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Why do tempera painters often use fine crosshatched brushstrokes?
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Painting
Olympia, oil on canvas by Édouard Manet, 1863; in the Musée d'Orsay, Paris.
Tempera painters use fine crosshatched brushstrokes because the medium dries very quickly, which prevents the artist from achieving the subtle tonal gradations that are possible with watercolour or oil painting. Because the paint cannot be blended on the surface while wet, artists must rely on this crosshatching technique to create the effects of shaded modelling.1