Jan Mostaert, Portrait of a Moor, c. 1525-30
Paintings in detail→ Godward's Gossamer GownsCommon to nearly all of Godward’s paintings were his fine portrayals of various types of marble, and the yards and yards of painstakingly detailed crepe worn by his figures. Specifically for the transparent, gauzy coa vestis tunica present in so many of his works, Godward adopted a procedure that was developed from his knowledge of faux finishing. According to Swanson, Godward would first paint the figure unclothed. After this would dry, Godward would lay in a thick glaze the color of the fabric. He would then paint, in a squeegee manner undoubtedly learned from his knowledge of graining, the drapery on the figure. This allowed some places to receive thicker opaque pigmentation and other places a thinner more transparent layer. His brush was ‘pinked’ or combed to allow for various amounts of pigmentation. The result was marvellously (sic.) fresh, with delicate and detailed rendering of drapery ingeniously all Godward.
