Editing Decoupage

{{Short description|French art of decorating an object}}
{{For|the aleatory literary technique|Cut-up technique}}
{{No footnotes|date=June 2015}}
{{Italics title}}

[[File:Page from the Diwan (Collected Works) of Sultan Husayn Mirza (LACMA M.73.5.599a-b).jpg|thumb|Page from the [[Diwan (poetry)|Diwan]] of [[Sultan Husayn Bayqara|Sultan Husayn Mirza]] with calligraphy made by découpage. [[Herat]], c. 1490. [[Los Angeles County Museum of Art]]]]
[[File:A lion attacking a deer.jpg|thumb|''A lion attacking a deer'', stencilled scene of découpage paper shapes. [[Ottoman Empire|Ottoman]], c. 1501-1550. [[British Museum]]]]
'''''Decoupage''''' or '''''découpage''''' ({{IPAc-en|ˌ|d|eɪ|k|u:|ˈ|p|ɑ:|ʒ}};<ref>{{Cite dictionary |url=http://www.lexico.com/definition/d%C3%A9coupage |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20220826092906/https://www.dictionary.com/ |url-status=dead |archive-date=2022-08-26 |title=découpage |dictionary=[[Lexico]] UK English Dictionary |publisher=[[Oxford University Press]]}}</ref> {{IPA|fr|dekupaʒ|lang}}) is the [[decorative arts|art of decorating]] an object by gluing colored paper cutouts onto it in combination with special [[paint]] effects, [[gold leaf]], and other decorative elements. Commonly, an object like a small box or an item of [[furniture]] is covered by cutouts from magazines or from purpose-manufactured papers. Each layer is sealed with [[varnish]]es (often multiple coats) until the "stuck on" appearance disappears and the result looks like [[painting]] or [[inlay]] work. The traditional technique used 30 to 40 layers of varnish which were then sanded to a polished finish.<ref>{{cite encyclopedia |url=https://www.britannica.com/art/decoupage|title=Decoupage {{!}} art|encyclopedia=Encyclopedia Britannica|access-date=2018-03-01|language=en}}</ref>

Three dimensional ''decoupage'' (sometimes also referred to simply as decoupage) is the [[art]] of creating a [[three-dimensional space|three-dimensional]] (3D) image by cutting out elements of varying sizes from a series of identical images and layering them on top of each other, usually with adhesive foam spacers between each layer to give the image more depth. Pyramid decoupage (also called pyramage) is a process similar to 3D decoupage. In pyramid decoupage, a series of identical images are cut into progressively smaller, identical shapes which are layered and fixed with adhesive foam spacers to create a 3D "[[pyramid (geometry)|pyramid]]" effect.

A person who does decoupage is known as a decoupeur, or "cutter".

== Origins ==
The word decoupage comes from [[Middle French]] {{lang|frm|decouper}}, meaning to cut out or cut from something. The origin of decoupage is thought to be [[Siberia|East Siberian]] tomb art.<ref>{{Cite web|url=http://decoupage.org/history-of-decoupage/|title=History of Découpage :: Découpage Artists Worldwide|website=decoupage.org|language=en-GB|access-date=2018-03-01}}</ref> Nomadic tribes used cut-out felts to decorate the tombs of their deceased. From Siberia, the practice came to [[China]], and by the 12th century, cut out paper was being used to decorate lanterns, windows, boxes and other objects. In the 17th century, [[Italy]], especially [[Venice, Italy|Venice]], was at the forefront of trade with the Far East and it is generally thought that it is through these trade links that the cut out paper decorations made their way into Europe.<ref>{{Cite news|url=http://marvingardensusa.com/blog/2010/04/28/the-history-of-decoupage/|title=The History of Decoupage|date=2010-04-28|work=MarvinGardensUSA|access-date=2018-03-01|language=en-US}}</ref>

== Florentine decoupage ==
{{further information|Florentine crafts}}
Artisans in [[Florence]], Italy, have produced decorative objects using decoupage techniques since the 18th century. They combined decoupage with other decorative techniques already popular in Florence, such as [[Gilding|gilt]] with [[gold leaf]] and [[woodcarving|carved wood]] designs. These older techniques were already used to produce articles such as furniture, frames for paintings, and even [[bookbinding|tooled leather book covers]]. Known as Florentine style crafts, these items are now highly [[collectible]] [[antique]]s. Florentine artisans made use of decoupage by adding it to the space within a carved gilt frame, or by adding the decoupage to a wooden plaque. Artisans used pasted reproductions of famous artworks, nearly always [[Religious art|religious depictions]]. Florentine [[triptych]]s using decoupage images of such [[Bible story|Biblical scenes]] as the [[Crucifixion of Jesus Christ]] are a common [[Motif (visual arts)|motif]]. As society became more [[secularism|secular]] in the early 20th century, and [[Protestant|non]]–[[Roman Catholic]] tourists began buying more crafts from Florentine artisans, decoupage images became less religious in orientation and more reflective of famous [[Italian art]]works in general.

== Notable decoupeurs ==
* [[Mary Delany]] achieved fame at the court of [[George III]] and [[Charlotte of Mecklenburg-Strelitz|Charlotte]] during the 18th-century craze for decoupage. At the age of 71 in 1771, Delany began to create cut-out paper artworks of exceptionally-detailed and botanically-accurate depictions of plants, produced using tissue paper and hand-colouration. Delany created 1,700 decoupage pieces, which she called her "Paper {{not a typo|Mosaiks}}", between the ages of 71 and 88, when her eyesight failed. Her work can be seen in the Enlightenment Gallery at the [[British Museum]].
* [[Jay (Terry) Jones]], a notable decoupeur from Waynesburg, Pennsylvania, holds multiple [[Guinness World Records]] for his extensive decoupage collection.
* [[Richard Basile]], a well known New York art collector and entrepreneur, achieved fame as a decoupeur when his intricate floral decorative work was displayed at the {{lang|fr|Foire internationale d'art contemporain}} festival in Paris in 2014. Basile had developed his collective works over more than a decade while working in the basement study of his parents' New England home.{{citation needed|date=October 2021}}

* [[Liz Barker]], highly regarded  decoupeur known for her distinctive visual style and use of texture. Her work came to prominence during the early days of the Covid-19 pandemic with her use of swabs and PPE.

==See also==
* [[Japanning]]

==References==
{{Reflist}}

==Further reading==
* {{cite book |title=Manning on Decoupage |last=Manning |first=Hiram |year=1980 |publisher=Dover Publications |isbn=0-486-24028-2}}
* {{cite book |title=New Decoupage |last=Rice |first=Durwin |year=2008 |publisher=Potter Craft |isbn=978-0-307-39611-2 |url-access=registration |url=https://archive.org/details/newdecoupagetran0000rice }}

==External links==
{{commons category|Découpage}}
* [http://decoupage.org/history-of-decoupage/ History of Découpage]

{{Decorative arts}}
{{Authority control}}

{{DEFAULTSORT:Decoupage}}
[[Category:Crafts]]
[[Category:Decorative arts]]
[[Category:Paper art]]