gold threads

Luxury fabrics like gold brocades, velours, lampas, gold-brocaded silks and gold-brocaded velvets were very precious and costly items to own. Then the texture, color, appearance was often executed in different techniques and materials. The created an another way of light reflection in the surface. The gold ground had mostly a sacred, spiritual meaning but was later on seen as an extra color. Alberti mentioned that the use of gold should be avoided and the effect should instead be achieved with only paint. After his mention many artists avoided or used less of the metal leafs. Some integrated them in the paintings that it didn't stand out too much. Some applied paint or glazes over them. The gold threads could also be obtained by working on a gold ground with incised lines with a stylus or punched dots. Another way was by laying thick mordant in mostly parallel lines that were applied with a brush and sometimes with a pen. Most of them are oil or oil-resin based with sometimes additions of lead white of verdigris. The gold leaf was then applied to the sticky mordant.

Later on the use of metal leafs was left behind, and the brocade were mostly obtained by the use of paint. Paint that was applied several layers. The golden highlights that form the gold threads were applied last in the final phase of the painting. Depending on the artist it was done very schematic and parallel or more experimental.