The History, Theory, and Practice of Illuminating: Condensed from 'The Art of Illuminating' by the same illustrator and authorWyatt, M. Digby (Matthew Digby), Sir
History
The History, Theory, and Practice of Illuminating: Condensed from 'The Art of Illuminating' by the same illustrator and author
Wyatt, M. Digby (Matthew Digby), Sir
Alphabet; Illumination of books and manuscripts; Initials
Most of the preceding remarks apply equally to stone; but in reference to
that material, there is one point to specially enforce,--namely, the
advisability of not covering the whole of the surface with paint. There is
about all stone a peculiar granulation, and in many varieties a slight
silicious sparkle, which it is always well to preserve as far as possible.
Illuminate, by all means, inscriptions, panels, friezes, &c., colour
occasionally the hollows of mouldings, and gild salient members
sufficiently to carry the colour about the monument, whether it may be a
font, a pulpit, a tomb, a reredos, a staircase, a screen, or a doorway, and
prevent the highly-illuminated portion from looking spotty and unsupported;
but by no means apply paint all over. It is not necessary to produce a good
effect; it destroys the surface and appearance of the stone, making it of
no more worth than if it were plaster, and it clogs up all the fine arrises
and angles of the moulded work or carving. Wherever stained glass is
inserted in stonework, the application of illumination, or at any rate of
coloured diaper-work of an analogous nature, is almost an imperative
necessity, in order to balance the appearance of chill and poverty given to
the stonework by its contrast with the brilliant translucent tints of the
painted glass. In illuminating stonework, it seldom answers to attempt to
apply decoration executed on paper or canvass; it should in all cases
(excepting when it is at a great distance from the eye) be done upon the
stone itself. The only exception is the one to which I shall allude in
speaking of metal.
Slate, although from its portability and non-liability to change its shape
under variations of temperature, a convenient material for filling panels,
and forming slabs for attachment to walls, is not to be recommended to the
amateur, owing to the difficulty he will experience in effecting a good and
safe adhesion between his pigments and the surface of the slate. In what is
called enamelled slate, an excellent attachment is secured by gradually and
repeatedly raising the slate to a high temperature; but the process would
be far too troublesome and expensive for practice by the great majority of
amateurs.
Public-domain text, read in full here on John Shaqi.
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