Painting With Gold in the Style of Klimt
Wednesday October 4, 2006
In response to my mentioning Klimt's Portrait of Adele Bloch-Bauer I going on display in New York, Syed H. emailed saying: "I have read the article on Klimt with great excitement as I anticipate to see this work. I have been trying to find information about gold as a material for painting: where is it available and in what forms? Also, some hints on the technique. Searching around, I have been mostly steered into the areas of gilding and gold leaf. Can you please guide me and direct me to some resources." The most important thing to know is that the gold in Klimt's paintings is gold leaf, not paint (though, of course, the iridescent paints such as these from Golden weren't around yet). Learning about the techniques used by gilders and, especially, icon painters, will help you. Find out more in this Painting FAQ...
Detail of Hope II by Klimt. Photo © Jessica Jeanne (Creative Commons Some Rights Reserved)
Comments
Another point to remember is that gold leaf is traditionally used over a base of yellow ochre or red oxide…both colours had a richness and luminosity to the gold leaf.
Dutch metal (or transfer metal) is a cheaper option to gold leaf being a composite metal(2%gold) and has the advantage of being easier to use -you can touch it with your fingers unlike with pure gold which is too fragile. This also needs to be sealed with varnish to prevent tarnishing.
Finally, the Mughal Miniturists used gold leaf extensively to illuminate their work…and they did this by gently grinding the gold leaf in a pestle and mortar and then combining it with egg white, before painting it with a brush made from kitten fur!!
Having worked with gold for many years, I would not recommend the acrylic versions available today…they are far inferior to the real thing!!