Italian mosaic - Florentine "painting of stone"

Mosaic is the art of decorating furniture and architectural elements inside and outside the building with the help of separate elements of different nature, shape and size, known from a very long time. There are several types, called usually in time and place of origin. There is a Roman, Byzantine, Old Russian, French mosaic. Florentine is not only a specific place for the birth of this art, but also technological features.

History

The first samples of the mosaic using natural stones date back to the fifth century BC. The decorative qualities of the stone, its strength, ability to preserve its original appearance for a long time always attracted a person. The best decorative qualities of this material are revealed by a mosaic. Florentine "painting of stone" - one of the highest stages of this art. This method of decoration appeared, most likely, in the Middle East, at the turn of our era, but he received the name for the famous Tuscan city.

At the end of the XVI century, several stone-cutting studios were formed in Florence, in which craftsmen invited from Milan worked. These workshops were created under the auspices of the famous family clan of the Medici, who then ruled in Florence. Representatives of this richest family have long been collecting the best examples of ancient art, and the technology of facing the surface with thin plates of semiprecious stone rocks arose largely from the need for restoration and restoration of outstanding examples of applied art of Ancient Greece and Ancient Rome.

Commesso

The art of creating paintings from stone, originated in the cradle of the Renaissance, in Italian is called commesso - "rallying." It assumes a particularly accurate fit for the parts from which the mosaic is composed. Florentine painting is assembled from thin stone plates so that it is impossible to notice the seam between the elements. In this case, the stone plate is selected, proceeding not only from the desired color, but also taking into account the natural texture. For example, for a leaf of a tree, a material is selected that simulates not only the green color, but also contains a suitable pattern of small veins, bending of the leaf, etc., it is necessary for the fur image to match the direction of the "villi", etc.

In this sense, pietra dura (literally "hard stone") is another name for this art, similar to intarsia - inlaid from various types of wood. A set of images from a wooden veneer is also a mosaic. Florentine inlay from semiprecious stones is much more laborious and almost unlimited in time longevity of the result obtained.

Technological process as art

Among the many tourists who come to Florence, the excursions, including visits to the famous workshops, where the Florentine mosaic is made, are very popular. For 200 € from the group you can personally see how the real masterpieces of decorative art are born .

At the same time, the work is done with the help of authentic tools and devices that were used by the masters of the 16th century, when this mosaic appeared. Photo masters of mosaicists at work adorn the sites of numerous tourist companies and reports on the travel of tourists from around the world. After that, you can admire the paintings of stone made by masters of the distant past, which adorn many of the cathedrals and palaces of Florence, in particular the famous Medici Chapel.

Paints of stone painting

Palette, which is used by artists who create masterpieces of the Florentine mosaic, in terms of color and texture capabilities is not inferior to that available to traditional painters:

1. Lapis lazuli are rich shades of blue with white grains and sparkling crystals of golden pyrite.
2. Malachite - alternating stripes of tender and intense green.
3. Marble - effective streaks of different shades of yellow, brown, red and green.
4. Semiprecious stones: agate, jasper, onyx, porphyry - represent a huge variety of striped, circular, clear and blurry textures, painted in various warm or cold colors, dense or having the nature of subtle nuances.

With the help of these colors, a genuine Florentine mosaic is created. The photo can not convey its true beauty, because the photos are inaccessible to the transfer of depth, which is revealed when the stone is polished, the play of light on the smallest crystal inclusions. Among poetic artists who have reached the heights of mastery in this complex craft, there is a belief that when they use unique patterns created by nature in their compositions, the true beauty of the world created by God's will becomes available to them.

How it's done?

Creating a small decorative insert on a small box or a huge decorative panel begins with a full-color sketch in full size. Large compositions for convenience are divided into small areas. A picture is either cut along the lines into individual elements, or transferred to the stone with a tracing paper after the patient search for the desired color and texture finishes. The contour is made with the necessary margin for processing the joints.

Stone plates 2-3 mm thick - the starting material from which the Florentine mosaic is made. The technique of processing blanks by hand has not changed for many centuries. The plate with the applied contour is clamped in a vice, and the desired part is cut using a special saw. It looks like a tight bow made of a tree branch (usually a chestnut or cherry) with a thin metal wire-string. In the process of cutting a stone plate, a special abrasive paste is constantly applied to the wire (previously it was just a mixture of water and sand).

Then carefully adjusts the individual details of the picture to each other. The result is considered achieved if the seam is not visible even at the lumen. The laboriousness of this stage can be imagined by looking at a mosaic depicting, for example, a thin grape mustache. The finished composition is adhered to the substrate (in an authentic process - using wood resins) and thoroughly polished.

Eternal beauty

The peak of popularity of the Italian mosaic reached in the XVII-XVIII centuries. Furniture, paintings and entire walls, decorated in this technique, amazed their exquisite and unfading beauty of people throughout Europe. Masters of Florentine mosaic appeared in many countries, including Russia. The greatest amulet created with the help of stone incrustation is the famous Amber Room.

Today, for the production of "painting from stone" the latest technologies and modern materials are used. Individual parts are often cut using a computer-controlled laser. But in this case Florentine mosaic remains a very labor-consuming and expensive way of decorating. The creations of masters working in traditional handicraft are valued at the level of originals of classical painting.