Sticks & Stones: Gold Leaf

Each installment of our Sticks & Stones series presents the history, evolution, and unusual uses of a single material. You can find our article about gold leaf at my.meural.com/editorial/10.

From its earliest use in art, gold has signified a connection to the divine, earning it reverence from cultures around the world. The metal is far too soft to be used in tools, but is extremely easy to shape and mold. It never tarnishes, and it sparkles in the light, which has led it to be closely associated with purity and holiness.

While gold leaf is most immediately associated with Medieval Europe, it has come to occupy a significant place in the world of modern painting as well. Of the modern artists who have employed gold leaf in their work—often to draw connections between their subjects and holy figures venerated in the Medieval era—the most famous is undoubtedly Gustav Klimt. During Klimt’s “golden phase,” he created a series of figurative works with gold leaf that are the most widely celebrated of his entire oeuvre.