Techniques of the Gilders
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BYZANTINE CAMEOS and the AESTHETICS of the ICON By
BYZANTINE CAMEOS AND THE AESTHETICS OF THE ICON by James A. Magruder, III A dissertation submitted to Johns Hopkins University in conformity with the requirements for the degree of Doctor of Philosophy Baltimore, Maryland March 2014 © 2014 James A. Magruder, III All rights reserved Abstract Byzantine icons have attracted artists and art historians to what they saw as the flat style of large painted panels. They tend to understand this flatness as a repudiation of the Classical priority to represent Nature and an affirmation of otherworldly spirituality. However, many extant sacred portraits from the Byzantine period were executed in relief in precious materials, such as gemstones, ivory or gold. Byzantine writers describe contemporary icons as lifelike, sometimes even coming to life with divine power. The question is what Byzantine Christians hoped to represent by crafting small icons in precious materials, specifically cameos. The dissertation catalogs and analyzes Byzantine cameos from the end of Iconoclasm (843) until the fall of Constantinople (1453). They have not received comprehensive treatment before, but since they represent saints in iconic poses, they provide a good corpus of icons comparable to icons in other media. Their durability and the difficulty of reworking them also makes them a particularly faithful record of Byzantine priorities regarding the icon as a genre. In addition, the dissertation surveys theological texts that comment on or illustrate stone to understand what role the materiality of Byzantine cameos played in choosing stone relief for icons. Finally, it examines Byzantine epigrams written about or for icons to define the terms that shaped icon production. -
The Bonefolder: an E-Journal for the Bookbinder and Book Artist Surface Gilding by James Reid-Cunningham
Bexx Caswell’s binding of Leaves of Grass by Walt Whitman; Illustrations by Jim Spanfeller. Hallmark, 1969. From the 2009 Bind-O-Rama. Volume 6, Number 1, Fall 2009 The Bonefolder: an e-journal for the bookbinder and book artist Surface Gilding By James Reid-Cunningham 28 Figure 1. The House South of North. Calfskin, gold leaf, Figure 2. Transfer leaf. palladium leaf, kidskin, fish skin, goatskin, box calf, abalone. Gilding on large flat surfaces is best done with transfer leaf Bound 2006. (also called patent leaf), which is gold leaf mounted on a piece Traditional binding decoration utilizes gold leaf to create of thin tissue that allows easily handling without wrinkling or discrete highlights, as in gold finishing. What I refer to as breaking the gold leaf. Transfer leaf can be cut with a scissors. “surface gilding” covers a binding with gold leaf over large Use a scissors reserved only for this task because any scratch areas, even over entire boards. This kind of decoration is rare or little bit of adhesive on the blade will pull the leaf and in bookbinding history, but can be seen in Art Deco bindings break it. When using loose gold leaf, it is necessary to adhere done in France during the 1920s and 1930s. Surface gilding the leaf to the substrate using oil or Vaseline. has become increasingly common among design binders in It sometimes seems that any adhesive ever invented recent years. Whether bound in leather, paper or vellum, has been used at one point or another to adhere gold to a surface gilding gives a spectacularly luxurious effect to a book, so there are many choices of what to use. -
Or on the ETHICS of GILDING CONSERVATION by Elisabeth Cornu, Assoc
SHOULD CONSERVATORS REGILD THE LILY? or ON THE ETHICS OF GILDING CONSERVATION by Elisabeth Cornu, Assoc. Conservator, Objects Fine Arts Museums of San Francisco Gilt objects, and the process of gilding, have a tremendous appeal in the art community--perhaps not least because gold is a very impressive and shiny currency, and perhaps also because the technique of gilding has largely remained unchanged since Egyptian times. Gilding restorers therefore have enjoyed special respect in the art community because they manage to bring back the shine to old objects and because they continue a very old and valuable craft. As a result there has been a strong temptation among gilding restorers/conservators to preserve the process of gilding rather than the gilt objects them- selves. This is done by regilding, partially or fully, deteriorated gilt surfaces rather than attempting to preserve as much of the original surface as possible. Such practice may be appropriate in some cases, but it always presupposes a great amount of historic knowledge of the gilding technique used with each object, including such details as the thickness of gesso layers, the strength of the gesso, the type of bole, the tint and karatage of gold leaf, and the type of distressing or glaze used. To illustrate this point, I am asking you to exercise some of the imagination for which museum conservators are so famous for, and to visualize some historic objects which I will list and discuss. This will save me much time in showing slides or photographs. Gilt wooden objects in museums can be broken down into several subcategories: 1) Polychromed and gilt sculptures, altars Examples: baroque church altars, often with polychromed sculptures, some of which are entirely gilt. -
Gold-Ground Panel Painting Author Tie Jojima
Gold-ground Panel Painting Author Tie Jojima Video documenting gold-ground panel painting produced by the Getty Museum: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=WVyusmjiTXI&t=9s This video produced by the Getty museum, provides the steps involved in the creation th of 16 century altarpiece panels made with gold leaves and tempera painting. The video narrates each of the steps, focusing on the craftsmanship and different materials. This is a good teaching resource to complement a lecture on the Early Renaissance because it helps the students to appreciate craftsmanship and skills involved in the creation of altarpieces, and it generates discussions on the value and cultural significance of those works. At the end of this class and after showing the video, if there is enough time, I like to show contemporary examples of artists utilizing gold leaf, such as Barkley Hendricks’ Lawdy Mama (1969) and Chris Ofili’s The Holy Virgin Mary (1996), and open for discussion on the different meanings of gold, past and present. Learning Goals: After completion of this assignment, students will be able to: - Explain the technical and material aspects of gold-ground panel painting. - Analyze how the technique influences the resulting artwork. Activity - During a class on the Early Renaissance, while looking at altarpieces by Cimabue or Giotto, I explain tempera painting and the process of gold leaf application in general terms. - After the lecture, students watch the Gerry Museum video on gold-ground panel painting, while working on a series of guiding questions that direct them during the video (sample attached) - After the video, we discuss as a class about what surprised them in the process, and how technique might influence the resulting artwork. -
Historical Painting Techniques, Materials, and Studio Practice
Historical Painting Techniques, Materials, and Studio Practice PUBLICATIONS COORDINATION: Dinah Berland EDITING & PRODUCTION COORDINATION: Corinne Lightweaver EDITORIAL CONSULTATION: Jo Hill COVER DESIGN: Jackie Gallagher-Lange PRODUCTION & PRINTING: Allen Press, Inc., Lawrence, Kansas SYMPOSIUM ORGANIZERS: Erma Hermens, Art History Institute of the University of Leiden Marja Peek, Central Research Laboratory for Objects of Art and Science, Amsterdam © 1995 by The J. Paul Getty Trust All rights reserved Printed in the United States of America ISBN 0-89236-322-3 The Getty Conservation Institute is committed to the preservation of cultural heritage worldwide. The Institute seeks to advance scientiRc knowledge and professional practice and to raise public awareness of conservation. Through research, training, documentation, exchange of information, and ReId projects, the Institute addresses issues related to the conservation of museum objects and archival collections, archaeological monuments and sites, and historic bUildings and cities. The Institute is an operating program of the J. Paul Getty Trust. COVER ILLUSTRATION Gherardo Cibo, "Colchico," folio 17r of Herbarium, ca. 1570. Courtesy of the British Library. FRONTISPIECE Detail from Jan Baptiste Collaert, Color Olivi, 1566-1628. After Johannes Stradanus. Courtesy of the Rijksmuseum-Stichting, Amsterdam. Library of Congress Cataloguing-in-Publication Data Historical painting techniques, materials, and studio practice : preprints of a symposium [held at] University of Leiden, the Netherlands, 26-29 June 1995/ edited by Arie Wallert, Erma Hermens, and Marja Peek. p. cm. Includes bibliographical references. ISBN 0-89236-322-3 (pbk.) 1. Painting-Techniques-Congresses. 2. Artists' materials- -Congresses. 3. Polychromy-Congresses. I. Wallert, Arie, 1950- II. Hermens, Erma, 1958- . III. Peek, Marja, 1961- ND1500.H57 1995 751' .09-dc20 95-9805 CIP Second printing 1996 iv Contents vii Foreword viii Preface 1 Leslie A. -
Gilding with Kolner Burnishing Clay and Insta-Clay by Lauren Sepp
Gilding with Kolner Burnishing Clay and Insta-Clay By Lauren Sepp ’ve been asked many times by custom framing re- achieve different shades. The white Burnishing Clay tailers if there is an easier way to water gild and can be tinted with Mixol tinting agents up to 5 percent I burnish a surface, as it’s generally agreed upon that by weight to achieve any color you desire. traditional water gilding is a labor-intensive method. Both the Burnishing Clay and Insta-Clay can be Kolner products address that demand by streamlining applied to many different surfaces. Certain nonpo- the water gilding process, which would otherwise in- rous substrates require no sealing before application clude many more steps. of the clay: Plexiglas and other plastics, sealed woods, Kolner Products, based in Germany, formulated a nonporous paints, and lacquered metals. Unsealed water-based, single-layer, burnishable gilders’ clay for metals may require a primer. Smooth plastics and water gilding in 1985 called Kolner Burnishing Clay. metals may require a light sanding to promote good This product combines and replaces the glue size, ges- adhesion. Porous surfaces such as matboard, paper, so, and bole layers with a single product. The clay is parchment, raw wood, textiles, unglazed ceramics, premixed with an acrylic binder and only needs to be stone, plaster, traditional gesso and compo orna- thinned slightly and stirred. There is no heating, dis- ments require a sealer before applying the clays. In solving of glues, or straining. There is also a sprayable many applications, shellac is a good all-around sealer. -
Gilding Through the Ages
Gilding Through the Ages AN OUTLINE HISTORY OF THE PROCESS IN THE OLD WORLD Andrew Oddy Research Laboratory, The British Museum, London, U.K. In 1845, Sir Edward Thomason wrote in his not public concern but technological advance which memoirs (1) a description of a visit he had made in brought an end to the use of amalgam for gilding. to certain artisans in Paris and he commented: 1814 Gilding with Gold Foil `I was surprised, however, at their secret of superior Although fire-gilding had been in widespread use in gilding of the time-pieces. I was admitted into one gilding establishment, and I found the medium was Europe and Asia for at least 1 500 years when it was similar to ours, mercury; nevertheless the French did displaced by electroplating, the origins of gilding — gild the large ornaments and figures of the chimney- that is, the application of a layer of gold to the surface piece clocks with one-half the gold we could at of a less rare metal — go back at least 5 000 years, to Birmingham, and produced a more even and finer the beginning of the third millennium B.C. The colour'. British Museum has some silver nails from the site of Much to his disgust, Thomason could not persuade Tell Brak in Northern Syria (5) which have had their the French workmen to tell him the secret of their heads gilded by wrapping gold foil over the silver. superior technique, but it seems most likely that it This is, in fact, the earliest form of gilding and it lay either in the preparation of the metal surface depends not on a physical or chemical bond between for gilding or perhaps in the final cleaning and the gold foil and the substrate, but merely on the burnishing of the gilded surface. -
Gilding in the Fifteenth-Century: a Multi-Analytical Investigation
heritage Article The “oro di metà” Gilding in the Fifteenth-Century: A Multi-Analytical Investigation Iacopo Osticioli 1,* , Laura Capozzoli 2, Barbara Salvadori 3 , Martina Banchelli 1 , Alessandro Lavacchi 2, Paolo Matteini 1 , Salvatore Siano 1 and Loredana Gallo 4 1 Institute of Applied Physics “Nello Carrara” (IFAC)-National Research Council (CNR), 50019 Sesto Fiorentino (FI), Italy; [email protected] (M.B.); [email protected] (P.M.); [email protected] (S.S.) 2 Institute of Chemistry of Organometallic Compounds (ICCOM)-National Research Council (CNR), 50019 Sesto Fiorentino (FI), Italy; [email protected] (L.C.); [email protected] (A.L.) 3 Institute for the Conservation and Valorization of Cultural Heritage (ICVBC)-National Research Council (CNR), 50019 Sesto Fiorentino (FI), Italy; [email protected] 4 Gallo Restauro, 50129 Florence, Italy; [email protected] * Correspondence: [email protected] Received: 12 March 2019; Accepted: 15 April 2019; Published: 18 April 2019 Abstract: Few and fragmentary is the information regarding the “oro di metà” (halfway gold) gilding due to the low probability of finding it in paintings as well as its short durability because of tarnishing. However, the very rare, excellent state of conservation of the gilding found in the fifteenth-century wood panel painting of the Master of St. Ivo studied in this work along with a multi-analytical approach allowed shedding light on the structure, the composition and the conservation state of this type of gilding. An Ultra-High Resolution Scanning Electron Microscope (UHR-SEM) along with Energy Dispersive X-Ray (EDX) analysis and polarised light Optical Microscopy (OM) were employed in order to image and analyse a cross-section of a sample taken from the wood panel painting. -
Gilded Pinch Pots the Most Basic Means of Hand-Forming Pottery Takes a Dazzling New Direction
Copyright © 2018 Dick Blick Art Materials All rights reserved 800-447-8192 DickBlick.com Gilded Pinch Pots The most basic means of hand-forming pottery takes a dazzling new direction. The application of gold as a decorative element is known as "gilding" and has been practiced using a variety of techniques since ancient times. Artists in China developed a means of firing gold with molten glass onto porcelain to create gilded pottery pieces that were highly prized by collectors in many nations. Later during the same century, as gilding techniques spread westward to Europe, the Baroque and Rococo decorative styles of the 18th century saw high demand for gilded porcelain tableware and figures. In modern times, the combination of ceramics and gold is still highly desirable. Ceramic artist Jennifer McCurdy creates nature-inspired sculptures from delicate formations of porcelain, then applies gold leaf to the inside. The gilding creates the illusion that the pieces are glowing from within. The most basic technique for forming a three- dimensional piece of pottery is a pinch pot. It's usually the first method a potter learns. In this lesson, students will use air-dry clay to form a small vessel, then gild a portion of it with imitation gold leaf. The result is a dramatic and rich-looking container that can be useful in many ways. GRADES K-12 Note: Instructions and materials are based upon a class size of 24 students. Adjust as needed. Preparation 1. Cut block of clay into pieces and store in zip-lock bags until ready to use. -
The Journal of the Walters Art Museum
THE JOURNAL OF THE WALTERS ART MUSEUM VOL. 73, 2018 THE JOURNAL OF THE WALTERS ART MUSEUM VOL. 73, 2018 EDITORIAL BOARD FORM OF MANUSCRIPT Eleanor Hughes, Executive Editor All manuscripts must be typed and double-spaced (including quotations and Charles Dibble, Associate Editor endnotes). Contributors are encouraged to send manuscripts electronically; Amanda Kodeck please check with the editor/manager of curatorial publications as to compat- Amy Landau ibility of systems and fonts if you are using non-Western characters. Include on Julie Lauffenburger a separate sheet your name, home and business addresses, telephone, and email. All manuscripts should include a brief abstract (not to exceed 100 words). Manuscripts should also include a list of captions for all illustrations and a separate list of photo credits. VOLUME EDITOR Amy Landau FORM OF CITATION Monographs: Initial(s) and last name of author, followed by comma; italicized or DESIGNER underscored title of monograph; title of series (if needed, not italicized); volume Jennifer Corr Paulson numbers in arabic numerals (omitting “vol.”); place and date of publication enclosed in parentheses, followed by comma; page numbers (inclusive, not f. or ff.), without p. or pp. © 2018 Trustees of the Walters Art Gallery, 600 North Charles Street, Baltimore, L. H. Corcoran, Portrait Mummies from Roman Egypt (I–IV Centuries), Maryland 21201 Studies in Ancient Oriental Civilization 56 (Chicago, 1995), 97–99. Periodicals: Initial(s) and last name of author, followed by comma; title in All Rights Reserved. No part of this book may be reproduced without the written double quotation marks, followed by comma, full title of periodical italicized permission of the Walters Art Museum, Baltimore, Maryland. -
GILDING-TECHNIQUES.Pdf
1 GILDING TECHNIQUES A description of various techniques by Aidan Hart THE SYMBOLISM OF GOLD In Orthodox icons, as in sacred arts of many other religions, gold symbolizes divine presence, glory, spiritual light. Gold is not a colour as such, as are the other elements of the icon; it is of a different order of existence. That is, it represents the divine order, which creates and sustains the created order. This being the case the role of gold is not mere decoration. One sign of decadence in the majority of eigtheenth and nineteenth century Russian icons is that gold’s symbolic role was compromised; overly fine gold lines are used as mere ornament, especially on garments. The main places gold is used on traditional icons is the “background”, for haloes, and as gold lines (called assist ) on garments, trees and more rarely, on architectural details. As background the gold shows that it is in God that we “live and move and have our being”, as Saint Paul said. God is like the water within which all creation swims like fish in the ocean. The gold halo represents the Holy Spirit’s indwelling of the saint, the shekena glory of God shining from within. When used as assist the gold represents the material world being transfigured by God. The lines thus do not denote superficial decoration, but rather an inner, transforming presence of the Divine within the inimate world. These lines follow the basic form of the object on which they are drawn - the drapery, tree trunk or whatever - but are abstracted enough to show that they represent a spiritual reality and do not just suggest form. -
Saint Anthony Abbot [Left Panel]
National Gallery of Art NATIONAL GALLERY OF ART ONLINE EDITIONS Italian Paintings of the Thirteenth and Fourteenth Centuries Puccio di Simone and Allegretto Nuzi Puccio di Simone Florentine, active c. 1330 - 1360 Allegretto Nuzi Umbrian, active from c. 1340; died 1373 Saint Anthony Abbot [left panel] 1354 tempera on panel painted surface: 89.3 x 33.6 cm (35 3/16 x 13 1/4 in.) overall (with cradle): 90 × 35.5 × 2.8 cm (35 7/16 × 14 × 1 1/8 in.) framed: 123.8 x 45.7 x 8.3 cm (48 3/4 x 18 x 3 1/4 in.) Inscription: on Saint Anthony's halo: .S[AN]C[TU]S.ANTONIVS.D[E].VIENA Andrew W. Mellon Collection 1937.1.6.a ENTRY The triptych comprised of this panel, Madonna and Child Enthroned with Four Saints and Eighteen Angels [middle panel], and Saint Venantius [right panel] is in some respects unusual, even unique, in fourteenth-century painting in central Italy. First, it is unusual for an altarpiece of this kind to be characterized by such a disparity both in the distribution and in the proportions of the figures: numerous and small in the center, large in the laterals—even larger in scale than the Madonna enthroned in the main panel. Second, another very rare feature is that one of the saints, Anthony Abbot, appears twice, once in the central panel and again in the left lateral. [1] Third, and uniquely, a practically identical version (only slightly larger in size) exists in the Duomo of Macerata, though with a provenance from the church of Sant’Antonio Abate in that town.