The team found very stiff oil paints could be made by adding a few drops of egg yolk, allowing the paint to be applied in thick layers that do not spread – known as impasto. Thus two paints with the same composition can have different microstructures and this will result in different properties,” said Dr Ilaria Bonaduce, an author of the study from the University of Pisa. “By changing preparation technique you can change the properties of the paint. The results reveal how yolk can influence the stiffness of the paint, depending upon how it is added and the pigment used. The first was made from pigment ground with linseed oil, the second used the same mixture but with the addition of a few drops of egg yolk, and the third was created by mixing a pigment with a solution of diluted egg yolk – after drying this was ground and dispersed with oil.
Writing in the journal Nature Communications, Doerner and colleagues report how they explored the issue by creating three types of paint. “ egg is used for modification and fine-tuning of paint properties,” said Dr Patrick Dietemann of the Doerner Institut in Germany. Now scientists say they have new insights into why such artists might have added the ingredient to their oil paints.
But in the 15th century there was a shift in European paintings towards using oil as a binder instead – an approach favoured by early Netherlandish painters such as Jan van Eyck.ĭespite the shift, egg has been found in the works of Old Master artists such as Sandro Botticelli and Leonardo da Vinci – with the former’s Lamentation over the Dead Christ among those featuring the use of egg within oil paint.
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