Medieval Gesso and Gold Leaf Illumination

A demonstration of the creation and application of Gesso and Gold Leaf to vellum by Berend van der Eych, OL.

[@pootnikalexander]

This recipe is absolutely perfect, I made some and it worked without fail and keeps forever once dried into small pellets. Thank you for you kind sharing

[@snehitah]

Big Thank from Bangkok with Love

[@joebalabuszko8863]

The gold is picked up from oil on the hair, not static. A better way to cut the gold is with a gilders knife. A good substitute for a long gilders knife is a Case knife or Opinel knife with about 3 inch blade or similar. The important thing is not the sharpness. It is for the blade to be smooth, and highly polished. To check the blade, pull it across your thumb nail. It should not cut the nail, nor have any snags as it is pulled. This will make cutting very small pieces of leaf incredibly easy. The gilding video and procedure, with an excellent recipe was super well presented. The speed with how it was done was clear, and easy to follow. Thank you for this tutorial.

[@robertnelson3672]

This was interesting to watch thanks for posting. For those who don't know, gesso for calligraphy or books cannot be totally rigid or it will crack when pages are turned. The sort used for furniture or picture framing is different because it doesn't have to flex. In traditional Gesso each ingredient has a specific purpose. This is somewhat theory as no one actually knows when, where or how it was developed, but we can make the most obvious educated guesses. Slaked Plaster for body. This is Plaster of Paris with its setting agent removed. (a long process taking weeks) I use dental plaster which I have slaked. If you don't want to slake it yourself you can get Calcium Sulfate Dihydrate. The John Neal Bookseller catalogue says it is the finest slaked dental plaster. Fish glue for stickiness (obviously) but it will also reconstitute to liquid. I don't think rabbit skin will. Sugar is hygroscopic - it will attract moisture from your breath and hold it briefly. White Lead is extremely fine and fills in any gaps much like sand can fill in gaps between pebbles in a jar and makes it smooth. It also makes it totally opaque, the same reason it was used in paint. Titanium Dioxide is what is used in paint today to replace the extremely toxic white lead. A much less toxic option. Armenian Bole is optional but yes it's good to see what you are working with if the surface is whitish. I've never heard of chalk being used nor the other ingredients in the video near the end being added but this combination obviously works. There have been variations developed for different climates. A hot dry climate needs more stickiness than a cool damp one.

[@louiebrentley1088]

I guess I am kinda randomly asking but do anyone know of a good website to watch newly released movies online ?

[@flynnbraylon8422]

@Louie Brentley I dunno I watch on flixportal. Just google after it :D -flynn

[@louiebrentley1088]

@Flynn Braylon thank you, I went there and it seems like a nice service :) Appreciate it!!

[@flynnbraylon8422]

@Louie Brentley no problem =)

[@Starlightv74]

I found this fascinating, but there were so many points when I simply couldn't hear what you were saying (eg. Egg glair mixing). You have so much to teach us. Subtitles added to this would be wonderful. It's the best I've come across so far, but I can't follow your technique because I can't hear you.

[@zendegy]

I second this!!

[@placitas52]

Sound quality poor, hard to follow

[@whetstone]

based on watching with the auto-subtitles on: 10 parts calcium carbonate; water sufficient to mull (doesn't matter how much and you can always add more, it is inert and will just affect drying time); 3 parts liquid fish glue; add armenian bole to taste for the color you like; 1-2 parts sugar; a few drops gum arabic; a few drops glair; a few drops garlic glair. mull between all, let dry on mulling surface a bit, then transfer to wax paper in small drops to dry into pastilles for reconstituting later, or keep wet in small container. from other teachers i know that glair is made by whipping egg whites until they are so stiff they won't fall out of an inverted bowl and leaving them out overnight; in the morning, all the liquid that has seeped to the bottom is glair. you can keep it fresh in the fridge for way longer than you'd imagine, and if you keep it at room temp it putrefies but still serves its purpose. garlic glair is just garlic juice with all the pulp strained out. the technique of dropping gesso onto the parchment is usually done by catching a bead of gesso on the brush, putting it into the space to be filled somewhat near an edge, and using the brush to draw the surface of the pool to fill the outline. you can add more beads of gesso into the pool, but the idea is your brush never actually touches the parchment. you can do it in multiple layers if you like, just be sure to have adequate drying time before you lay the gold down. if it's still wet it'll mess up the smoothness. you can clean up edges with a blade and and even sand the gesso smooth before laying gold.

[@evaferrante243]

Also called medieval manuscript painting (in french the word is Enluminure), you can try searching for this word in french and translating back into english.

[@AC-cg3bv]

Great video but as others said hard to hear.Sad as such a beautiful voice 😉

[@renukaiyer8738]

Thank you for sharing but the volume is very low to follow. It will be great if you give the material details in the discription box

[@feegritapan9680]

thank you so much!!

[@cfirelite1]

I heard him perfectly. Thank you for sharing this with us. I helped me very much.

[@gildejesus3714]

Great tutorial! Thanks for posting this!

[@AsAMonkeyInAPinata]

Just tried this week. Great stuff. Used gypsum powder (Calcium sulfate dihydrate, food grade stuff used as the curdling agent in traditional tofu making), Tite-bond liquid hide glue, gum arabic, sugar, and a few drops of honey.

[@shreeyajain3578]

Hey! Can you please let me know what food grade stuff did you use?

[@elisafinch1325]

Send many blessing,thank you..

[@Galejro]

Dude some of the advice is invaluable. Everybody just uses the agate directly on gold. when i tried I screwed up, I'll tyry this paper layer method.

[@McRollof]

Excellent description! Thank you!

[@mspelleri]

What a pleasure to watch!

[@earthyboheme2719]

Excellent. Thank you for this tutorial I want to incorporate this technique into my tinted charcoal portraits. Would it be best to draw first then add the gold leaf?

[@Mahault2007]

+TheEbonyGypsy I would suggest adding the leaf first, but I have never tried using this with charcoal. Usually, the leaf will stick to pretty much anything but you might be ok with charcoal. Please let me know how it turns out!

[@Starlightv74]

Hello - great video - I followed it to the letter and yet my gesso came out too sticky and didn't set. The only thing that I could have varied from your example was the water, so please can you tell me how many ml. of water you used? I based my gesso on 10tsp of slaked plaster - how many did you use if not 10? If it still comes out too sticky do you have any advice as to what ingredient I should vary? (there seems to be a lot of fish glue - perhaps less of that?) It was 65% humidity when I made it. I'd be very grateful for your advice. Thank you.

[@davidmartinez-ip3me]

very good, just that the volume is pretty low...

[@richivee311]

can I do gold leafing on marble or any natural stone which shouldn't come off. Please help

[@newwavepressure6478]

What about polishing it iv heard of people doin that to the gold leaf dose it make a big difference to the looks of it

[@jamescollins9349]

Great video! The problem I'm having is that when I go over the gold leaf with a brush to get rid of the extra bits, flakes from the edges comes off from the gesso in a lot of places. How do I fix this?

[@evaferrante243]

The gesso is not yet set. Wait till its set, then brush off.

[@elizabethpratt9729]

With how much sugar is in it, do you ever have problems with high humidity re-hydrating the gesso after the gilding has been completed?

[@Mahault2007]

I've never really had that problem. The gold covers the gesso very well.

[@CoxJoxSox]

Was that plaster? Did you say something about it being inert?

[@Welther47]

Is the bole just for colour? Would pigments do the job?

[@CoxJoxSox]

Can one use modern gesso - maybe add some chalk to it?

[@inadiva44]

you do not add any glue to the yeso armenian bol mix? how that adheres to the vellum and to the gold? I also notice you dont protect the gold at all how does that pplays when you paint? does it disturb it?

[@owly33]

Thanks!

[@abbasalisanwari233]

Can gum arabic be used in place of fish glue ? If not, what is the substitute for fish or hild glue ? Thanks in advance

[@CoxJoxSox]

Well bole has adhesive activation properties and lead white was used not for colour as for hardness for burnishing

[@lindamclean8809]

Wonderful

[@CoxJoxSox]

No lead paint or rabbit skin glue?

[@MelanieMaguire]

Nope. Just the fish glue and rotten eggs.

[@AkumaDante12]

Could you use ground cuttlefish bone and water for the creation of gesso? Could you use a mortar and pestle for the grinding also?

[@kennethstoner6227]

I don't know about cuttlefish bone - sounds like a good experiment though! What you want to make sure is that whatever base your are using for the gold ground that it does not expand or shrink with changing moisture. A ground which shrinks as it dries leaves dents and valleys in the raising which spoil the appearance of the gilding. As for mortar and pestle - no, it will not grind fine enough for the purposes of making gesso. Marble slabs are pretty easy to obtain, try a marble-counter installer or manufacturer. They will often give you small pieces for free. I use a semi-frosted 3/8 glass pane that I bought at a glass-arts-supply house. Finding glass muller can be challenging but it is very worth it and it is a tool that should last you for life.

[@kennethstoner6227]

Looks like there are a lot of different options for glass mullers on Amazon.

[@ruthjackson3814]

Thank You Matilda and Berand! I now see what you were telling me a couple of years ago... I wish I had found this sooner....

[@stylus2253]

yes, more VOLUME, Please.

[@rosasandoval891]

Subtitles added to this would be wonderful.

[@benschroth7717]

Evidently the mixture must be very smooth.

[@super60sand70s]

Fish glue???

[@henriquequintana2143]

😊

[@jimepuente]

What a great video! It's so sad, though, that the volume is so low, I missed a lot of crucial details.

[@sweller7503]

Yes. Could not understand much at beginning. Subtitles needed!

[@CoxJoxSox]

Haha, the CC said "I just took my mother with a glass marble slab"

[@etm567]

8 years later, fish what? It's really unfortunate that the audio is so low, because I am not sure about what I am hearing, not at all. Fish what?

[@larrycrowder4136]

Can’t here you

[@romulusbuta9318]

Larry Crowder .....because the precise tehnique MUST remain secret 😁 !

[@ssnoc]

WHAT?? Are you talking?

[@juliecain6397]

It is VERY difficult to hear you speaking. I have my sound turned up and still cannot understand every word you say...Totally missed how to make the "egg glair"...just a hint: adjust your sound up a bit or bring the mic closer to your lips. Great demonstration otherwise.

[@anxietyeliminated1987]

Poor audio. Mumbling. Bottle labels too dark or too small to read.

[@AnneCHEVALIER65]

Dommage que ce soit en américain🇺🇸

[@annemac8175]

bad background noise is a distraction. Couldn't stay around to watch this.

[@unclejack4117]

Ż1

[@anandchannar6029]

very poor presentation. the audio id horrible. one can't hear anything. improve it.

[@Mahault2007]

No. Make one yourself.