A fore-edge painting is a technique of painting on the edges of the pages of a book. The artwork can only be seen when the pages are fanned, as seen in the animation below. When the book is closed, you don't see the image because it is hidden by the gilding (i.e., the gold leaf applied to the edges of the page).
A fore-edge painting refers to an image painted or drawn on the closed leaves of a book. While covering the collected page edges in gold or silver leaf was a popular choice, sometimes artists went. It's commonplace to see illustrations grace the inside of a book, but long ago, some of the best imagery was displayed on the edge of a publication.
Known as fore-edge painting, these incredible compositions were printed or drawn on the closed pages of a book. Bookish History These Books have an Edgy Secret: A History and Gallery of Fore-Edge Painting and Art From 1600s British literature to Sarah J. Maas books on TikTok, fore.
Ten Fore-Edge Paintings -the magical art-form that hides pictures on the gilded edge of a book, to be revealed by spreading its pages. Here is ten examples of the beautiful and magical art. The book appears to be a typical hard bound with a decorative spine and gilded fore edge.
The person handling the book in the video then holds the block of pages between the thumb and the rest of the fingers and bends it to fan out the edges slightly. All of a sudden, a lovely painting of a landscape pops out of the book's edge. Once book printers and bookbinders began to put the titles on the spine, the fore-edge was free.
Often, the book owner's name or family crest was painted on the fore-edge as a means of identification. Books, after all, were valuable possessions. This new book is written by myself, entitled, The Fore-edge Paintings of John T.
Beer, (2006) and it includes a catalogue raisonné of all Beer's known fore-edge paintings. [2] This book is the first complete history of a fore. Jul 16, 2025 - Hello! I paint pictures on the edges of books.
People ask me, why? I want to bring back the love for reading. Those who have read one of my painted books will recognise the scene or picture. And those who haven't will perhaps pick it up to read! Welcome to my collection of handpainted Fore.
Fore-Edge paintings are a marvelous bit of artistic expression that are found in some antique books, most commonly in the 1700s, however there were some created before that are still some created after. This refers to a painting that is made on the fore-edge of the book - not the head-edge (top of pages) or foot-edge (bottom of pages). What makes true fore.