11th Mar - 1 Oct
Leighton House and Sambourne House Museum
De Morgan purchased ‘cakes’ (dry pellets) of gold pigment from her colourman Charles Roberson and grounded them into powder to form a guache paint and a hard crayon. Each drawing has a unique texture and decorative quality achieved through her varied mark making and media.
The woven paper was probably purchased already coloured (rather than having to dye it) and the gold pigment was burnished and rubbed into the paper to add depth and interest to the compositions. Two of the works (Gloria in Excelsis and Victoria Dolorosa) were made on Canson Montgolfier paper. This French supplier of art materials sold through various London colourmen. Canson Montgolfier were particularly well known for their pastel paper which had an excellent texture for holding this tricky material. Degas and Burne-Jones regularly bought Canson Montgolfier paper for their pastels.
