Skip to Main Content

Drawing in Silver and Gold: Leonardo to Jasper Johns

This film was produced in conjunction with the exhibition Drawing in Silver and Gold: Leonardo to Jasper Johns. Used by artists since the Middle Ages, metalpoint in its simplest form involves inserting gold or silver wire into a stylus to make drawings on paper prepared with an abrasive coating. Kimberly Schenck, head of paper conservation at the National Gallery of Art, demonstrates the process of preparing the paper; Mark Leithauser, the Gallery’s chief of design, demonstrates various ways of drawing with metal; and Stacey Sell, associate curator in the department of old master drawings, comments on the techniques used by the artists. This film is made possible by the HRH Foundation.

04/28/15