Glue Painting

a painting technique in which the pigments are bound by glue. The binding agent may be animal glue (made from fish, hide, bone, or casein) or plant gums and starches (for example, tragacanth). The pigments are opaque and create a mat painting surface. If the glue content is high, the surface becomes glossy and the colors are highly intense. If there is an excessive or insufficient amount of glue, the painting will not be durable.

The technique of glue painting was used for the decoration of Egyptian sarcophagi and burial shrouds. The technique was also applied in the execution of ancient Oriental and medieval Central Asian, Indian, Chinese, and Japanese monumental paintings. It was also used in 17th-century Russian wall paintings (together with fresco and tempera painting) and in late 18th- and 19th-century murals in European and American civic buildings, palaces, and churches. In the 20th century the technique of glue painting has been used primarily in the execution of decorative panels, posters, and stage sets and designs (for example, the works of N. la. Golovin).