''Verre églomisé'' is a French term referring to the process of applying both a

design A design is a plan or specification for the construction of an object or system or for the implementation of an activity or process or the result of that plan or specification in the form of a prototype, product, or process. The verb ''to design' ...

and gilding onto the rear face of glass to produce a mirror finish. The name is derived from the 18th-century French decorator and art-dealer Jean-Baptiste Glomy (1711–1786), who was responsible for its revival. Glomy's technique was a relatively simple one of applying decorative designs in a combination of plain colour and gilding, usually to glass picture frames. However, over time it has come to be used to describe nearly any process involving back-painted and gilded glass, however elaborate. The technique of back-painting glass actually dates back to pre-Roman eras. One of the key historical periods of the art was in Italy during the 13th to 16th centuries. Small panels of glass with designs formed by engraved gilding were applied to reliquaries and portable altars. The method used is described by

Cennino Cennini Cennino d'Andrea Cennini (c. 1360 – before 1427) was an Italian painter influenced by Giotto. He was a student of Agnolo Gaddi in Florence. Gaddi trained under his father, called Taddeo Gaddi, who trained with Giotto. Cennini was born in ...

. Other practitioners include Jonas Zeuner and Hans Jakob Sprungli (1559–1637). It has also been used throughout Europe since the 15th century, appearing in paintings, furniture, drinking glasses and similar vessels, and jewellery. It is also often seen in the form of decorative panels of mirrors, clock faces, and in more recent history, as window signs and advertising mirrors. The technique was explored by the

Blue Rider ''Der Blaue Reiter'' (The Blue Rider) is a designation by Wassily Kandinsky and Franz Marc for their exhibition and publication activities, in which both artists acted as sole editors in the almanac of the same name, first published in mid-May ...

group of artists in the 1920s who turned what had been a folk art into fine art. Indeed, artists of the caliber of

Kandinsky Wassily Wassilyevich Kandinsky (; rus, Василий Васильевич Кандинский, Vasiliy Vasilyevich Kandinskiy, vɐˈsʲilʲɪj vɐˈsʲilʲjɪvʲɪtɕ kɐnʲˈdʲinskʲɪj; – 13 December 1944) was a Russian painter a ...

Marc Marc or MARC may refer to: People * Marc (given name), people with the first name * Marc (surname), people with the family name Acronyms * MARC standards, a data format used for library cataloging, * MARC Train, a regional commuter rail system o ...

Klee Paul Klee (; 18 December 1879 – 29 June 1940) was a Swiss-born German artist. His highly individual style was influenced by movements in art that included expressionism, cubism, and surrealism. Klee was a natural draftsman who experimented wi ...

and

Gabriele Münter Gabriele Münter (19 February 1877 – 19 May 1962) was a German expressionist painter who was at the forefront of the Munich avant-garde in the early 20th century. She studied and lived with the painter Wassily Kandinsky and was a founding mem ...

produced glass paintings. there are very few artists using the technique as a fine art - the Irish artist Yanny Petters is one of them. However, as part of the renaissance in traditional techniques, there are various commercial artists who use this technique. In the gilding process, the silver, gold or other metal leaf is fixed using a gelatin adhesive which, after steaming, results in a mirror-like, reflective finish. The design can be applied by various techniques, often by reverse painting prior to gilding, or by engraving the design into the gilded layer, or even into the glass. When painting an elaborate design such as a flower, the artist's natural methodology is reversed, with highlights applied first and the background applied last. The metal leaf may also be applied using oil-based adhesives (goldsize varnish) to achieve a matte finish. It is to be distinguished from "sandwiched"

gold glass Gold glass or gold sandwich glass is a luxury form of glass where a decorative design in gold leaf is fused between two layers of glass. First found in Hellenistic Greece, it is especially characteristic of the Roman glass of the Late Empire ...

where gold leaf is glued to a piece of glass, and often then scraped off to form a design, and a further layer of hot glass is then applied on top and fused to seal the gold inside. In recent years, the term Verre Églomisé has also been used to describe gilded and distressed mirrors which have no actual design or pattern applied, but this is taking it a further step away from its source. A better term for these would be "Distressed Hand-Gilded Mirror".

References

External links

''verre églomisé''
example on a painted screen/room divider (top left).

a history of the technique and a short film demonstrating the technique. {{DEFAULTSORT:Verre Eglomise Glass art Gilding