The Finished Icon.

Glory to God! The Icon is completed!
If an iconographer was paid Australian minimum wage for their work, this icon which measures 30cm x 42cm would cost $3000 including materials.

Painting the Icon (Part Two) - Gilding the Icon

The gilded Icon

 Gilding is the application of pure gold leaf to an Icon.

A sheet of gold leaf.

Gold leaf is gold which has been beaten into tissue thinness. It comes in squares of 80 x 80 mm (3.15 x 3.15 inches), and to give you an idea of how thin it is, 1000 sheets of gold leaf weigh approximately 14 grams (less than half an ounce!)

Contrary to popular belief, an Icon is usually gilded before it is painted. The reason for this is because the gold can be painted over if need be, whereas it's well near impossible to remove gold leaf accidentally applied to a painted surface without damaging the paint.

To gild the icon, the surface to be gilded is prepared by applying a layer of "Armenian bole" (pronounced "bowl"), which is a very fine clay and which actually does come from Armenia. This is mixed with rabbit skin glue or gelatine and applied to the parts of the icon to be gilded and then sanded and polished. The bole provides a much smother surface for the gold leaf which is highly reflective and therefore will show any lumps or depressions on the surface of the icon board. It also allows for the gold to be burnished (polished).






 Once the bole has been applied, it is sanded and polished, and a layer of "gold size" is applied. Gold size is an adhesive which remains "tacky" for a long time after drying, and causes the gold leaf to adhere to the surface of the icon. It takes about half an hour for the gold size to be ready after it's applied, and if any dust particles or anything else settles on it, it will show up as a lump when the highly reflective gold leaf is later applied. For this reason, prior to applying the gold size, the air in the icon studio is thoroughly sprayed with a fine mist of water to moisten any airborne dust and cause it to fall to the ground.

Burnishing the gold leaf with an agate burnisher.

Once the size is ready, the gold leaf is applied, and then burnished using an "agate burnisher" - a tool with a very smooth piece of agate stone on the end. 

The symbolism of the gilding is significant. We start with Earth (bole) and finish with Gold. The Earth is what God made us from, and therefore represents our humanity. The Gold reflects the Sun and therefore represents Heaven and Divinity. As we progress through the process of "theosis" or "deification", or humanity becomes united through Grace with the Divine Energies and shines with Uncreated Light. This is what the Haloes of the Saints in the Icons remind us of and represent.