Painting and gilding

The painting and the gilding industry of the carved objects emerged gradually between the 17th and the 18th century. Many figures were painted by the sculptors themselves, but the big statues and the altars were painted and completed in Castelrotto, Funes, Bolzano or Bressanone. The more delicate toys were even dispatched to Bavaria. Only at the end of the 18th century, some families of the valley decided to dedicate themselves to the painting and the gilding of the wooden figures. Thenceforth Val Gardena’s industry has reached the high perfection and originality which still characterizes it today.

In order to expedite the production to the maximum and to increase the profit, the painting process was divided into various phases: at first the big surfaces were painted and then one after the other all the details – the eyes, the hair, the lips, the buttons, the shoes etc. The simplest tasks were performed by the children. Between the various phases, the sculptures were put on the bench around the oven for drying. Finally, so as to avoid the bleaching of the colours on the carvings, a kind of varnish was put on them, which was produced by blending pure alcohol with fir and larch resin. This process was quite dangerous as it was necessary to heat the alcohol, and the risk that the house caught fire was not to be underestimated.

The first gilders in Ortisei were Joachim Unterplatzer, Thaddeo Oberbacher and Josef Großrubatscher.

 

Bergland » Painting and gilding