Art Terms in Action: Emulsion
About this video
An emulsion is a uniform mixture of oily and watery substances that normally don't mix. Salad dressing is the everyday example: oil and vinegar only combine when egg is added. Painters such as de Kooning added egg yolk to oil paint so it could also mix with water, giving a frothy texture and matte finish.
You'll be able to
- define an emulsion.
- explain the role of an emulsifier like egg yolk.
- describe how de Kooning used an emulsion in his paint and what effect it had.
Key words
- emulsion
- A uniform mixture of oily and watery substances that usually don't mix.
- emulsifier
- An ingredient, such as egg yolk, that lets oil and water mix evenly.
- matte
- A dull, non-shiny finish.
- solvent
- A liquid, such as turpentine, used to thin oil paint.
Transcript
- [Voiceover] An emulsion is a uniform mixture of oily substances and watery substances which usually don't mix. To take the most common example of salad dressing, you'll know that olive oil and vinegar don't mix, unless you add the egg to it. Then you can froth it up and make a uniform mixture of the two.
Well in paint, emulsions work the same way. In fact, one of the same emulsifiers is used, and that is egg yolk. de Kooning, among others, would add egg to his oil paint, which is typically compatible with solvent, like turpentine, but after adding egg yolk, it was compatible with water as well.
By adding water, he could then froth up the paint to get a very interesting texture, as well as a matte quality of that paint.
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