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.
10 minutes (closed captioned)