GILDING
Gilding is an ancient technique in which a surface is coated with gold leaf, often creating the impression of an object or subject made of solid gold.
My education as a gilder followed an old tradition, in which a master shares his knowledge with his successor and trains the student personally in the profession.
I am specialized in the kind of gilding where the variations in the gloss level of the gilding are interwoven and alternate. In this style, the matte gilded parts emphasize the gloss of the polished gilded surface right up to the mirror-like golden surface. To achieve this effect, you need to know several different gilding methods and finishing techniques for the gilded surface.
When conserving and restoring a gilded surface, you need to know the working methods and materials originally used on the object and carry out the work using the same methods as the original. For new gilded objects, it is good to always choose the working method and materials according to the intended use and location of the object.
The shared history of human and gold stretches back thousands of years. The physical and energetic nature of gold has given it a unique place in human history.
The soft nature of gold enabled the early emergence of the profession of gilders, master craftspeople who specialize in coating other materials with genuine gold.
This profession already existed in Ancient Egypt, and hieroglyphs from that time describe the profession of goldbeater and the methods of making gold leaf.
Although the history of the profession of the gilder stretches back thousands of years, the tools and materials used have changed very little to this day. The master gilder’s workshop still smells of primers made from animal glues, bolus clays dug from the ground, resins and pigments...
Most of the tools still have to be made by hand in order to achieve the sensitivity and synchronicity between the gilder and the tools.