This is one of a series of posts telling the story of Inspire: A Celebration of Children’s Art at the Fitzwilliam Museum, Cambridge from the 10th December 2019 until the 22nd March 2020.

This post shares how egg tempera was used as a medium in the Italian Renaissance and how teachers interpreted the processes involved in the teaching studio at the Fitzwilliam Museum, Cambridge with AccessArt and the Fitzwilliam Education Team, as part of the CPD programme for Inspire 2020.

The Story of Cupid and Psyche Sellaio, Jacopo del; painter; Italian artist, 1441/2-1493 — ‘The Story of Cupid and Psyche’ (c.1473) by Jacopo del Sellaio (1441/2-1493); tempera and gold on a wooden panel – From the Fitzwilliam Museum, Cambridge

Part One: Looking at Renaissance Processes

As part of Inspire 2020 CPD, Joanna Neville and Rowan Frame from the Hamilton Kerr Institute showed primary school teachers how they had reconstructed a Renaissance painted panel Virgin adoring the Child by Jacopo del Sellaio from the Fitzwilliam Museum, Cambridge, using historically informed techniques and materials that the artist is likely to have used in his Florence studio when he created the panel in 1473.

‘Virgin adoring the Child’ by Jacopo Del Sellaio – From the Fitzwilliam Museum, Cambridge

In their presentation, they showed the very elaborate, labor-intensive processes involved in the creation of their reconstructions from the preparation of the wooden panel with gesso (plaster), followed by finely grinding pigments and applying them using egg tempera and the final application of gilding.

Jo and Rowan have shared their PowerPoint presentation here, where you can read more about the materials and processes used in the Renaissance to create a painted panel.

Virgin and the Adoring Child Reconstructions by Rowan and Jo — Reconstructions of ‘Virgin adoring the Child’ by Rowan and Jo

Jo and Rowan PowerPoint presentation Inspire 2020 — Follow Image link to read Joanna Neville and Rowan Frame’s PowerPoint presentation for Inspire 2020

Part Two: Teachers Replicate Renaissance Processes

The materiality of Del Sellaio’s painting is clear to anyone fortunate enough to see it in the real. From the physicality of the wooden panel to the beauty of the earthy hues painted with such deliberate strokes and then gilded, these are works of great mastery and patience and materially they are precious too.

Alison Ayres the Fitzwilliam Museum’s studio artist and Kate Noble, education officer, led teachers in making their own explorations of Renaissance processes using a “mock” egg tempera made by binding school powder paints with egg yolk applied onto a piece of prepared plywood.

Alison introduces teachers to egg tempera

Ali starts her demonstration by preparing the egg and providing teachers with an assortment of earthy colours

Selection of powder paints and ground charcoal and chalk to mimic the Renaissance palette — Ali has a selection available of earth coloured powder paints to mimic the Renaissance palette

Using the egg to bind the pigment to a pre-prepared plywood piece — Ali uses the egg to bind the pigment (powder paint) and then apply it to a pre-prepared piece of plywood. The plywood had been painted white to mimic gesso. In the Renaissance wooden panels would have been painstakingly prepared with layers of gesso applied and rubbed back to make a smooth surface. Gesso is not dissimilar to modern day plaster.

Experimenting with egg tempera — Teachers Experiment with colour mixing

Part Three: A Bit More about Colour

Samples of precious stones and rocks which would have been ground down to create pigments — Samples of earth, precious stones, rocks and minerals which would have been ground down to create pigments

Colour is a place where science and art meet and in The Fitzwilliam Museum, Cambridge, lines between disciplines and knowledge are fluidly and constantly crossed. So beyond the symbolic, historical, spiritual, mythical, ceremonial understanding of paintings there is also a deep understanding of their physical structures, including all about the pigments used and how they were bound to the panels.

The museum has its own laboratories and scientific experts who work from conservation to material analysis of its artworks and the depth of scientific understanding of its collection is deep.

Sharing the materiality of del Sellaio’s processes with teachers was one of the most exciting outcomes of the Inspire 2020 project and as a result many children over its course have enjoyed extermination with the creation of their own colorants.

In the CPD sessions Kate demonstrated how black/grey could be created by grinding charcoal and white by grinding down chalk to replicate how Renaissance masters would have prepared their pigments. In the Renaissance minerals, precious rocks and earth would be used to create pigments.

Follow this link to see a beautifully described and interactive Overview of Artists’ Materials by the Fitzwilliam Museum, Cambridge.

Kate Noble experiments with grinding down charcoal and then chalk in a pestle and mortar to mimic the Renaissance grinding of pigments

Teachers playing with egg tempera and colour — Teachers play with mixing egg and colour to create their own egg tempera

Fitz colour SC

Exploration of egg tempera on a plywood panel by a teacher

Exploration of egg tempera on a plywood panel by a teacher by a teacher at the Inspire 2020 CPD

Part Three: “The West Wind” – a Sample by Portia Drewry in Year Six

Inspired by Zephyrus, or The West Wind, one of the characters on the painted wooden panel in The Story of Cupid and Psyche by Jacopo del Sellaio and the focus of Inspire 2020, at the Fitzwilliam Museum Cambridge, Portia sets to work to make her own egg tempera painting on a wooden panel.

We hope this will inspire teachers to take egg-tempera into the classroom!

Painting with egg tempera on a 'gesso' panel — A year six pupil painting with ‘egg’ tempera on a ‘gesso’ panel

To Start – “The ground”

“Preparing the wooden panel with glue, gesso grosso and then gesso fine” Inspired by Jo, Rowan and Ali

This method was inspired by the Renaissance process of painting on a wooden panel on gesso and egg tempera as described by Jo and Rowan.

In the Renaissance, masters would take great and enormous care in preparing their wooden panels, which in the case of Del Sallaio’s was made of poplar. Layers of gesso – similar to plaster, were carefully prepped in layers applied to the wooden panels and painstakingly smoothed ready for the paint.

Portia’s version:

Soaking wood - Egg Tempura — Portia soaks plywood off-cuts for a few minutes

Covering the wooden panel with Modroc - SC West Wind — Then covers it with a single layer of Modroc. Portia works the Modroc with her fingers to make sure it is very smooth

Covering with Modroc - Egg Tempura post — She applies Modroc on both sides.

Find out more about How to Use Modroc Here.

“The underdrawing” – Transferring the motif to the panel

Drawing a Storyboard West Wind - SC Fitz — Portia draws a storyboard of Cupid and Psyche and when the West Wind carries Psyche from the mountain to Cupid

Find out more about the Story of Cupid and Psyche by Jacopo del Sellaio as told by Kate Noble.

Drawing onto the gesso panel - West Wind SC Fitz — Portia transfers her drawing onto the prepared Modroc (mock-gesso!) panel

“The paint” – Preparing the pigments and mixing the egg tempera

Getting Egg Tempura and palette ready - West Wind - Fitz -SC — An egg and primary colour powder paints

Mixing blue pigment into egg - West Wind - SC

Mixing Yellow - West Wind - Fitz

Painting the panel: Yellow - Fitz - West Wind

Adding Gold and Silver - West Wind

“The gilding” – Adding the gold!

Finished - West Wind - Fitz — Portia uses gold and silver Scola paint to add the gilding effect to the finished piece

To take egg-tempera into the classroom

You Will Need:

Plywood off-cuts
A bucket or bowl of water
Modroc
Basic powder paints (red, yellow and blue) and brushes
An egg
Gold paint (Scola)

Many thanks to the wonderful teachers who came to this CPD session for sharing their ideas and processes with AccessArt.

Many thanks to Alison Ayres, the Fitzwilliam Museum’s studio artist, for her support in the studio and sharing her knowledge and Holly Morrison for her consultation and in preparing materials for Inspire 2020 Project.

A huge thank you to Joanna Neville and Rowan Frame from the Hamilton Kerr Institute for sharing their deep knowledge of Renaissance painting techniques with Inspire 2020.

Many thanks to Portia Drewry for sharing her artwork and Francesca Pellegrini for taking photos at the kitchen table.

This post was written by Sheila Ceccarelli and edited by Kate Noble and Paola Ricciardi, senior research scientist at the Fitzwilliam Museum, Cambridge. Photos were taken by Sheila Ceccarelli and Francesca Pellegrini.

Many thanks to ScolaQuip for providing their easily accessible, but high-quality materials for this project.

Go back to Inspire: A Celebration of Children’s Art in Response to Jacopo del Sellaio’s Cupid and Psyche

Inspire – December 2019 to March 2020, was an exhibition of art made by primary school children and celebrated creativity in Cambridgeshire schools. It championed the on-going importance of cultural learning and the visual arts for all children and young people.

Based on the National Gallery’s Take One Picture, The Fitzwilliam Museum and AccessArt teamed together to offer free Inspire 2020 CPD (Continued Professional Development for Teachers), focusing on one painting, Cupid and Psyche by Jacopo del Sellaio, as a source of ideas and inspiration.

Del Sellaio’s Cupid and Psyche was on display next to the children’s work in the Octagon Gallery.

With very special thanks to Kate Noble, Miranda Stearn, Sarah Villis, and Holly Morrison for making this project happen and Alison Ayres.

Fitzwilliam logo

UK Charity AccessArt created this resource in collaboration with the Fitzwilliam Museum, Cambridge.

AccessArt has over 850 resources to help develop and inspire your creative thinking, practice and teaching.

AccessArt welcomes artists, educators, teachers and parents both in the UK and overseas.

We believe everyone has the right to be creative and by working together and sharing ideas we can enable everyone to reach their creative potential.

From Early Years

Woodland Exploration by Caroline Wendling & Deborah Wilenski

Artists Caroline Wendling and Deborah Wilenski encourage young children in a woodland exploration using art and imagination as their discovery tools.

Nest By Paula Briggs

Paula gives children the tools to both draw and make. Children worked with hard and soft pencils, graphite, wax resist, watercolour, clay and sticks.

From Key Stage One

How to Clay Play

This resource, commissioned by Cambridge City Council, encourages being together through making and introduces the basics of working with Scolaquip air-hardening clay.

Ofsted are Coming Tomorrow!

Primary school teacher, Sue Brown, shares her experience of an Ofsted Deep Dive in Art and gives advice to other teachers on how they might prepare themselves.

Quick Clay Figurative Sketches By Paula Briggs

Paula provided young children with the opportunity to explore clay as a “short term” construction and modelling material. Without being fired, the dry clay has a limited lifespan, and the sculptures will crumble, but I think it’s important to remind oursleves that even without access to a kiln, clay can still be regarded as a valuable sculptural material.

Decorative Clay Coil Pots by Sharon Gale

This simple clay pot making resource is not the traditional way of making coil pots but it’s lots of fun and by using different paint effects, the end results can be very interesting. We worked on this project for two, two-hour sessions.

Making Plaster Reliefs By Paula Briggs

This resource describes how to create plaster reliefs using clay and foamboard moulds. It is based upon a session which took place at Bourn Primary Academy with a group of Year 5 children.

Clay Art Medals by Sharon Gale

In this three stage resource, students make a circular medal from clay depicting their own profile, look at examples of fun lettering and devise a short, fun or meaningful phrase to paint inside their portrait profile. Clay art medals are a fun way to link class topics with an art activity.

Japan: Making Sushi – Recycled Style! By Jan Miller

Inspired by research into Japanese culture, children explored the potential and limitations of paper and recycled materials, learning through play and experimentation to make 3D forms. The outcomes of this process were used to inform work created in a second medium of clay, using kitchen equipment to shape the clay and add textures.

From Key Stage Two

Japan – Ceramics Inspire Painting and Painting Inspires Ceramics By Jan Miller

Jan shares a Year Three class project that uses the work of a contemporary Japanese ceramicist to inspire vibrant paintings in a variety of materials. The children then used their own art to design ceramic vessels.

Clay ‘Portrait’ Miniatures by Sharon Gale

Portrait miniatures are small painted images, usually of monarchs and very wealthy, important people. Dating back to the 1520s, these tiny portraiture paintings are like medals, but with realistic colour. This two stage clay and painting resource is very versatile because essentially the miniatures are blank canvasses.

Clay Slab Work by Andy Cairns

This resource explores how to make an armature and use clay slab to build a form. Based upon the legend of “Black Shuck”, a ghostly dog that roams the coast searching for its drowned masters, this project engaged the children and resulted in charismatic sculptures, but you could equally transfer the activity to other themes.

Fruit-Inspired Clay Tiles By Rachel Dormor

Ceramicist Rachel Dormor shares a workshop idea suitable for primary or secondary aged children. Working in clay, pupils take their inspiration from drawings of fruit to make decorative clay tiles.

Fruit Pinch Pot Project By Rachel Dormor

Ceramicist Rachel Dormor shares a workshop idea suitable for primary or secondary aged children. Working in clay, pupils take their inspiration from drawings of fruit to make simple pinch pot mugs.

From Key Stage Three and Beyond

Chimera Drawings into Beautiful Terracotta Tiles By Eleanor Somerset

Sgraffito, or ‘scratching’ is a technique which is an excellent way to reinforce mark making with all age groups.
Drawing into leather hard red clay tiles to create designs using mark-making can be even more effective when done through a white earthernware slip to reveal the red clay beneath.

Exploring Materials: Clay and Water by Sheila Ceccarelli

Sheila asked teenagers at AccessArt’s Experimental Drawing Class when the last time was that they had played with clay?

Arts and Minds: Manipulating Clay with Water by Sheila Ceccarelli

This post shows how to facilitate a sensory session exploring water and clay – by Sheila Ceccarelli (artist) and Yael Pilowsky Bankirer (Psychotherapist) for Arts and Minds.

Painted Clay by Melissa Pierce Murray

This post was inspired by the Japanese art of dorondongo, where mud and dirt are shaped and buffed into highly polished spheres. We made clay spheres and other simple forms in clay, and once dry, painted them with ink and acrylic.

Exploring Portraits with Eleanor Somerset

In this resource artist, Eleanor Somerset shows how she led students in The Little Art Studio, Sheffield, to explore and discover portraiture through various media.

Introducing Sgraffito using a Coloured Clay Slip on a Terracotta Tile By Eleanor Somerset

Further explore how to make beautiful sgraffito, or ‘scratched drawings’ with artist Eleanor Somerset.

From Bones and Body to Structure and Form By Melissa Pierce Murray

Artist Melissa Pierce Murray worked with teenagers from AccessArt’s Experimental Drawing Class on a series of workshops which physically explored drawing and sculptural responses to form, forces and anatomy.

Simple Clay Moulds by Melissa Pierce Murray

In this post, artist Melissa Pierce Murray, shows, step-by-step, how young teenagers explored plaster casting by making simple clay ‘waste moulds’ and then moved on to making simple ‘two piece moulds’.

Casting a Negative Space in Plaster with Sculptor Rachel Wooller

Resident artist at ArtWorks Studios, Cambridge, Rachel Wooller, introduces teenagers at AccessArt’s Experimental Drawing Class to the process of casting and creating negative shapes in plaster from clay positives.

Rowan: Clay Coiling Techniques to Make Penguins, Tweety Pie and a Dalek too! by Abi Moore and Sarah Nibbs

Abi, Sarah and students at Rowan Humberstone, show how they made clay birds using clay coiling techniques and with a plaster mould for the birds’ bases.

Rowan: Making a Clay Bird from a Mould by Abi Moore and Sarah Nibbs

Abi and students from Rowan Humberstone, describe how they made clay birds from a plaster mould.

Modelling The Head in Clay by Melissa Pierce Murray

Artist Melissa Pierce Murray led a series of workshops for AccessArt’s Experimental Drawing Class in which the teenagers modelled a head in clay. There are five resources in this series, beginning with constructing an armature and making preparatory drawings, then studying the bone structure of the skull before moving on to features. The final post in this series looks at ways to increase the techniques and approaches used in drawing.

Design Lab: Phoebe Cummings at the V&A

Students, from the DesignLab at the V&A, London, worked with artist Phoebe Cummings over a three month period to create a site-specific, group piece, from unfired clay which was inspired by the historical 2D designs found on 19th century British tableware in the collection.