tin foil

Tin foil is also called stannuol. The use of tin foil offers a number of advantages like that it was cheaper was than other metal foil back then, it was heat-conducting material, it oxidated less then for example silver leaf,it could be used as an artistic tool, it rendered sharp prints and allowed a fast manufacture of the reliefs. Tin foil was a material that was used for different purposes and techniques. It can be used for applied brocade, for creating relief applications with tin foil, for imitating gold with a yellow glaze (corladura). A recipe for the making of applied brocade can also be found in the Tegernsee manuscript. The technique of applied brocade was also used to imitate the texture, material and appearance of the luxury fabrics at that time. It could be done with the help of pattern formed in a mould, where the tin foil was formed by beating with a hammer on flax fibers that were laid on the back. After that the fill mass was applied on the back. The press brocade sheet could be taken out of the mould with a knife. The gold threads could also be imitated with engraved and punched accents or with mordant. In a later phase the brocade were painted in oil paint without the use of metal foils. The applied brocade can be continuous or isolated. The brocades on figures can be applied fully covering on for example the clothes, as an isolated pattern on a already prepared polychromed space, on the edge of the garments. The example here shows the tin foil as a support for painting the head of saint Luke. The foil was applied on the painting itself. The drawing was transferred from punched parchment on to the tin foil. This to give the outer contours of the drawing. The tin foil can also be textured with for example the imprint of threads or dots and was then applied on the panel on the garments of the figures. These areas were later on integrated in the painting. Somme accents were painted on them. Also certain attributes or the donor figures could be painted on tin foil and then be applied on the desired surface.

painting on tin foil