The Gilded Bevel

The Gilded Bevel

By Charles Douglas

Gilded bevels are a great addition to many types of frame designs. Photos by Doug Manelski. Bevels, frame, and artwork courtesy of Artech Fine Art Framing, Seattle, WA.

Gold leaf gilding has worked its way through the ages as a form of decorative embellishment and spiritual symbolism, from its earliest sacred expression in worship of the sun god Ra to the adornment of palaces and temples; from Byzantine icons and thirteenth-century Italian gilded tempera paintings to the works of Austrian Symbolist Gustav Klimt and the contemporary painted works of a growing number of fine artists.

Gilding is most commonly thought of as using genuine gold leaf involving various karats of both gold and white gold. However, gilding also includes the use of genuine silver, platinum, palladium, brass, aluminum, copper, and a variety of metal combinations to form specialty leafs such as Moon Gold, Red Gold, Caplain, and others.

Gilding has been the predominant form of adornment of frames, from the earliest tabernacles to today’s extensive offerings. But there is also another element that is selectively used in the presentation of works of art: the gilded bevel. Created by forming a 45-degree beveled cut along the sight edge of various ply matboards, the beveled area may be gilded, providing an additional segue between frame and art while enhancing the beauty in the presentation of the artwork.

There are several different approaches to gilding that use an array of glues or adhesives, including rabbit skin glue, oil size, acrylic emulsion, gum ammoniac, gum arabic, egg white, garlic, among others. The two methods that are appropriate for gilding bevels are water gilding and mordant (oil) gilding.

As a gilder for the past 35 years, I have had the opportunity to explore and provide a variety of approaches to gilding bevels, the most exquisite of which is water gilding. Gilders may burnish the leaf on a bevel to a high luster for a bold statement or lightly rub the leaf to delicately reveal the underlying clay bole.

22 KT burnished water-gilded bevel with red bole and medium rub

Water gilding can technically bedone on Masonite, although its use is contingent on archival requirements and availability of Ph-neutral board. The gilding, however, responds very well to the hard surface. Another option is 8-ply matboard, which can allow framers to offer their customers an upgrade to their overall framing packages.

To offer customers water-gilded bevels, a framing retailer will either need the in-house capability to create them or have access to a frame manufacturer or custom gilder who can. Water gilding matboard uses the same process as gilding moulding, although extra steps are needed to physically stabilize the board due to its fragile nature—especially if the matboard is large. Water gilding steps include:

1. Sizing the gilded area with a 10 percent rabbit skin glue solution;

2. Applying gilder’s gesso to the surface area to be gilded, extending approximately 1 ¼'' from the inner edge of the bevel;

3. Sanding the gesso with 320- grit sandpaper and a final 600- grit light gesso polish, which helps remove the previous sand marks;

4. Applying five thin layers of clay bole for an opaque covering with a color choice that will best complement the artwork;

5. Gilding with a leaf suitable for the art (for example, gold is considered neutral—which is one of the reasons it has worked well in framing for so many years— while white gold, palladium, and even platinum are often good choices for black-andwhite photos);

6. Rubbing through the leaf in varying degrees to reveal the color of the bole and gentle overlaps of the leaf (toning may also be applied over the leaf, often involving a light coat of raw umber casein to “antique” either gold or white gold, or perhaps a black casein wash over palladium).

The alternative to water gilding is mordant, or oil, gilding. This method can involve a wide variety of sizes (adhesives). For bevels, the two main options are oil size and acrylic emulsion, which is available from various brands.

Oil-gilded aluminum leaf, toned with airbrushed raw umber tinted shellac

Incorporating a mordant-gilded bevel offers added elegance to certain framed artworks and is more cost-effective for your customer than a water-gilded bevel. It still performs the same function as its water-gilded counterpart—gently taking the viewer’s eye into the world of the art.

I have found that brass and aluminum leafs work best when mordant gilding a bevel. For those who would like to explore adding this capability to their frame shop, the easiest method would be to use acrylic emulsion size. When applied, it dries to a tack, like oil size: but unlike oil size, it remains in a tacky (or “open”) state much longer, allowing for a more relaxed gilding process for those with minimal experience.

A piece of 23 KT Double Manetti gold leaf with some tools of the trade, including a gilders knife and burnisher.

There are unique steps involved with mordant-gilding a bevel.

1. Seal the gilded surface area so the acrylic emulsion lies on top. There are different ways of sealing and providing an underlayer before mordant gilding. One way is to seal off the gilded area from the rest of the matboard so only 1 ¼'' around the beveled area shows, and then applying a spray enamel primer followed by an enamel paint—whether red or black. Another way is to apply via brush a painted undercoat such as Sepp Leaf’s Gilding Workshop Primer in either gray, yellow, or red. Although gesso can be used for a smoother undercoat, it’s possible to mordant gild without it, especially if the gilding is to be toned.

2. Once the paint has thoroughly dried, gently buff the painted undercoat with 3M Scotch-Brite or ‘0000’ steel wool to apply a little ‘tooth’ to the surface; then apply a thin layer of acrylic emulsion over the painted area and let dry to a tack. Gilding will be ready in about 30 minutes, although I have found that I can come back the next day and still gild this emulsion quite well. In all mordant gilding, the longer the size dries, the brighter the gild—so long as the size is still open to receive the leaf (oil size has a much more definitive time period to watch for).

3. When you can drag your knuckle across the sized area and hear a squeak, the leaf can now be laid. When using booklets of leaf such as composition gold (brass leaf) or aluminum, simply open the booklet, expose the leaf, and lay down sections of the leaf while rubbing the backing paper as if using transfer paper.

4. Allow to dry overnight and shellac the leaf. Although I prepare my own shellac with blond dewaxed flakes and ethyl alcohol, the Zinsser Spray version is suitable to help guard against oxidization and warming the leaf.

5. Buff the surface with rottenstone and cheesecloth to cut the gloss of the shellac and to help create a finished appearance. A raw umber casein wash may now be applied, followed by an additional shellac coat and rottenstone buff. You may also leave it as-is for a simple, modern gilded appearance.

6. Set a fabric-covered top mat over the gilded mat, revealing only the gilded bevel.

9 KT white gold leaf, water-gilded over red bole with a light rub

Gilded bevels are an excellent way to add value to your frame and mat design presentation while truly setting off the artwork in a special way. I find that they work best with photography and works of art on paper such as botanicals, pastels, and watercolors.

Charles is a gilder in private practice in Seattle, WA, specializing in traditional water gilding, oil gilding, glass gilding, and restoration. His focus is primarily now in the teaching of the gilding arts and holds gilding workshops in his Seattle studio, Sepp Leaf Products in New York, and other locations throughout the US and Canada. He also publishes the quarterly Gilding Arts Newsletter and is an instructor at The National Conference in Las Vegas.