Art UK has updated its cookies policy. By using this website you are agreeing to the use of cookies. To find out more read our updated Use of Cookies policy and our updated Privacy policy.

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

15 artworks
Song of Spring
Image credit: 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

Madonna and Child
Image credit: Victoria Art Gallery

Madonna and Child

Harry Morley (1881–1943)

Tempera on board

H 70 x W 55 cm

Victoria Art Gallery

The Return of the Fishermen
Image credit: 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

The Village Street
Image credit: Victoria Art Gallery

The Village Street

Helen Lavinia Cochrane (1868–1946)

Tempera on board

H 39.5 x W 32.5 cm

Victoria Art Gallery

Children at Play
Image credit: 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
Image credit: 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
Image credit: 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
Image credit: 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

Psyche Crossing the Styx
© the artist's estate / Bridgeman Images. Image credit: Victoria Art Gallery

Psyche Crossing the Styx 1927

John Armstrong (1893–1973)

Tempera on board

H 64 x W 36 cm

Victoria Art Gallery

Rezzolla Loggia, Pugliola, Italy
Image credit: 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
Image credit: 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
Image credit: 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

In Edgbaston, Birmingham
Image credit: Victoria Art Gallery

In Edgbaston, Birmingham 1912

Joseph Edward Southall (1861–1944)

Tempera on board

H 17 x W 11 cm

Victoria Art Gallery

Almond Blossom, Majorca
Image credit: Victoria Art Gallery

Almond Blossom, Majorca

Helen Lavinia Cochrane (1868–1946)

Tempera on board

H 32.6 x W 40.3 cm

Victoria Art Gallery

San Gimignano, Italy
© the artist's estate / Bridgeman Images. Image credit: Victoria Art Gallery

San Gimignano, Italy

Maxwell Ashby Armfield (1881–1972)

Oil on panel

H 28.3 x W 23.2 cm

Victoria Art Gallery