After getting acquainted with formulas for tempera production, based largely on the medieval painting treatise by Cennino Cennini “Il libro dell’arte”, the time has come to try it on our own! Under the supervision of Dr. Aleksandra Hola, we ground pigments, separated yolks from egg white and combined these ingredients to obtain tempera. However, the most difficult task turned out to be creating samples stable enough for peeling and mechanical tests. In such moments, the mastery of “old masters” workshops is fully appreciated!
Nevertheless, we are moving in a positive direction as we continue to practice and develop manual skills. Our new colleague, Katarzyna Poznańska, M.Sc., who has an educational background Materials Science as well as studying for some time at the Academy of Fine Arts in Krakow, has been working closely with dr. Hola to perfect the techniques needed to make ideal samples for the GRIEG project.