Gilding in Spanish panel painting from the fifteenth and early sixteenth centuries

Appearance-based evaluation of varnish removal methods in gilded surfaces

“…Solubilisation by applying an Evolon ® CR compress has proven to be an effective method which creates the minimum change in appearance, as well as being homogeneous, maintaining a thin layer of varnish which protects the gilding from external degradation factors. difficult to know whether the gold leaf was burnished or not: the absence of a bole as well as the great finesse of the gold leaf would make this process difficult [60]. Moreover, binocular microscopic observation revealed the presence of a translucent orange film over the gold, most likely a glaze applied uniformly over the gold leaf to create a "vermillonage" [4].…”

“…Macro XRF showed that only pure gold leaf was used in the gilding. The contracts from this time period suggest the use of a 23 karat gold leaf [60]. Water gilding would be the most appropriate technique for this type of work.…”

“…However, the stratigraphic cross-section reveals the presence of an extremely thin orange layer under the gold leaf, composed of ochre. Due to the lack of lead pigments almost systematically used as driers in the mordant [60], oil gilding is dismissed as a possible fabrication technique. A third technique, less known and less documented, could have been used.…”