Before the 1500s, tempera, a mixture of pigment and egg, was the favoured method of most artists. Following the discovery of oil paint, tempera fell from favour. Occasionally used by artists such as William Blake, it was rarely seen until the tempera revival at the very beginning of the 20th century.
Tempera painting is laborious and requires great skill. Oil paint is a forgiving, adaptable medium which can be painted over and reworked. Tempera, by contrast, cannot be altered once the paint has been laid down. It is a more demanding medium, which almost certainly explains why artists abandoned it.
Katharine Wall, Collections Manager, Victoria Art Gallery
Song of Spring c.1939
Helen Lavinia Cochrane (1868–1946)
Tempera on board
H 41.8 x W 32.8 cm
Victoria Art Gallery
The Return of the Fishermen 1938
Joseph Edward Southall (1861–1944)
Tempera on board
H 19 x W 30.4 cm
Victoria Art Gallery
Helen Lavinia Cochrane (1868–1946)
Tempera on board
H 39.5 x W 32.5 cm
Victoria Art Gallery
Children at Play 1920
Joseph Edward Southall (1861–1944)
Tempera on board
H 33 x W 39 cm
Victoria Art Gallery
Alpine Flowers 1932
Helen Lavinia Cochrane (1868–1946)
Tempera on board
H 19.4 x W 15.7 cm
Victoria Art Gallery
Bringing Down Mountain Grapes c.1942
Helen Lavinia Cochrane (1868–1946)
Tempera on board
H 55.9 x W 40.6 cm
Victoria Art Gallery
San Giorgio, Venice 1927
Joseph Edward Southall (1861–1944)
Tempera on board
H 34 x W 26.8 cm
Victoria Art Gallery
John Armstrong (1893–1973)
Tempera on board
H 64 x W 36 cm
Victoria Art Gallery
Rezzolla Loggia, Pugliola, Italy c.1938
Helen Lavinia Cochrane (1868–1946)
Tempera on board
H 25 x W 18.4 cm
Victoria Art Gallery
The Salute from the Giudecca, Venice 1937
Joseph Edward Southall (1861–1944)
Tempera on board
H 30.8 x W 24.3 cm
Victoria Art Gallery
Monastery, Paleokastritsa, Corfu 1928
Helen Lavinia Cochrane (1868–1946)
Tempera on board
H 23.9 x W 32 cm
Victoria Art Gallery
Joseph Edward Southall (1861–1944)
Tempera on board
H 17 x W 11 cm
Victoria Art Gallery
Helen Lavinia Cochrane (1868–1946)
Tempera on board
H 32.6 x W 40.3 cm
Victoria Art Gallery
Maxwell Ashby Armfield (1881–1972)
Oil on panel
H 28.3 x W 23.2 cm
Victoria Art Gallery
