Introduction to Verre Églomisé

Verre eglomise has the defining features of gilding and reverse painting on glass. The work is always applied on the back of the glass in a reverse manner. The gilding and paint can be applied and worked in a number of different ways, but it is always cold work, not kiln-fired like stained glass painting.

It has a long history with examples dating back over 2000 years although the name "verre églomisé" is a relatively recent and convenient way to describe the art. There have been many different periods and applications through history, from very high-end work commissioned for royalty to naïve folk art.

Today it is a niche art with a small but devoted number of practitioners. Many people may be aware of the existence of gold leaf windows signs or seen some antiques using glass gilding, but the knowledge of verre églomisé as an artform is still relatively low, even amongst design professionals.

The range of suitable applications make it an art with exciting new possibilities in interior design and architecture. With the exposure available through the Internet our work is now finding markets around the world.

I hope this resource is informative and promotes the awareness and growth of the art. I also hope the descriptions of the techniques is useful for other artists and opens some new doors for you.