Gold Ground
A technique where artists cover the background of a painting with real gold leaf.
What is it?
Gold ground is a technique used in medieval and early Renaissance painting. The artist applies very thin sheets of gold (gold leaf) to the wooden panel before painting. The gold is usually left as the background, especially in religious paintings. It makes the scene look heavenly and holy. The gold reflects light, so the painting seems to glow. The Ascension of Christ painting has a gold ground. The gold background shows that the scene is in heaven, not on earth.
Why it matters
Gold ground made paintings expensive and special. It showed that the artwork was important. The gold also symbolized the light of God.
Where you've seen it
This list grows as you capture more artworks with gold ground.
