Gesso

A thick, water-base paint commonly formed of plaster, chalk, or gypsum bound together with a glue.

A thick, water-base paint commonly formed of plaster, chalk, or gypsum bound together with a glue. Gesso is used in manuscript illumination as a ground for some gilding processes, since it forms a raised surface ideal for burnishing and tooling (see Tooled). Methods of gesso preparation varied.

  • French:
    Imprimure
  • Italian:
    Imprimitura
  • Spanish:
    Imprimación

Michelle Brown, Understanding Illuminated Manuscripts (Malibu, CA: J. Paul Getty Museum in association with the British Library, c1994).