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Art of the royal court : treasures in Pietre Dure from the palaces of Europe / Wolfram Koeppe and Annamaria Giusti ; with contributions by Cristina Acidini, Rudolf Distelberger, Detlef Heikamp, Jutta Kappel, Florian Knothe, and Ian Wardropper ; edited by Wolfram Koeppe

Author
Koeppe, Wolfram, 1962-
Published
New York : Metropolitan Museum of Art, [between 1900 and 1999?]
New York : The Metropolitan Museum of Art ; New Haven : Yale University Press, [2008]
Copyright Date
©2008
Physical Description
1 online resource (xvi, 412 pages) : illustrations (chiefly color)
Additional Creators
Giusti, Anna Maria, Acidini Luchinat, Cristina, 1951-, Metropolitan Museum of Art (New York, N.Y.), and Opificio delle pietre dure. Museo
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Free-to-read Unrestricted online access
Contents
Mysterious and prized: hardstones in human history before the Renaissance / Wolfram Koeppe -- Roman inlay and Florentine mosaics: the new art of Pietre Dure / Annamaria Giusti -- The Castrucci and the Miseroni: Prague, Florence, Milan / Rudolf Distelberger -- Pierres fines: the manufacture of hardstone works at the Gobelins under Louis XIV / Florian Knothe -- Pietre Dure North of the Alps / Wolfram Koeppe -- Sculpture and mosaic in Pietre Dure / Ian Wardropper -- An enduring seductiveness: the reclaiming of Pietre Dure in the eighteenth century / Wolfram Koeppe and Florian Knothe -- The Opificio delle Pietre Dure: half a millennium / Cristina Acidini.
Summary
"In the royal and princely courts of Europe, artworks made of multicolored semiprecious stones were passionately coveted objects. Known as pietre dure, or hardstones, this type of artistic expression includes?paintings in stone,? which were composed of intricately cut separate pieces that were made into magnificent tabetops, cabinets, and wall decorations. Other works included vessels and ornaments carved with virtuosic skill from a single piece of rare and brilliant lapis lazuli, chalcedony, jasper, or similarly prized substance; exquisite objects such as boxes, clocks, and jewelry; and portraits of nobles sculpted in variously colored stones. Derived from ancient Roman decorative stonework, the art of pietre dure was developed in Renaissance Florence, where the manufacture of such objects was enthusiastically sponsored by Medici princes. Ideally suited for ostentatious display, the works sent an unmistakable message of wealth and political might that was understood in centers of power everywhere. From Italy the medium spread across Europeto Prague, Madrid, Naples, Paris, and later Saint Petersburg. Precious and fragile, pietre dure objects are rarely brought together in large numbers. This richly illustrated catalogue contains more than 150 masterworks from across Europe, dating from five centuries, including almost every artistic use of semiprecious stone during this time as well as some of the finest examples of the medium. Eight essays by European and American experts discuss the individualized development of pietre dure in every European region, the latest developments in scholarship, the interrelationships between art and dynastic politics and between cultures, and a variety of techniques used to produce these luxurious masterworks."--Metropolitan Museum of Art website.
Subject(s)
Genre(s)
ISBN
9781588392886 (Metropolitan Museum of Art ; hc)
1588392880 (Metropolitan Museum of Art ; hc)
9780300136722 (Yale University Press ; hc)
0300136722 (Yale University Press ; hc)
Note
Published in conjunction with an exhibition held at the Metropolitan Museum of Art, New York, July 1-September 21, 2008.
Bibliography Note
Includes bibliographical references (pages 371-392) and index.
View MARC record | catkey: 47066730