White Lining.—A black outline is often separated from the colour by a fine white line (see fig. [129]). White lines also are used to harmonise colours, one or more commonly being painted (or “penned”) upon the colours. This tends to make the colours appear paler and lighter—brightening them if they are dark. Care must be taken not to overdo the white lining, or it will make the colours chalky and cold. White is also used in groups of dots, and in fine patterns on backgrounds (see pp. [213], [430]).
Gold is even more effective than white or black for harmonising colours. It is commonly Burnished in bars or frames (see p. [481]), and in spots (pp. [481], [187]), or in large masses (p. [191]). Matt Gold (see below).
MATT GOLD
Matt gold, or gold “paint”—the pure gold powder with white of egg is best—is generally painted upon colour. It was much used in old miniatures for “hatching” and lighting landscapes, houses, costumes, &c.; and stars, rays of light, and outlines of clouds were painted in delicate gold lines upon the blue of the skies. Such gold lining has a very mellowing and pleasant effect upon colour, but it can easily be overdone. Matt gold may be used besides, for letters, ornament, and patterns painted upon colour. Such forms have either no outline, or a very faint one: their effect depends upon their lightness, and they are not made to appear solid. [p184]
A very pretty effect may be obtained in a small and not very formal manuscript by painting into the spaces left for the capitals little squares of red and blue, and painting upon these the letters and ornament—all in gold powder—very freely and quickly. The kind of treatment is rather crudely suggested by fig. [113]. The pleasant appearance of the pages—as though they were scattered over with tiny squares of cloth of gold and red and blue—is produced with comparative ease, while the use of leaf gold might entail an expenditure of more time and pains than the book was worth. In the finest class of manuscripts, however, these matt gold letters would be somewhat informal and out of place.
BURNISHED GOLD
Gold is always raised and burnished as bright as possible, unless there is a special reason for using matt gold.
The height to which it is raised varies, according to the effect desired, from a considerable thickness to the thinnest possible coat of “size.” Extremely thin and extremely thick raising are both objectionable (see p. [150]): roughly speaking, a suitable height for any ordinary purpose is between 1100 and 132 of an inch.