Egg Tempura Essay

702 Words2 Pages

Before diving into the realm of religion and its grand performance in what is the awe inspiring stage of art. Let’s consider the interrelationship of art and religion. Throughout history, the marriage of religion and art have brought into existence some of the greatest masterpieces in the art world. What other subject matter creates such a powerful sense of overwhelming presence and in turn feeds our spirituality? Thirteenth century Sienna was in the midst of a reawakening brought on by the black plague. Religious morals were reconstructed, flagellations were the norm. The church knew how to strike fear in their hearts and undoubtedly art was the catalyst. Artwork such as Sassetta's St Anthony Beaten by Demons, overall effect differ greatly …show more content…

They not only tormented him through insults and temptations but physically as well. In Sassetta's painting a feeble Saint Anthony is beaten merciless by grotesque anus faced demons. The setting is cold and grim. The gold applications shimmer vividly against the artist "naturalistic" palette. The grinding of semi-precious stone into pigments would be added to egg yolk to make a luminous medium that is egg tempura. The ancient artistic technique of egg tempura is one that requires a quick application. Considering the paint dries almost instantly, the egg tempura is applied to gradually build up tone. This is done by hatching or layering. There are clear hatch marks in this work. Most notably on the ground and in the foliage. The passage of time has deteriorated the paint and revealed more gold under the surface of the paint. This suggests that perhaps the gold leaf was added before the paint. The application of gold leaf in Renaissance art, is one that was executed most notably in the Siennese fascination that is known as the vita icon. It gives the overall artwork a touch of divinity. The glimmering effect gold gave to paintings is one that cannot be achieved with anything less. Since egg tempura is such a thin medium the gleam of gold would come through effortlessly in a dim room like a church illuminated by candlelight, were this altarpiece would have been displayed. Metaphorically

Open Document