Shimmering Virtue: Joris Hoefnagel and the Uses of Shell Gold in the Early Modern Period

Abstract

While there is a rich literature on the use of gold leaf in painting, its powdered form known as shell gold, a pigment applied with brushes, has received far less attention. This chapter provides a historical overview of this exclusive painters’ material and focuses on two artworks by the Antwerp miniaturist Joris Hoefnagel (1542–1600) that specifically demonstrate the use of shell gold as a mediating material. Each painting exemplifies how Hoefnagel fashioned his artistic virtuosity through the use of shell gold and through visual references to this material. Additionally, two historical shell-gold recipes have been reconstructed to enhance the understanding of the material and provide a glimpse into the practitioner’s own physical involvement.