According to Evgeniï Trubetskoï, "the mysticism of icon painting is primarily solar, in that word’s highest spiritual sense. However beautiful the skys other colors may be the gold of midday sun remains the color of colors and the miracle of miracles."¹

In icon painting this divine gold is used in a special way. It is gold hatching; a technique of creating fine lines in gold over painted areas of an icon painting. It never looks like solid gold; it resembles, rather, an unearthly, airy cobweb of fine rays emitted by God and lighting everything around. When it appears in an icon, God is always suggested as its source. However, in the presence of divine illumination gold hatching often glorifies also the part of the scene that has already entered divine life and is seen as touching it very closely. For instance, it covers the throne and the brilliant robe of the glorified Christ,² (fig. 1) and the mantle of the Virgin as she ascends to heaven. Angel wings and the tops of paradisiacal trees are often touched with it. In some icons, gold hatching appears on the pointed domes of churches, never covering them, but making them glitter with rays. The ethereal quality of the rays of gold give the surface of the icon the appearance of live, glowing, moving light.

Fig. 1. Christ Enthroned in Glory by Andrei Rublev, 1400–1410, in the collection of the Tretyakov Gallery, Inv. No. 22124. View larger image

In general, gold hatching is used in icon painting with discretion. Gold hatching does not appear in icons where Christ’s humanity is stressed, where he "took upon him the form of a servant." But as soon as the artist sees Christ in glory, or wants to convey his imminent glorification, he introduces gold hatching.³ Christ as infant often glows with it when the artist needs to emphasize the eternal nature of the Child. This fine gold covers the garments of Christ in icons of the Transfiguration, the Resurrection, and the Ascension. He shines with the same specific divine brilliance when he is shown leading human souls out of hell or in paradise with the thief.

The strongest impact is achieved by the use of gold hatching where the artist needs to contrast the spiritual world of the heavens to the material universe. We can see this, for instance, in ancient icons of the Dormition. For example in two sixteenth-century icons of the Dormition,⁴ the Virgin reclining on her deathbed, in her dark clothes, remains corporeally on this plane of being, the one we can touch and can see with our earthly eyes. But the figure of Christ in light raiment, standing behind the bed with the Virgins soul in the guise of an infant in his arms, is clearly a vision of heaven. The whole figure shines and shimmers, separated from the intentionally heavy earthly colors by the otherworldly weightlessness of gold lines.

Brief History of Gilding in Russian Icons

The are two basic techniques of applying gold hatching: one is to adhere small pieces of gold leaf, called "skewings," and the other method is to paint gold finely ground in a binder, such as gum arabic, with a brush. Both techniques begin with gold leaf.

Fig. 2. Saint George, 12th century from the Cathedral of Saint George at the Yuriev Monastery in Novgorod. Egg tempera on Lime board overlaid with canvas, 2.30 X 1.42 m in the collection of the Tretyakov Gallery. View larger image

Gold and silver are forged into very thin leaves called "gold leaf" and "silver leaf." Until the last century, extremely thin sheets of gold and silver were forged by hand from annealed metals. For gilding, artists mostly use nearly pure gold, which is measured in karats—24 karats being pure gold. Gold leaf is available in many different tints—from greenish to reddish—depending on the amount of silver and copper admixtures. A higher gold content and/or greater amount of copper results in deeper tones of gold leaf. For example, the German gold beaters brand of Monarch 23 karat gold leaf is composed of 96% gold, 3% silver and 1% copper. The higher karat leaves are also more durable due to the higher gold content, which does not tarnish and oxidize. In the lower karats of leaf, such as 18, 16 and 12 karats, gold is alloyed with greater amounts of silver or other metals to achieve lighter colors.

In the earliest Russian icons, from about the tenth to fourteenth centuries, gold is of greenish tint because of its high content of silver. The gold leaf is also thicker than the gold leaf of icons of the fifteenth and sixteenth centuries. Such greenish gold can be seen in icons of the twelfth century George the Great Martyr, (fig. 2) Shoulder-Length Deesis, and on other icons up to the fourteenth century. After that period, gold leaf in Russian icons is thinner and has a bright yellow or reddish color, because it contains small amounts of copper. From the sixteenth century Russian icon painters began to use another type of gold leaf—"dvoinik"—two thin sheets of gold and silver forged together. The upper side of "dvoinik" is of gold while the lower side is silver.

Silver leaf was not used often in icon paintings. The earliest known example of easel painting using silver is in the halo of Saint Nicholas in the icon Saint Nicholas the Miracle-Worker from the Novodevichi Monastery in Moscow. This icon has been dated at the beginning of the thirteenth century, and is now located at the Tretyakov Gallery.

Imitations of silver using tin and of gold with copper are not often found in ancient icons. One notable example, however, is found in the icon Our Lady of the Tolga from the beginning of the fourteenth century, now in the collection of the Yaroslavl Art Museum, which background was covered by sheets of tin instead of silver. Tin covered with a glaze of ochre oil paint or yellow varnish is frequently encountered in icons of the nineteenth and twentieth centuries.

The technique of applying gold hatching most often found in ancient Russian icons is by grinding gold leaf in a gum base. In ancient Russian art all paints were originally called "tvoryoniye" (from the word "tvorit" meaning to grind). Since the nineteenth century, however, only gold and silver paints were called tvoryoniye.

Materials Needed for Gold Paint

To prepare gold for painting it must be mixed with a binder—gum arabic and water—to make a thick, viscous fluid. For this procedure we shall need the following items:

The quantity of gold necessary to prepare one portion of gold paint is usually ten leaves. It is the most suitable portion for the grinding process to produce high-quality gold paint.

To prepare the gum arabic-water solution you will need approximately one part of water to an equal amount in volume of gum arabic. The actual proportions here is not critical, but what is vital is that the consistency of the gum-water solution should be like thick honey. In a double boiler, heat the water and stir in the gum arabic. Powdered gum takes less time to dissolve then lumps, but complete dissolution still requires about two to three days. After the solution cools, cover and leave it until the solution is clear and the gum completely dissolved. Strain the gum solution through cheesecloth into a clean jar. Keep refrigerated when not in use for it spoils easily. Never heat this solution over a direct flame or heating element, for it will scorch.

Procedure for Preparing Gold Paint

The following procedure demonstrates how to make gold water-based paint. Alternatively, you can purchase a similar form of gold paint, called "shell gold," from the Natural Pigments online store.

Fig. 1 Pour gum arabic solution into a saucer Fig. 2. Stir the gum solution well		All images herein are taken from the multimedia CD-ROM, Yaroslavl Old Painting, courtesy of the Yaroslavl State University. Pour the gum arabic solution into a clean saucer enough to cover a quarter (a U.S. coin about 2.5 cm or one inch in diameter) and stir it with your forefinger until it becomes a homogenous mass. The gum arabic solution must have the consistency of thick honey; if it is thinner the gold pieces will form into pellets.
Fig. 3. Pick up a leaf of gold		With the same finger pick up a sheet of gold leaf and drop it onto the gum arabic solution in the saucer.
Fig. 4. Break up the leaf into small pieces		Break the gold leaf into smaller pieces by raising and pressing your finger repeatedly onto the leaf until the gold is mixed into the solution. Use only the vertical motion of your finger to mix the gold. Avoid rubbing the gold with a horizontal movement, otherwise it may roll into pellets and become difficult to grind. Pick up and pulverize the remaining nine leaves of gold in exactly the same manner.
Fig. 5. Grind the gold into fine particles Fig. 6. Add a few drops of water, if needed		Now you are ready to begin grinding the gold into fine particles. With the same finger grind the gold particles in the solution with a clockwise and counterclockwise motion. Applying pressure with your fingertip, grind the gold for thirty minutes. The gold will become fine particles only if the mixture has a thick consistency. If you feel that the mixture is too dry, add a drop or more of water from the glass with your fingertip.
Fig. 7. Add more gum arabic solution		When you can see and feel with your finger that the gold is ground into fine particles, the process of grinding is finished. Now you can make gold paint. For this add a little more gum arabic solution than was used at the beginning. Mix the gum arabic solution with ground gold for another fifteen to twenty minutes to make a uniform mass.
Fig. 8. Add water to the saucer Fig. 9. Mix the ground gold well with the water		We have mixed gold with gum arabic, but it is not yet paint. Now for the gold to glitter after it is burnished it is necessary to remove the excess gum arabic. To do this fill the three fourths of the saucer with water and carefully mix it with the ground gold. Afterwards let it stand for an hour. The gold particles will settle to the bottom of the saucer. Pour off the remaining clear water. Allow the gold to dry under a lamp. The dried gold is now ready to be applied to your painting. During the entire process it is important to keep the gold free from dust particles. Inexperienced artists may find it difficult to prepare gold paint at first. They may apply it and find that it rubs off easily, or does not shine after it has been burnished. There are several reasons for such failure. The first reason is that not enough gum arabic was used in the final paint, which will cause the gold to rub off after it is dried. Another reason is that too much gum arabic was added—gold particles are surrounded by excessive gum and will not glitter. Even after burnishing it may appear a dull yellowish brown color. A third reason is that the gold was not ground finely enough to make delicate fine lines in the painting.
Applying the Gold Paint To apply and finish the gold paint you will need the following materials: Materials Needed Gold paint (prepared beforehand) Kolinsky script brush (No. 1) Cup of pure water (preferably distilled) Agate "dogtooth" burnisher
Fig. 10. Load the brush with gold paint Fig. 11. Load the brush with gold paint		See the detail of the icon Christ in Glory for a model of how to gold paint on clothing. Load the brush with water and squeeze out the excess on the edge of the cup. Pick up gold paint with the brush by dragging it across the surface of the dried gold paint. Apply the paint in thin smooth brushstrokes to the highlight areas on clothing, called silki in Russian. To model volume in the clothing paint thin lines from silki, thick at the beginning and thin at the ends.
Fig. 12. "Feather highlights" on the maforian Fig. 13. The method of brush with gold paint		For painting gold highlights on the maforion of the Virgin Mary, a method called "feather highlights" is used. Thin lines are painted from silki in pairs and the space between them is filled with a more transparent layer of gold.
Fig. 14. "Inokop" method of painting		Another method of painting is called "inokop" in Russian. These are thin delicate lines painted nearly parallel to one another from the silki.
Fig. 15. Burnishing gold hatching		Once you have completed painting the gold, you will notice that it does not gleam like gold, but appears rather dull. To make the gold shine you must burnish it. Take the Agate burnisher and rub the gold using moderate pressure, but not too much so as to rub off the gold. After burnishing the gold begins to gleam.
Fig. 16. Detail of the finished icon with gold

Notes

1. Evgeniï Trubetskoï, Theology of Color (Crestwood, New York: St. Vladimir’s Seminary Press, 1976).

2. An example of assiste on the garments of Christ can be seen in the icon Christ Enthroned in Glory by Andrei Rublev, 1400–1410, in the collection of the Tretyakov Gallery, Inv. No. 22124.

3. This method of using assiste can be seen in the icon the Six Feast Days of the Week (Shestodnev or Hexameron), Moscow School, in the collection of the Tretyakov Gallery, Inv. No. 12058.

4. Dormition icon of the sixteenth century, Pskov School, in the collection of the Tretyakov Gallery, Inv. No. 12074; and the Dormition, Moscow School, c. 1497, in the collection of the Tretyakov Gallery, Inv. No. 28626.

© 2003 Iconofile. All rights reserved.