What Is Silverpoint?

St. Barbara

Jan van Eyck

Metalpoint is using any type of metal to leave a mark on either paper or board that has been treated with a special ground.  Silverpoint refers to drawings made with a silver stylus.  Literally any kind of metal can be used, but the reason I like silver is because it doesn't stay gray: It tarnishes to a soft sepia brown-like color.  Gold, copper, lead, iron, zinc, platinum, aluminum, and brass have been used by artists.

Sometimes silverpoint is mistaken for goldpoint because it turns tawny, but goldpoint does not look like gold, surprisingly.  Instead it's a very pale, delicate gray.  I would like to try it in the future, but they styli are very expensive.

Metal will not work on just any surface.  It must be prepared with a special ground.  Pigment is combined with a binder; the pigment can be made from anything, and during the Middle Ages and Renaissance it was typically made from ground animal bones with a binder of rabbit skin glue.  Then the paper or wooden board was brushed with the ground and dried before use.

Silverpoint was used for documents as well as drawing.  Monks used it for illuminated manuscripts beginning in the 8th Century.  The old masters used it until graphite was discovered in the 17th Century.  

Silverpoint was virtually forgotten for hundreds of years. Cennino Cennini’s Il Libro dell’Arte 1390 manuscript, rediscovered in the 19th century, revealed the technique of silverpoint.  Artists are definitely intrigued by it, but it is an unpredictable medium.  It is very delicate, and it is very difficult to erase because if erased too hard, then the ground can be removed and the silverpoint won't stick to the paper.

I first became interested in silverpoint when I took our daughter to her art class at the Jules Collins Smith Museum of Fine Art at Auburn, University.  The museum was hosting an exhibit of Russian born and trained artist Viktor Koulbak.  I fell in love with his art. 

I have been learning how to use this medium, and one of the reasons I love it is because it's so portable: I only need paper primed for silverpoint and the pencil with stylus.  That's it!  I'm on the go quite a bit, so taking paper and a pen is easier than all my oil paints, canvases, mediums, solvents, etc....