Video (part of a series)
Monet's 'Bathers at La Grenouillère': Picture of the month February 2025
What do schoolchildren think of Monet’s ‘Bathers at La Grenouillère’, and what do they want to know?
How is egg tempera paint made?
Our new series for children answers some of art's most intriguing questions. Did you know artists used to make paint with eggs?
Did you know some artists used to make paint with eggs?
Egg tempera is paint made with the help of egg yolks. Mix yolks with a bit of water and coloured powders - called pigments - to create paint. Plenty of famous paintings in the National Gallery were painted with egg tempera.
But remember, just because it's got egg in it, does NOT mean you can eat egg tempera. You can eat eggs and tempura, but not egg tempera.