Gilding the Dome

By University of Notre Dame

August 18^th, 2023

No Easy Feat

For the past month, Bryon Roesselet, Jill Eide, and the Conrad Schmitt Studios team have navigated scaffolding, dodged lake winds, and sweltered through Indiana heat to work on regilding Notre Dame’s most iconic structures, but you’ll hear no complaints from them.

“Some (jobs) are cakewalks and easy,” Eide said. “And some you’re dealing with elements and the physical aspect of it, which takes a toll on us.”

All that Glitters

The team works with a “master roll” of gold leaf—a 4-inch-wide roll of tissue paper, 67 feet long, with 500 square gold leaves in each roll like a glittering roll of stamps—for a total of 20 square feet of gold. A thin layer of rouge powder, the same used by makeup artists, is applied to hold the gold leaf to the tissue paper.

The Gold Standard

Before any gold is applied, Roesselet, Eide, and the team from Conrad Schmitt Studios conduct an inspection, testing which cleaning techniques will be most efficient for the space and which primer and sizing (adhesive) will provide the best bond. The team selects the primer with the best adhesion to the cleaned substrate for overall application—two to three coats, depending on the surface characteristics.

Gilding the Dome

Gilders carefully press each gold leaf into the surface, handling the tissue side of the paper only. They layer the leaves to prevent gaps and fill the ridges, seams, cracks, and curves of the primary surface. Makeup brushes are used to smooth out the overlap and clean off any excess.

Time to Shine

As soon as the Dome’s regilding is complete, workers will start the process of removing the scaffolding. While faster than putting up the scaffolding, it will still take weeks to take it down, revealing the Dome and Our Lady in all their glory.