240px, Detail from the altarpiece of the church of de San Benito el Real (Valladolid)c. 1530 Estofado () is an artistic technique that imitates the appearance of gold

brocade Brocade is a class of richly decorative shuttle-woven fabrics, often made in colored silks and sometimes with gold and silver threads. The name, related to the same root as the word "broccoli", comes from Italian ''broccato'' meaning "embos ...

. The term comes from the Italian "stoffa" (fabric) in reference to the fine textiles it seeks to reproduce. Its origin is found in the

Gothic Gothic or Gothics may refer to: People and languages *Goths or Gothic people, the ethnonym of a group of East Germanic tribes **Gothic language, an extinct East Germanic language spoken by the Goths **Crimean Gothic, the Gothic language spoken b ...

period, its use became more popular during the

renaissance The Renaissance ( , ) , from , with the same meanings. is a period in European history marking the transition from the Middle Ages to modernity and covering the 15th and 16th centuries, characterized by an effort to revive and surpass ideas ...

and

baroque The Baroque (, ; ) is a style of architecture, music, dance, painting, sculpture, poetry, and other arts that flourished in Europe from the early 17th century until the 1750s. In the territories of the Spanish and Portuguese empires including t ...

periods, particularly in

Spain , image_flag = Bandera de España.svg , image_coat = Escudo de España (mazonado).svg , national_motto = ''Plus ultra'' (Latin)(English: "Further Beyond") , national_anthem = (English: "Royal March") , i ...

and its cultural sphere of influence, where it became prevalent. While estofado is mostly used for wooden sculpture, either statuary in the round or reliefs, it is can also be used on other mediums, such as stone sculptures or

panel painting A panel painting is a painting made on a flat panel of wood, either a single piece or a number of pieces joined together. Until canvas became the more popular support medium in the 16th century, panel painting was the normal method, when not paint ...

s. In 1777 the "Real Academia de Bellas Artes de San Fernando" assumes the authority to approve all designs for new altarpieces, and according to the new Neoclassical tastes, required that polychrome woulld should be replaced with "marble or other suitable stones". This shift in style caused the technique to be relegated to a secondary level, and was seen as common or popular by the cultured society.

Gallery

References

* Roman, Rolf, ''Baroque: Architecture, Sculpture, Painting'', 2007
Explanation of the "Estofado" technique on the Getty Museum website

Definition from glosarioarquitectonico.com

Definition of Estofado by Merriam-Webster
{{reflist Artistic techniques Gold Metal plating