Roman legacy and Indian patterns

CHANDIGARH, January 28: It was the time-tested technique of the Byzantine era before the post-Renaissance wave of modern painting swept it a...

CHANDIGARH, January 28: It was the time-tested technique of the Byzantine era before the post-Renaissance wave of modern painting swept it away. Few contemporary artists are engaged in Egg Tempera — so called because the mixture is made from egg yolk — and talking to one of them, Christian Puard from France, yielded a treasure trove of information.

Christian is here in connection with a two-day workshop of the Chandigarh Lalit Kala Akademi at the National Institute of Fashion Technology in S.A.S. Nagar. This is Christian’s second visit to the city as he had conducted a workshop

for students of the College of Arts seven years ago.

One look at Christian’s works, and the inherent Indianness cannot escape notice. "Indian motifs are very frequent as they come into me and I do not stop them. Some things here are too powerful to be erased from mind and I merge these impressions with a good texture and colour scheme." So, we see the "dancing woman" which was the outcome of a trip to South India, the lotus andthe miniature-type architectural patterns. The Egg Tempera is a binding technique, more of an emulsion. "I use egg white too along with yolk and a little bit of linseed oil. There are a lot of different recipes, like the Greeks used only the egg yolk."

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Tempera is unique in that water is the derivant and can be used as water colour whereas it has the solidity of an oil painting and lasts more.

It was the only technique popular during the Byzantine era (of East Roman empire) when paintings were done only for religious purposes. But the Renaissance period brought in waves and the difficult and time-consuming Tempera vanished from the scene.

In India, Ganesh Pyne is the only one who has successfully crafted images in this format. But humidity and climatic conditions here often result in fungus to the frames as egg is an organic substance. "But if you varnish it well after four months of creating a piece, nothing can damage it. But in this time of quick money and instant fame, where is the time for such along process?"

So, it was interesting to watch NIFT students draw patterns on Christian’s instructions. "Since there is great emphasis on texture in this, the students can utilise it in fashion designing," said Harpreet, the co-ordinator of NIFT.