What is tempera paint? Explore with Paolo Uccello’s Battle of San Romano
Speaker: Dr. Heather Graham
Painted in egg tempera across three panels, the Italian artist Paolo Uccello’s Battle of San Romano shows the Florentine commander Niccolò da Tolentino leading his forces to victory. In this video, we learn about egg tempera, the medium that helped Uccello bring this scene to life. Egg tempera—made by mixing pigments with egg yolk—was a fast-drying, ancient technique used for centuries across many cultures and dominated European art through the 1200s–1400s. Because tempera must be applied in many thin, quickly drying layers, its technique demanded precision and planning, helping explain the jewel-like detail and refined surfaces of Uccello’s work.
Paolo Uccello, Niccolò Mauruzi da Tolentino at the Battle of San Romano, c. 1438–40 CE, tempera with some oil on wood, 182 x 320 cm. National Gallery of Art, London. Photo: © Dr. Lauren Kilroy-Ewbank.
Video chapters
0:00 A Hero Rides Into Battle
0:40 A Trio of Painted Victories
0:52 What Is Egg Tempera?
1:10 How to Make Egg Tempera?
1:32 Tempera’s Uses throughout History
2:11 Uccello’s Elegant Battle
2:50 The Paintings’ Domestic Setting
3:25 Cennino Cennini’s Book on Art
3:34 The Demands of the Medium
Want to learn even more?
Check out our other resources about materials in Art History
Learn about oil painting.
Discover more resources about the Italian renaissance.
