Gesso: In the broad sense it is a mixture of a plaster or like substance and a glue. Its purpose was to present the painter with a smooth, hard, white ground on which to paint. Owing to its hard brittle nature it could not be applied successfully to canvas or metal sheets. It was from the start intended for application to wood panels. The method was to first either size the wood panel or to size down coarse muslin or linen. When this was dry the first coat of the gesso would be put on, the coarse gesso rosso. Two or three days later would be put on the fine gesso sottile, and nearly always there would be a number of coats of the latter. When the gesso had hardened it could be smoothed flat, if there were any imperfections, with a block of pumice. The resultant surface would have an ivory smoothness and hardness. The earliest type of gesso made in medieval times used parchment glue and well-slaked plaster of Paris. The curds from long-soured milk were also used in place of the glue. Later recipes included rabbit-skin glue and precipitated chalk and whiting. The gesso could also receive the imprint of tools with decorative gilding, and be coated over mouldings or other decorations included with the panel.

 

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Wooden Panels: Up till the 15th century and the coming of canvas nearly all the portable paintings in Europe were executed on wooden panels. The Flemish and the French painters preferred oak, the Italians . . . View Full Definition

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Gold Ground: Many of the painters of the 15th and 16th centuries used grounds either covered or partially covered with gold-leaf. The underlying ground would be gesso. On top of this would be brushed a t . . . View Full Definition