice, leaving out the most significant details….

During a London summer in 2013, I and my daughter Anastasia Elena Baranoff, a fifth generation egg tempera fine artist, established a new direction in the history of art, proclaiming it Egg Tempera Movement.

We launched the movement, with the honorable goal to form a rebirth of the ancient technique of egg tempera in fine art and advance it to prosperity in our modern society.

Egg Yolk For Egg Tempera

Owing its survival directly to the art of iconography and icon writers, egg tempera continued on through the generations, remaining authentic.

As representatives of these centuries old traditions, and applying them in our original fine art paintings to create a form of new expression by way of this enduring technique, we carry on egg tempera into the 21 century….

Read the full feature article EGG TEMPERA: MIXING PAST AND FUTURE by Elena Vladimir Baranoff, in Realism Today, a leading publication celebrating American artists trained in traditional methods, at https://realismtoday.com/egg-tempera-mixing-past-and-future/