The gilding or metal leafing process dates back to 2300 BC when artisans discovered a way to hammer gold into fine sheets and adhere them to objects. Images of goldsmiths making gold leaves appear in Egyptian paintings and metal leafing appears in Phoenician and Early Chinese artwork. Metal leafing appears constantly throughout art history, including Byzantine icons and mosaics, as a staple of Medieval illuminated manuscripts and as a widely popular finish for Baroque period sculpture, frames and furniture.

Historically the gold or silver would have been placed between sheets of parchment and pounded with wooden mallets until it was thin and malleable. The sheets were then cut down and placed between sheets of paper for their protection. Today's technology allows the production of micro-thin sheets from a number of metals and alloys that can easily take the shape of the item being gilded, such as sculptures, frames, jewelry and mixed media artworks. Metal leafing comes in many varieties: gold, silver and copper as well as variegated (irregular color patterns) greens, reds and blues. It can be made from genuine gold, genuine silver or a composite of metals created to have the look of gold.

Click here for a tutorial on metal leafing.

Click here to see metal leafing used in the work of contemporary painter Paul Hunter.

Stage #F - Paul Hunter - Bronze, Gold & Acrylic on Canvas