Making a Spanish polychrome sculpture

Seventeenth-century Spanish polychrome sculpture was intended to appear as lifelike as possible. Compared to bronze or marble statues, sculpted and painted wooden figures–often with glass eyes and wigs–achieve a remarkable realistic effect. Artists specialized in particular Spanish polychromy techniques, such as estofado: painting and incising to create rich silk fabrics with raised patterns in gold and silver used for the garments, and encarnaciones: blending and applying of oil paint for lips, hair, and modulations of the skin. Learn more about these techniques in this video from The J. Paul Getty Museum.