Craftsmanship
Verre
Églomisé
The ancient art of gilding and painting on the reverse of glass, creating surfaces of extraordinary depth, warmth and luminosity that cannot be replicated by any other means.
The ancient art of gilding and painting on the reverse of glass, creating surfaces of extraordinary depth, warmth and luminosity that cannot be replicated by any other means.
A gold-leafed mirror panel is not a surface, it is a field of light that shifts with every hour of the day.
Verre églomisé takes its name from Jean-Baptiste Glomy (1711–1786), a Parisian frame-maker who popularised the technique of gilding the reverse face of glass and engraving through the leaf to create a decorative design. The technique itself is considerably older — reverse glass gilding appears in medieval manuscripts and early Venetian mirrors — but Glomy's work brought it to wide decorative use, and the name has remained.
The method works by laying gold, silver or metal leaf onto the rear face of the glass using gelatine size as an adhesive. Leaf is applied to the lightest areas first; darker tones and background colours follow in successive layers — highlights before background. The glass face is the viewing face and is never touched during the work. The result is a surface of unusual depth: the gold appears to sit behind the glass rather than on it. Available leaf types include gold, silver, platinum, copper, aluminium, nickel, chrome and bronze.
Make Bespoke Studio works with specialist verre églomisé artists to produce panels to commission, from satin-finish gold panels and antiqued silver mirror work to architectural compositions in metal leaf and polychrome. Commissions range from small furniture insets to full-height feature wall panels.
The glass panel is cut to size, thoroughly cleaned and degreased. Even a fingerprint on the gilding surface will prevent proper adhesion of the leaf.
A thin layer of gelatine size is applied and allowed to tack. Gold, silver or specialist metal leaf is laid piece by piece with a gilder's tip, building up from lightest to darkest — highlights first, background last. Multiple layers build depth and tonal range.
Working from the reverse, the artist engraves or paints into the leaf to develop the design. Because the glass face is the viewing face, all work is executed in mirror image; scale and composition must be planned with this in mind from the outset.
The completed panel is sealed on the reverse with a protective paint or backing material, and the glass face, which is now the viewing face, is cleaned and polished.
Gold, silver, platinum, copper, aluminium, nickel, chrome and bronze leaf are all workable on glass. High-carat gold will not tarnish. Silver can be sealed to stabilise the finish or left to develop a natural patina over time. Copper and brass leaf oxidises — depending on the commission, the resulting shift in surface quality can be a deliberate choice rather than a problem to avoid.
Variegated leaf — mechanically shredded into fine flakes — creates different surface effects depending on application: sprinkled lightly onto a tacky ground for broken colour, or pressed flat to produce a cracked finish. Imitation metals require sealing with lacquer to prevent tarnish. Dutch gold (imitation gold leaf) ages and deepens in character over time; some commissions specify this quality deliberately.
Glass used is typically low-iron at 4–12mm, selected on the basis of application and installation requirements. Toughened glass cannot be altered once processed — dimensions, edge details, cut-outs and bevels must all be confirmed before the glass is sent for toughening. The viewing face is never touched during the work.
Verre églomisé works at any scale. A small inset panel in a piece of furniture and a full-height architectural installation are both within range. It is most effective where it can catch and interact with changing light — at a bar back, as a mirror wall, or as a cabinet inset seen from across a room.
Commissions begin with drawings. Designers and architects can supply their own artwork for execution in églomisé, or the studio develops compositions and colour palettes to brief. Scaled sketches and physical samples of the specified technique are produced for approval before work on the commission piece begins.
Verre églomisé is executed in reverse — highlights before background, the glass face never touched during the work. The build sequence must be resolved before leafing starts; adjustments to composition or colour are straightforward at that point and difficult after. Samples establish both the design and the process before the commission piece is committed to.
Scale is not a constraint. Commissions range from small furniture insets to full-height wall panels. Site-specific architectural installations are coordinated with the installation team at the specification stage. Lead times depend on scale and complexity.
