The art of gilding is on the decline, says gilder John Pace, who has worked on churches, buses, boats and even ice cream vans. Veronica Stivala learns some tricks of the trade.
Ater some huffing and puffing, I manage to squeeze into John Pace’s studio. At first you would think the studio is very small but on further inspection I realise that a medium-sized car could fit into the room were it to be cleared out. Half-finished tal-lira clocks, old and unfinished statues, one big working desk, pots of paint, brushes, paper, more pots and more tools, frames – there are so many bits of Pace’s work lying around that there is hardly any room left for anyone but him to move around.
Pace sits perched on a stool bending over his dusty desk. He holds a wide, flat paintbrush between his fingers, runs it against his stubble (to loosen the brush hairs) and dexterously begins to lay on a delicate square of gold leaf onto the wooden frame of a Maltese clock that has been covered in layers of gesso. He works the brush with such speed and apparently so effortlessly that he makes the task look dead easy. But this is a skill he has mastered over the years.
It is here that Pace spends most of his days – that is, when he isn’t doing renovation work in some church or gilding statues. Tucked away in a corner is even a small fridge, packed with beer and chocolate – a gilder’s got to keep his energy levels up.
Indeed Pace’s energy levels are high. He is still going strong after 40 years in what is a dying art.
“People are just interested in computers,” he comments, noting how even his children are not keen to continue in their father’s footsteps. He has no apprentice either and it is sad to know that skills honed over several years and picked up from various masters – the gilder has even travelled to Italy and France for specialised training – will not be passed on to a new generation.
Pace’s career goes all the way back to when he was 17 years old. He had just finished school and by coincidence met artist Tusè Busuttil who lived in his hometown of Żejtun. Busuttil was touched by the young man’s enthusiasm and took him on as his apprentice.
“I was so keen that the first thing I did was go and buy a book on gilding,” reminisces Pace.
The enterprising Pace also taught himself to restore gilded furniture and to paint and gild traditional Maltese clocks
A humble man, it is evident that Pace is touched and honoured to be interviewed, even though this is not the first time his work is being featured in the press. His excellent craftsmanship has been picked up by both local and foreign media.
The gilder is keen to walk me through his education as well as to explain the story behind every object in his Marsaxlokk studio.
When Pace turned 18 he undertook a course in design at the School of Art, at the Polytechnic in Msida. Here, under the direction of Maltese renowned painters Antoine Camilleri, Ċensu Apap and Harry Olden, he learnt the techniques of design and the elements of artistic painting. He also learnt the art of clay modelling and sculpture under the direction of Marco Montebello.
Together with the decorator Johnny Pace of Tarxien, he also did decoration, restoration, marbling and gilding works for the St Mary band club in Mqabba and on the feast decorations of the same village, for the feast of St Mary in Għaxaq and St Lawrence in Vittoriosa. He has also worked on feast decorations for various parishes, particularly in Żejtun, Senglea, Qrendi, Dingli, Safi and Msida, and for the feast of St George in Victoria, Gozo.
But Pace’s work is not restricted solely to the ecclesiastical environs. With a glint in his eye he tells me “I have done designs, drawn and painted cartoons on both food and even ice cream vans”.
And if that weren’t enough, one can also find his gilded signs on shops, old Maltese buses, boats and yachts.
Pace picked up his gilding skills from a certain Charlie Schembri who taught him the art of both oil and water gilding. Pace also does the less common verre églomisé, which is glass gilding. This process involves gilding the back of glass with gold or metal leaf. The result is a mirror-like, reflective finish on which designs are then engraved. The enterprising Pace also taught himself to restore gilded furniture and to paint and gild traditional Maltese clocks.
But pride of place in Pace’s accomplishments goes to his work on the restoration projects of the main churches of Valletta carried out by the Valletta Rehabilitation Project in the 1990s. He has restored the gilded mouldings and decorations inside the churches of Our Lady of Tal-Pilar, St James, Ta’ Liesse and Ta’ Ġieżu. He also did gilding works in the Augustinian church of St Augustine as well as in the parish churches of Marsaxlokk, Żurrieq, Paola (Christ the King church) and Luqa.
A Maltese clock in minutes
After the wooden frame is built by a joiner, the gilder takes over and gives it a coat of rabbit skin glue to seal the porous surface. A thin gauze is then used to cover up all joints and knots in the wood. This is then given over 10 coats of gesso di Bologna which is mixed with rabbit skin glue. The gypsum surface is finely sanded after each coat and any dust is cleaned off properly.
The clock’s floral designs are engraved into the gypsum surface using engraving tools. All surfaces are then coated with bole, a special type of clay mixture. The clock is then water gilded using 23.5-carat gold leaf.
When the surface is dry, it is burnished using agate burnishers in order to produce a shiny finish. Unburnished areas retain a matte finish. The remaining areas are painted in traditional colours such as dark red, green, blue or black.
The clock mechanism, produced by a clock maker, is then installed. The quadrant, adorned with floral designs and scenic views, is positioned such that it serves as a backdrop to the clock’s minute and hour hands. A pane of glass is finally fixed on the outermost frame.