Distemper: From Medieval Masterpieces to Modern Interiors

 Distemper is both a decorative paint and a historical medium for painting pictures, distinguished from tempera by its use of vegetable or animal glues as binders (excluding egg). This ancient medium, which served as an early form of whitewash, has evolved from the walls of monasteries to contemporary art galleries, maintaining its distinctive characteristics across centuries of use.

Soft Distemper is the traditional form, not abrasion-resistant and typically includes binders such as chalk, ground pigments, and animal glue. This creates the characteristic powdery, easily marked surface that cannot be washed down, making it best suited for temporary and interior decoration.

Hard Distemper represents a stronger, more wear-resistant formulation that can include casein or linseed oil as additional binders, providing greater durability while maintaining the medium's essential breathable qualities.

Distemper's roots can be traced back to early whitewash, traditionally made from powdered chalk or lime mixed with size. Despite the occasional use of toxic white lead, chalk remained the preferred base due to its safety and working properties.

Many Medieval and Renaissance painters chose distemper over oil paint for significant works. The earliest paintings on canvas were predominantly executed in distemper, and the medium found widespread acceptance across cultures. It remains particularly important in Asian art, especially in Tibetan thangka painting. However, distemper paintings are more vulnerable to ageing than oil works, and relatively few historical examples have survived.

The medium proved especially popular for banners and decorations for temporary celebrations, work that often attracted court artists of the highest calibre. The technique involves blending watercolours with whiting and glue, creating what one 19th-century source described as behaviour: colours dry noticeably lighter than they appear when wet, requiring artists to compensate for this  that "when wet present such a different appearance from what they do when dry" a characteristic that could prove "a source of considerable embarrassment to the inexperienced eye."

The fundamental challenge of distemper lies in its behaviour: colours dry noticeably lighter than they appear when wet, requiring artists to compensate in their initial mixing. As historical sources note, "the carbonate of lime, or whitening employed as a basis, is less active than the pure lime of fresco," requiring careful balance in the glue sizing.

Traditional recipes called for approximately four ounces of glue dissolved in an imperial gallon of water. The proportion is critical—too much glue causes the painting to crack and peel, while too little renders it friable and lacking in strength.

Distempered surfaces are inherently vulnerable, as they can be easily marked and discoloured. Historically, they could not withstand washing, which limited their use to protected interior spaces and temporary applications.

The National Gallery in London makes careful distinctions between related techniques, describing Andrea Mantegna's work as "glue, glue size, or glue-tempera," while categorising the work of Dirk Bouts and Édouard Vuillard specifically as "distemper." These subtle technical distinctions reflect the medium's complexity and the various approaches artists have taken within the broader distemper tradition.

In contemporary practice, distemper painting remains a viable option in theatrical scenery production and other short-term applications, where it is often preferred over oil paint due to economic considerations. Contemporary artist John Connell notably employed distemper for paintings sometimes reaching ten feet in scale, demonstrating the medium's continued relevance for ambitious artistic projects.

In contemporary architecture, distemper paints typically consist of a glue binder with calcium carbonate as the base pigment. Modern commercial formulations have addressed many historical limitations while preserving the medium's essential characteristics.

The breathable nature of distemper makes it particularly valuable for older buildings, providing excellent coverage on porous surfaces while allowing natural moisture movement through walls. Its vapour-permeable qualities offer advantages that modern synthetic paints cannot match.

The revival of interest in distemper reflects both practical needs, particularly for conservation work on historic buildings, and aesthetic preferences for authentic historical finishes. From Mongolian thangkas to Renaissance masterpieces, from theatrical backdrops to contemporary fine art, distemper represents an enduring, unique link to centuries of artistic tradition.

Whether used by court artists creating ceremonial banners or modern conservators restoring medieval churches, distemper continues to offer qualities that no synthetic medium can replicate: complete breathability, environmental compatibility, and that distinctive soft finish that seems to absorb light rather than reflect it.

For contemporary artists and decorators, distemper provides access to techniques used by masters across cultures and centuries. At the same time, modern colour formulations make this traditional medium more practical and durable than ever before. The challenge of work, vulnerable to colour fading, colours that dry lighter than when wet, remains part of the medium's character—a reminder that some artistic techniques reward patience, experience, and respect for historical wisdom.