Silverpoint

A silver pin is similar to the pencil of silver a crayon. In the 15th century was the heyday of silverpoint drawing. But even today, the silver pin of artists used. In most cases, the silver pin was replaced by the pencil.

History

The silver pin was used for drawings, but also for sketching of paintings.

He has been known under the metal pins in ancient Roman times and was widespread throughout the Middle Ages character means. Cennino Cennini mentions in 1400 the silver pin in his painting guides. The pen develops with the outgoing Gothic and the beginning of the early Renaissance to the actual means of the autonomous drawing, that is, the drawing itself is a work of art and is no longer aids and precursor to the actual work. Its peak experience the art in the second half of the 15th century. Jan van Eyck, Leonardo da Vinci, Hans Holbein, Albrecht Dürer, Hans Baldung and others have the silver pin frequently used. After 1500 he comes more and more into disuse, which probably is related to the change in style without sacrificing the 16th century. There appear only sporadically works on this technique. The 19th century discovered the pen in the course of the romance again and use it primarily for portraits. In the 20th century Joseph Meder suggested in 1909 the booklet from Silbersteft the artists to step forward to deal with the silver pen. Examples include Otto Dix and Franz Lenk.

Old, received silver pins usually consist of a solid metal pen of copper or bronze, on a short round silver tip is soldered. They are often richly decorated, and have a loop on the end for attaching a cord for the valuable pen is not so easily lost. Today, a mine is simply inserted with a silver tip in a conventional ballpoint pen. Such mines are in the artists need to buy.

Method

The pen itself is slightly rounded so that it does not scratch the drawing pad. The surface must be slightly rough so that the silver rub off from the pin. Nevertheless, only thin light gray lines are possible. Over time these darken to a brown color by the formation of silver sulfide. Silver sulfide is actually black, but looks for the small amount of rather brownish. This darkening is supported by a sulphurous character base.

As a sign of support was with pumice peached parchment or coated paper used. The coating here was composed of animal bones, gypsum, chalk and glue water, and egg yolk was added. Gypsum and egg yolk contain sulfur, which ensures a better and faster darkening than would be possible only to air. Today is recommended as a base a coat of lithopone, here the zinc sulfide contained in the lithopone brings with sulfur.

In the book by Kurt Wehlte materials and techniques of painting three recipes for silverpoint reasons are mentioned.

Drawing technique

With the silver pen only thin, delicate lines can be drawn. An area fill is only possible through hatches, so similar to engravings or etchings. A once set initially fine gray line of the rapidly oxidized to brown can not be removed with an eraser. Purpose of the coating surface must be scraped off, but remains visible or painted over with a new String reason.