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| Simone Martini St Andrew ca. 1320-25 tempera on panel Museum of Fine Arts, Boston |
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| workshop of Bernardo Daddi Madonna and Child ca. 1345-49 tempera on panel Walters Art Museum, Baltimore |
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| Lorenzo Monaco The Crucified Christ with the Virgin and St John the Evangelist ca. 1406 tempera on panel Metropolitan Museum of Art, New York |
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| Francesco di Giorgio Martini The Nativity 1475 oil on panel Pinacoteca Nazionale, Siena |
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| follower of Timoteo Viti The Holy Trinity with St John the Baptist and St Sebastian ca. 1500-1525 tempera on panel Minneapolis Institute of Art |
"Gilding – The application of gold leaf to a prepared surface, and the gold so applied. There are two main types of gilding used in the finishing of frames: water gilding and oil or mordant gilding. In water gilding on wood, the surface is first sealed with size. Several layers of gesso are then applied in very thin coats. The gesso is smoothed, and any details that are missing in the carving can be added. This process, called recutting, is when such fine details as leaf stems, hazzling, and diaper patterns are engraved. Next, several light coats of bole are applied over the gesso. Together, the gesso and bole layers make up the gilding ground. The leaves of gold are cut into the proper size on a gilder's cushion, using a gilder's knife. The gilding ground is moistened with gilder's liquor to reactivate the glue in the gesso and bole layers. The cut leaf is then picked up by a gilder's tip and lightly set into place, then tapped down with a gilder's mop. After the surface dries, the gold can be either burnished or left with a matte finish. Many times there are both burnished and matte surfaces on the same frame. This is done to add contrast or depth. Different colors of gold can be used to add to this contrast. A variety of surface coatings may be utilized to tint and seal the finished gilding. In oil gilding the same gilding ground can be used or the oil size and mordant can be placed directly on the wood surface. In both cases the surface has to be sealed before the oil size is applied. The size then needs to dry to a just-tacky state, which can take from thirty minutes to twenty-four hours, depending upon the type of size used and the weather conditions. The application of gold leaf is the same as in water gilding. The excess gold can be brushed off with a gilder's mop. Oil gilding cannot be burnished and always has a slight matte surface."
– D. Gene Karraker, Looking at European Frames (Getty Museum, 2009)
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| Gerard David Christ Blessing ca. 1500-1505 oil on panel Metropolitan Museum of Art, New York |
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| Lavinia Fontana Virgin adoring the sleeping Christ Child ca. 1605-1610 oil on panel Museum of Fine Arts, Boston |
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| Francesco Albani Dancing Amorini 1622-23 oil on copper Pinacoteca di Brera, Milan |
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| John Singleton Copley Portrait of Ebenezer Storer 1767-69 pastel Metropolitan Museum of Art, New York |
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| attributed to Lié Louis Périn-Salbreux Portrait of Alexander Roslin ca. 1780 watercolor on ivory Nationalmuseum, Stockholm |
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| Johan Lundbye Study of Dead Swallow 1837 oil on canvas, mounted on cardboard Nationalmuseum, Stockholm |
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| Abbott H. Thayer Young Woman ca. 1898 oil on canvas (frame designed by Stanford White) Metropolitan Museum of Art, New York |
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| Edward Poynter Helena and Hermia 1901 oil on canvas Art Gallery of South Australia, Adelaide |
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| Gösta von Hennigs Clown playing Violin 1915 oil on canvas Nationalmuseum, Stockholm |