The Art of
Repoussé
Funeral Mask of King Tutankhamen, Egyptian, 1324 BC.
• Mask of Agamemnon
• Repoussé or repujado in
Spanish, is a metalworking
technique in which a sheet of
metal has a design worked into
it by pushing the metal in and
out from both sides using a
variety of tools.
• The metal is stretched so the
sheet remains intact with no
loss of material.
• In French repoussé means
“pushed out”.
Elixir of Life by Rocio Heredia
History of Repoussé
Agememnon’s Funeral Mask
Gold Mycenean Cup
• Repoussé is a very old art form dating from antiquity and was
widely used with gold and silver for detailed works and copper
and bronze for larger sculptures
• By the year 3000 BC. semimass production techniques
were introduced to avoid
repetitive free-hand work.
Artisan’s could press sheets of
gold into molds carved in
intaglio into bone, metal or
stone to more easily form a
design.
• Patterned punches were
introduced as early as 2000 BC.
to texture the background and
sharpen details and relief.
• Early materials used to fill
repoussés included mud and
resin in Egypt and beeswax in
Ancient Greece
Gary Dadyan, a Russian artist, is tapping
the repoussé tools into the sheet of metal
using a small hammer.
• During the Hopewell and
Mississippian periods of the
Southwest and Midwest
Native Americans, repoussé
was used to form ritual
jewelry and decorations
which were eventually used
as burial goods.
•
copper repoussé plate depicting
Birdman, Late Braden Style
• The best known
example of repoussé is
the Statue of Liberty by
Frederic Auguste
Barthodi
Repoussé continues to be used to
make decorative plaques and is a
popular technique of making
jewelry.
Student Examples
• http://www.artsonia.com/museum/gallery.a
sp?exhibit=494850
• http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=B7vXNL
pVafM&
YOUR ASSIGNMENT
• Using the internet and books in room,
choose a historical motif for your repousse
• The entire surface has to be used. No
empty space
• Graded on:
– Craftsmanship (no tears, 3 levels
– Composition – use of entire surface
– Complexity (detail and 3 height levels
– Creativity