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Prior to the 1400s, the medium of egg tempera paint was the standard for professional painters. So called thanks to its typical use of egg yolk as the means of binding the paint pigment together, egg tempera painting was applauded for its ability to convey saturated and uniform fields of color within a composition. Tempera paint was also appreciated for its quick drying times and durability. <ref> Vytlacil, Vaclav and Rupert Davidson Turnbull, <i>Egg Tempera Painting, Tempera Underpainting, Oil Emulsion Painting: A Manual of Technique</i> (Oxford, New York, 1935), Introduction. </ref>
[[File:1920px-Sandro_Botticelli_-_La_nascita_di_Venere_-_Google_Art_Project_-_edited.jpg|thumbnail|left|300px|Sandro Botticelli, <i>The Birth of Venus</i>, c. 1486]]
The use of tempera paint traces back to the ancient world. From ancient Egypt to the Indus River valley, historic global cultures made use of tempera paint and experimented with variations, a tradition that continued through the Middle Ages and even extended into the fifteenth century and the Renaissance era. Accordingly, some of the finest examples of painting from art history reflect the use of this medium. Sienese painter Duccio di Buoninsenga, for instance, one of the key innovators of the Early Renaissance period, employed the tempera medium to great effect in works such as his early fourteenth-century <i>Maestà</i> altarpiece for the Duomo of Siena. <ref> Giacomo de Nicola, "Duccio di Buoninsegna and His School in the Mostra di Duccio at Siena." <i> The Burlington Magazine for Connoisseurs</i> Vol. 22, No. 117 (December 1912), pp. 138-139; 142-143; 145; 147. </ref> Here,setting Setting his figures against an impressive gilded backdrop, Duccio showcased a uniformity of color while also featuring the crisp patterns characteristic of works emerging from the medieval aesthetic. Artists since the fall of Rome had made pattern and texture a key component of their paintings, thus making the capability to manifest such pattern in tempera an ideal pairing.
[[File:1920px-Botticelli-primavera.jpg|thumbnail|left|300px| Sandro Botticelli, <i>Primavera</i>, 1482]]
For some artists working in the Italian peninsula, the technique of tempera reigned supreme well into the fifteenth century. One can look to Florentine painter Sandro Botticelli as a prime example. He is perhaps best known for his iconic duo of <i>Primavera</i> (1482) and <i>The Birth of Venus</i> (circa 1486), both tempera on canvas compositions that showcase the depth of color possible with the medium. One can also note that, similar to his predecessor Duccio, Botticelli continued to reinforce the crisp and clear contours of each compositional element. In other words, while shadow and contour is important, Botticelli seems to prefer in <i>Primavera</i> and <i>The Birth of Venus</i> a solidity of his forms.
===The Arrival of Oil Paints===
[[File:Van_Eyck_-_Arnolfini_Portrait.jpg|thumbnail|left|200px|Jan van Eyck, <i>Arnolfini Double Portrait</i>, 1434]]
