Well, I have theories on why the pinked edges stand out so much visually:
1: That's just how Van Eyck painted the pinking, so it was obvious (It's pretty extravagant, so there's probably some symbolism regarding prosperity there).
2: The cloth looks to be a light/medium wight fulled wool, and it's green. Green, in period was dyed in a woad/weld overdye process. The cloth wouldn't be fulled until it was already dyed, so the thickness of the cloth isn't the issue. If it is the cloth actually being lighter in the middle, then It's the dye process.
Woad is an Indigotin dye (woad being the indigotin-bearing plant native to Europe), and indigotin is a deposit dye, that coats the outside of the fibers (think of your jeans when they get worn). Weld is a tint dye, and more fugitive, but it will dye the fibers all the way through.
You'd get a lighter green or even a greenish yellow in the middle of the cloth when it was pinked, if it was a weld over woad complex dyed cloth, and fulling would thicken the fabric enough that you would see it somewhat, but it'd just be a hint, as wool takes indigo better than, say, cotton does.
3: It's a combination of the two. ---------------
As for something else going on with the dagges structurally, I am absolutely certain that the dagged strips are doubled and sewn together to increase their visual impact (and possibly also their durability - I'd want them to be sturdy, too, if they took that much labor!).
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branchandroot
Re: Are you still working on...
Date: 2004-09-03 11:56 am (UTC)1: That's just how Van Eyck painted the pinking, so it was obvious (It's pretty extravagant, so there's probably some symbolism regarding prosperity there).
2: The cloth looks to be a light/medium wight fulled wool, and it's green. Green, in period was dyed in a woad/weld overdye process. The cloth wouldn't be fulled until it was already dyed, so the thickness of the cloth isn't the issue. If it is the cloth actually being lighter in the middle, then It's the dye process.
Woad is an Indigotin dye (woad being the indigotin-bearing plant native to Europe), and indigotin is a deposit dye, that coats the outside of the fibers (think of your jeans when they get worn). Weld is a tint dye, and more fugitive, but it will dye the fibers all the way through.
You'd get a lighter green or even a greenish yellow in the middle of the cloth when it was pinked, if it was a weld over woad complex dyed cloth, and fulling would thicken the fabric enough that you would see it somewhat, but it'd just be a hint, as wool takes indigo better than, say, cotton does.
3: It's a combination of the two.
---------------
As for something else going on with the dagges structurally, I am absolutely certain that the dagged strips are doubled and sewn together to increase their visual impact (and possibly also their durability - I'd want them to be sturdy, too, if they took that much labor!).