Egg tempera painting is recognised as the second oldest medium after encaustic. It was used by the ancient Egyptians and Greeks and perfected by the icon painters during the last 100 years of the old Byzantine Empire (400 AD-1202 AD).
After the fall of the Byzantine Empire, egg tempera flourished for about 200 years in the hands of the early Renaissance artists.

In the 16th century, oilpainting was perfected and nearly all painters embraced the new technique.

However, icon painters of the Orthodox Church never broke the tradition and are still practicing egg tempera today.

The first revival of secular egg tempera painting occurred in 1899, with the publication of the first usable translation, by Christiana J. Herringham of The Book of Art of Cennino Cennini- a painting manual of 14th century painting techniques.

During the late 19th century, the 20th century and now the 21st century egg tempera continues its revival.

Some artifacts