Pressed brocade is a late Gothic decorative technique that imitates woven silk brocade fabrics. These brocade fabrics, enriched with gold and/or silver threads, were replicated using a reproductive technique. We find “pressed brocade” as relief work on polychromed sculptures, panels, and in historical interiors. In this masterclass, you will create a “pressed brocade” piece based on a 15th-century example and go through the entire process to produce your own sheet of “pressed brocade” to take home.

By following this historical decorative technique step by step, you will learn the production of “pressed brocade” in all its intricacies. In an engraved mold, the three-dimensional shape of a textile fabric is copied using tin foil. This imprint is then gilded and painted with pigments. The final expression of the fabric is determined by the texture of the opaque or transparent paint layer in blue, red, or green hues. The hatching in the brocade sheet imitates the gold threads of a silk brocade fabric.

This masterclass is offered in collaboration with the Craftsmanship and Polychromy Workshop of the Academy of Fine and Audiovisual Arts Anderlecht, where historical painting and decoration techniques such as gilding and silvering with leaf metals, as well as techniques like pastiglia, pressed brocade, sgraffito, punchwork, gemstone decorations, are taught.

Sandy van Wissen (born 1968) works in the cultural heritage sector in Belgium, focusing on hands-on conservation, research, and restoration of polychromed sculptures. She is also part-time lecturer at the Craftsmanship and Polychromy Workshop, teaching both historical and modern decorative techniques.