John the Baptist - Repousse Icon

From the Repousse Collection by Mary Jane Miller and Valentin Gomez

JOHN THE BAPTIST - Repousse Icon

Egg tempera, 23 kt gold, and repousse

16”x 16” 

Valentin Gomez and Mary Jane Miller offer a collection of thirty beautifully executed contemporary icons. They are masterfully done in two ancient techniques.

The term “repousse” refers to pushing silver/pewter into flat sheets of metal to form shapes and volume. Then engraving and tooling is worked on from both sides to create designs used to “cover” the precious icon image. The technique had developed by the 8th century. By the 16th century, it had reached its glory in Russia, incorporating gold, jewels, pearly inlay and filigree.