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Question asked 2017-01-01 14:23:56 ...
Most recent comment 2017-01-02 09:39:00
Egg Tempera
Gilding
Can you place gold leaf over an area that has been painted in egg tempera?
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Moderator Answer
(Baade, Brian)
Yes you can although you will need to use an oil or other mordant for gilding. Additionally, any texture in the paint will be amplified by the gilding. Mordant gilding over tempera was very commonly used in the early Renaissance (in addition to sgraffito) to create small gilded details
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Moderator Answer
(Kristin deGhetaldi)
Also you may find some of the information on our Kress Technical Art History Website relating to gilding practices useful. We cover both water gilding and mordant gilding. Be sure to look at some of the egg tempera reconstructions that contain gilded passages as well.
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Moderator Answer
(Baade, Brian)
Yes, also what Koo said in terms of accidentally adhering gold to fresh paint. As to the application of egg water to a surface. I know that many like to do this. I do have slight worries about the practice when it is applied over paint that will not be later covered by additional layers of tempera. There has been some discussion that such a layer provides a superabundance of fatty acids which may play a part in exacerbating the development of fatty acid efflorescence. Even this is not a huge issue and probably it would not even be enough reason to stop using the technique if it serves an important purpose as Koo has indicated.
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