tempera
Enable an agent to identify tempera as a painting material, assess its formulation and condition, and determine appropriate preparation, application, storage and handling.
Research draft, second pass
A second pass drafted this model: the structure a model of this thing needs, and what is known about it in the world. The line under this one says how the second half was obtained - researched against sources, or recalled without web access, in which case nothing here was read anywhere and every claim is a lead to verify. Unreviewed either way.
recalled by Codex without web access - no source was read
Researched by: Codex
Purpose and description
Enable an agent to identify tempera as a painting material, assess its formulation and condition, and determine appropriate preparation, application, storage and handling.
Tempera is a painting material made by dispersing pigments in a water-miscible binder, traditionally egg yolk, that dries to form a paint film.
It can be Classify a tempera material using binder, recipe and product evidence.; Prepare or adjust a mixture using a documented formulation and application test.; Compare candidate grounds and layer combinations using representative test samples.; Assess whether stored wet paint remains suitable for its intended use.; Record drying and film-condition observations to guide subsequent layering or handling.; Route ingredient-specific handling, cleaning and disposal decisions to supporting material guidance..
Distinguishing features
Identify the binder rather than relying on the word tempera: an egg-bound formulation and a classroom paint carrying that label need distinct descriptions.
Distinguish tempera from gouache through identified binder and formulation evidence; opacity or a matte appearance alone does not establish identity.
Distinguish an egg-containing emulsion from paint bound principally by drying oil; record mixed formulations explicitly.
Distinguish paint material from the technique called tempera painting and from an artwork made with that technique.
Treat water miscibility during preparation and water sensitivity after drying as separate properties; neither alone identifies tempera.
Scope
+ Pigment, binder and aqueous-phase composition of tempera mixtures
+ Distinctions among egg tempera, other identified tempera formulations and products marketed as tempera
+ Preparation, dilution, mixing and usable condition
+ Application-relevant relationships with grounds, supports and adjacent paint layers
+ Condition and handling constraints of wet paint and dried tempera films
- Tempera painting as an artistic practice or historical tradition
- Individual paintings, their imagery, attribution and ownership
- Pigments and binding ingredients as independently registered materials
- Brushes, palettes, supports and grounds as independently modelled objects
- Commercial product identities and manufacturing operations
- Conservation treatment plans for particular artworks
Characteristics
- Material designation
- egg tempera; identified non-egg tempera; mixed-binder tempera; commercially labelled tempera with unverified binder; unresolved Prevents an ambiguous historical or commercial name from determining material behaviour.
- Binder identity
- identified binding ingredients and their roles; unknown where unsupported Supports classification and informs preparation, drying and handling decisions.
- Pigment composition
- links to identified pigments or colourants, with identification evidence Colour alone cannot establish compatibility, stability or ingredient hazards.
- Mixture proportions
- mass fraction (%), volume fraction (%) or recipe ratio, with basis and ingredient preparation stated Makes recipes interpretable and helps investigate underbinding, excessive binder or inconsistent application.
- Material stage
- unmixed components; freshly prepared paint; stored wet paint; applied wet layer; dried film Separates decisions about a usable mixture from decisions about an existing paint film.
- Preparation and storage history
- preparation event, elapsed time, container and documented storage conditions Supports condition assessment without assuming one shelf life for all formulations.
- Application consistency
- viscosity in mPa·s under a stated method, or a documented brush-flow test Helps determine whether a mixture suits the intended stroke, wash or thin-layer application.
- Support and ground relationship
- identified support and ground, including absorbency, flexibility and test evidence Application suitability depends on the receiving surface as well as the paint.
- Film water response
- untested; no observed change; swelling; colour transfer; softening; dissolution, under documented conditions Prevents wet-paint dilution behaviour from being mistaken for permission to wet a dried film.
- Observed material condition
- documented separation, agglomeration, contamination indicators, powdering, cracking, lifting or no observed defect Connects visible condition to further assessment and handling limits.
Also called
Where this came from
wikidata · CC0 1.0
Drafted structure
Bundle to layer to finding to question, as the second pass will find it: 5 bundles · 9 layers · 14 findings · 22 questions.
Tempera identity and boundaries Establishes what the tempera designation means for the material being recorded.
Tempera can identify materially different formulations, so the label must be connected to evidence before behaviour is inferred.
Binder-based identification
Identifies the binding system and the evidence supporting its classification.
Binder evidence
Record the stated or identified binder separately from assumptions based on appearance or naming.
- What binding ingredients are documented, and does egg refer to yolk, white, whole egg or an unspecified preparation? definition
- Does the identification come from a preparation record, manufacturer information, historical documentation or material analysis? provenance
Neighbouring paint boundaries
Separates tempera material from adjacent paint categories and other uses of the name.
Designation versus composition
Preserve the supplied designation while recording whether composition supports a more precise material identity.
- Is tempera being used here as a material classification, a commercial label or the name of a painting technique? boundary
- What evidence distinguishes this formulation from gouache, acrylic paint, drying-oil paint or a mixed-binder paint? boundary
Formulation and preparation Describes how pigments, binder and liquid are combined into the recorded tempera.
A tempera recipe must preserve ingredient roles and proportion conventions to support repeatable preparation.
Ingredient roles and ratios
Records colourants, binding ingredients, liquid phases and additions without treating all recipes as equivalent.
Interpretable formulation
Express composition with enough detail to distinguish pigment paste, prepared binder and added dilution water.
- Which pigments, binding ingredients, oils, resins or other additions are present, and what role does each serve? definition
- What are their proportions, and are these measured by mass, volume or a recipe-specific convention? measurement
Mixing and working consistency
Connects ingredient preparation and mixing to the paint's observed application behaviour.
Prepared mixture behaviour
Document preparation sequence and practical consistency tests rather than assuming a universal dilution rule.
- How were the binder and pigments prepared, wetted and combined, and what evidence records the sequence? provenance
- What brush-flow, dispersion or dried-swatch result would justify adjusting this mixture's water or binder content? action
Application and film formation Relates tempera formulation to the receiving surface, layer construction and observed drying behaviour.
Suitability for application depends on the paint-ground combination and the intended sequence of layers.
Ground and support fit
Records the surface properties and mechanical relationships relevant to a tempera layer.
Receiving surface compatibility
Connect the proposed paint application to identified ground and support properties and representative tests.
- What ground and support receive the paint, and what is known about their absorbency, surface preparation and flexibility? provenance
- What test establishes acceptable wetting, adhesion and surface appearance for this tempera-ground combination? action
Layering and drying state
Separates application readiness, surface drying and subsequent film behaviour.
Layer readiness
Record layer thickness, elapsed time and observed response before authorising another application.
- What layer thickness or application method, elapsed drying time and environmental conditions describe this film? measurement
- What observation or representative test indicates that another layer can be applied without lifting or disturbing the existing paint? action
Condition and handling decisions Assesses wet mixtures and dried films as distinct material states with different handling needs.
Tempera condition cannot be reduced to a single expiry date or a universal claim about water resistance.
Wet mixture usability
Evaluates stored paint using formulation, preparation history and observed changes.
Storage-related change
Distinguish potentially reversible settling from changes that require rejection or further assessment.
- When was the mixture prepared or opened, how was it stored, and what formulation-specific storage guidance exists? provenance
- Do observed separation, altered consistency or contamination indicators support remixing, further testing or disposal? action
Dried film sensitivity
Records film defects and exposure responses that constrain handling or require conservation assessment.
Film response and intervention limits
Keep observed sensitivity separate from inferred causes and proposed treatments.
- What evidence documents powdering, cracking, lifting or response to moisture, and under what observation or test conditions? measurement
- Which handling decisions follow from that evidence, and which proposed cleaning or consolidation actions require an artwork-specific conservation assessment? action
Evidence and external alignment What the world already says about this thing, gathered so the model can be checked against it.
A model that cannot be lined up against existing standards, identifiers and practice cannot be adopted by anyone who already uses them.
Reported evidence
Findings from the breadth pass, kept separate from the structural claims.
Check these first
Recalled without web access and unsourced; every item is a lead to verify.
- The registry supplies no sense: the physical domain suggests the paint material, but 'tempera' also names a technique and works made with it.
- Historical definitions vary in whether they include binders other than egg; modern commercial 'tempera' must be distinguished by its actual formulation.
- No single composition, measurement range or substance identifier applies to all tempera paints.
- Which of these check these first hold for the sense of tempera this model covers, and on what evidence? provenance
Kinds and varieties
Recalled without web access and unsourced; every item is a lead to verify.
- Egg-yolk tempera
- Whole-egg tempera
- Tempera grassa, an egg-and-oil emulsion
- Which of these kinds and varieties hold for the sense of tempera this model covers, and on what evidence? provenance
Real-world use
Recalled without web access and unsourced; every item is a lead to verify.
- Panel painting, especially in medieval and early Renaissance European art
- Religious icon painting
- Contemporary fine-art painting using thin layers and fine brushwork
- Which of these real-world use hold for the sense of tempera this model covers, and on what evidence? provenance
Failure modes and hazards
Recalled without web access and unsourced; every item is a lead to verify.
- Rigid egg-tempera films can crack or flake when their support flexes or underlying preparation fails.
- Fresh egg-based mixtures spoil and have limited storage life.
- Pigment-dependent hazards include toxic constituents and inhalation of loose pigment dust.
- Water, abrasion and unsuitable cleaning methods can damage painted surfaces.
- Which of these failure modes and hazards hold for the sense of tempera this model covers, and on what evidence? provenance
Regional variation
Recalled without web access and unsourced; every item is a lead to verify.
- Egg tempera has a continuing tradition in Eastern Orthodox icon painting.
- In modern school and craft usage, particularly in North America, 'tempera' often denotes commercial water-based poster paints whose binders are not egg.
- Which of these regional variation hold for the sense of tempera this model covers, and on what evidence? provenance
Neighbouring kinds and how to tell them apart
Recalled without web access and unsourced; every item is a lead to verify.
- Oil paint - Oil paint uses a drying oil as its principal binder; traditional egg tempera uses an egg-based binder that can be diluted with water.
- Gouache - Gouache is an opaque watercolour, commonly bound with gum arabic; opacity alone does not make a paint tempera.
- Acrylic paint - Acrylic paint uses an acrylic polymer binder rather than the traditional egg binder of tempera.
- Fresco - True fresco applies pigments to fresh lime plaster, whose setting binds them; tempera supplies a separate organic binder.
- Tempera painting - The material is tempera paint; tempera painting denotes the technique or a work made using that material.
- Which of these neighbouring kinds and how to tell them apart hold for the sense of tempera this model covers, and on what evidence? provenance
What the second pass must settle
- Does the registry intend tempera to cover all materials marketed under that name, or a narrower binder-defined painting material?
- Which authoritative terminology should distinguish egg tempera, other protein-bound paints and mixed oil-emulsion formulations within this single entry?
- Which formulation-specific sources establish preparation, storage and usable-life guidance without generalising across historical recipes and commercial products?
- What evidence supports ground compatibility, layer-readiness criteria and changes in water sensitivity for the formulations included?
- Does an existing Vercy world model already own this material concept, requiring this registry entry to link to it?