Hello MITRA,
This question is a bit complicated, so please bear with me. I have a fellow tempera painter who’s experiencing cracking in the uppermost layers of her paintings. It starts out as very faint, fine lines that gradually increase with successive paint layers; the lines grow and evolve into fine “craquelure”, and eventually tiny bits of paint flake off (within a few weeks of application).
Over the years I’ve heard from a handful of other tempera painters who’ve seen similar cracking, often (tho’ not always) reported in areas of tianium white. In general cracking (or craquelure) in tempera is rare, but with this most recent instance I’m recogninzing it as a problem for some painters and trying to understand it better. I’ve come up with 5 reasons why cracking may appear in tempera paint:
1. Excess binder. Too much yolk can create stresses as the protein molecules shrink with water evaporation.
2. Too thick a layer of paint. Tempera initially dries through relatively rapid evaporation of its water content, so if too dense a layer is applied it can crack as it shrinks (akin to a dried-out lake bed).
3. Adding too much water to tempered paint. Once the paint is properly “tempered” it’s possible to thin it significantly with water. However with TOO much water at some point the various components of the paint become so attenuated that it can create a weak paint film.
4. Over saturating underlying paint layers with water. Research I’ve read on the effects of various solvents (both spirit and water) on egg tempera indicates that they can induce swelling in the paint films. If a curing paint film is compelled to repeatedly expand and shrink, this stress can weaken the bonds being formed in the polymerization process and create cracks (at least this is how I understand it; I’m not sure about this one… By the way, none of the other reasons I suggest for cracking apply to the painter with the current craquelure problem; however she really saturates her surface with watery tempera paint, so much that the ground stays cool when her paint layeras are dry to the touch, suggesting there is residual mositure within – this is why I suspect this reason for her cracking problem, but I’m not sure).
5. Stresses in the ground and/or support. Cracks in the gesso and/or movement in the panel can telegraph up through paint layers.
My questions to the forum are:
1. Has anyone else seen cracking in egg tempera paint layers?
2. What do you think of the above reasons? Do they make sense?
3. Are their other potential causes of cracking?
Thanks, Koo Schadler
Thanks for your replies, Kristin and Brian. I think the very fine cracking in this student’s work is unrelated to the support or ground (I know the panels she’s working on, they are good quality; and other students working on the same panels are not getting craquelure). I think there is something going on with her application of multiple, very watery paint layers, and I’m trying to understand it on a technical level (and hoping it would explain other, similar examples I’ve heard of over the years). Whatever is occurring, it’s an uncommon problem and there may not be enough cumulative experience or study in egg tempera to answer the question. But maybe you can find other voices to chime in.
I appreciate your thoughts on lead white in egg tempera, Brian – I feel the same and it’s good to have corroboration.
Koo
Koo, As you seem to suggest that this cracking occurred due to paint application irregularities rather than preparation of the support, have you reached any conclusions regarding use of water in the tempered paint? You have prevdiously suggested that once the paint is tempered, the amount of water used should not harm the binding properties of the emulsion. Do you have any further guidelines regarding the technique of laying down initial layers of thin washes to start a painting or in the use of water washes to glaze in color over dried or built up layers? Does this incident suggest caution in the use of too much water especially in early stages of a painting?
I apologize. I did not include my name in the previous comment. This is the first time I have commented on this forum.
Jason
Hi Koo….honestly the most common factor that is tied with cracking in egg tempera paintings is number 4. Movement (even slight movement) of the panel support will obviously lead to cracks and/or microfissures in the ground which can then migrate up through the paint layers. Unfortunately if there are already micro-cracks in the gesso ground before you paint on top you might not be able to tell until you start painting (until the surface is wet). There are certainly other possible factors of course (some of which you listed)….your comment about titanium white is interesting however. I am unaware of this issue with egg tempera and titanium white so will do a bit of digging on the conservation side of things….
In my experience, almost all instances of cracking that I have observed in my own work as well as that of my student’s projects appear to have resulted from substrate movement, improper ground formulation, underbound paint, or too thick applications of the egg tempera paint. I have neither experienced nor read about any issues of cracking in tempera caused by titanium white.
To be fair, as almost all of my tempera experience has been in service of reconstructing older methods as reconstructions, and I almost solely use lead white except for very short demonstrations and one-day workshops.
I do not, however, recommend the use of lead white for artistic tempera painting. It does not offer the same benefits to the paint film in egg as it does in oil and the toxicity and expense is not justified. Tempera also does not completely coat and isolate the pigment like in oil and there is the remote chance of darkening of the lead white (really, quite remote unless you live in a very polluted environment).
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