THE ILLUMINATION OF ARTWORK IN STENCILLED MOTIFS

The age-old process of stencilled motifs goes back to the 5th century. Stencilling is the only method of recreating miniatures without changing the colour or the material, but the technique of stencilling is certainly unappreciated. In the Larousse dictionary, in fact, we can read this definition of a stencil : "A sheet of cardboard or metal with a design cut out. This design is transferred by using a brush for colouring."

The colourist restores
the exact tone and the
most subtle nuances.

If the principle is simple, we are certainly far from the multiple applications of this apparently rudimentary process. These different applications were at their height less than 50 years ago. With no means other than manual ability, the artistic sense of the creator and the knowledge and knacks inherited from the traditions of the workshop ; with no ther support than a weakly-printed line and even without the aid of a representation underneath, the colourist reconstitutes the exact tones, the slightest nuances and the most subtle values, using the same colours, water-colour or gouache, used by the painter.

After analyzing the colours of the original, the colourist or the stencil cutter reconstitutes the necessary forms by drawing the contours of the future "templates," or stencils. These are then cut using a penknife and consigned to the colourist. Using brushes of different sizes, one stencil after another, the different colours are applied. Tone upon tone or by juxtaposition, each colour shaded and merged with another, the final print is now definitive. The limited number of colourists, the important repetition of passages in colour and the patient cadence of brushing by hand all impose long periods for completion. The stencilled motif is a completely manual operation, and for this reason a difficulty and a rarity. It is also one of the essential components which assure the lasting quality and value of this type of print.

An operation requiring great
delicacy to prevent the
colours from leaking.

Board extracted the book
"Perceval le Gallois"
Editions du cadran 1993.

Working on the illustrations for the Booklovers' editions of "Marco Polo" and "Perceval le Gallois", Alain Thomas worked closely with the illuminators and discovered the stencilling technique which gives the replicas of his watercolour drawings the same material and the same colouring as his originals. No other procedure gives the same result. Each replica requires an average of 35 stencils or different colours, but certain original compositions by Alain Thomas require up to 125 ! In this case, each stencil corresponds to a nuance, not simply to a colour. The same watercolour, for example, can have up to 10 different shades of green..

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Board extracted the book
"Marco Polo"
Editions du cadran 1987.

A certificate of authenticity, signed by Alain Thomas and the illuminator, is enclosed with each purchase of an illumination, guaranteeing a world-wide limited impression.

Discover the secrets which combine technical mastery and precision for the creation of authentic works of art.