Painting in Stone

Painting in Stone PDF Author: Fabio Barry
Publisher: Yale University Press
ISBN: 0300248164
Category : Architecture
Languages : en
Pages : 449

Book Description
A sweeping history of premodern architecture told through the material of stone Spanning almost five millennia, Painting in Stone tells a new history of premodern architecture through the material of precious stone. Lavishly illustrated examples include the synthetic gems used to simulate Sumerian and Egyptian heavens; the marble temples and mansions of Greece and Rome; the painted palaces and polychrome marble chapels of early modern Italy; and the multimedia revival in 19th-century England. Poetry, the lens for understanding costly marbles as an artistic medium, summoned a spectrum of imaginative associations and responses, from princes and patriarchs to the populace. Three salient themes sustained this “lithic imagination”: marbles as images of their own elemental substance according to premodern concepts of matter and geology; the perceived indwelling of astral light in earthly stones; and the enduring belief that colored marbles exhibited a form of natural—or divine—painting, thanks to their vivacious veining, rainbow palette, and chance images.

The Aesthetics of Marble

The Aesthetics of Marble PDF Author: Gerhard Wolf
Publisher: Hirmer Verlag GmbH
ISBN: 9783777434483
Category : Marble
Languages : en
Pages : 0

Book Description
"Marble is a metamorphic stone that has been a material of choice and a subject of reflection for millennia. Its geology, history, and economics are well known, but its aesthetics remain understudied. This book sheds new light on the celebration and uses of marble in art and literature and on the iconic potential of the stone. Through empirical research centered on the Mediterranean from Late Antiquity to the present, it closely examines the artistic versatility of marble in its uses and re-uses, including the marble cladding of architecture, the carving of marble and painting on stone, their political and philosophical connotations, and the de- and re-materializing of marble made possible by digital technology"--

Radical Marble

Radical Marble PDF Author: J. Nicholas Napoli
Publisher: Routledge
ISBN: 1351174142
Category : Art
Languages : en
Pages : 346

Book Description
Marble is one of the great veins through the architectural tradition and fundamental building block of the Mediterranean world, from the Parthenon of mid-fifth century Athens, which was constructed of pentelic marble, to Justinian’s Hagia Sophia in Constantinople and the Renaissance and Baroque basilica of St. Peter’s in the Vatican. Scholarship has done much in recent years to reveal the ways and means of marble. The use of colored marbles in Roman imperial architecture has recently been the subject of a major exhibition and the medieval traditions of marble working have been studied in the context of family genealogies and social networks. In addition, architectural historians have revealed the meanings evoked by marble revetted and paved surfaces, from Heavenly Jerusalem to frozen water. The present volume builds upon the body of recent and emerging research - from antiquity to the present day - to embrace a global focus and address the more unusual (or at least unexpected) uses, meanings, and aesthetic appeal of marble. It presents instances where the use of marble has revolutionized architectural practice, suggested new meaning for the built environment, or defined a new aesthetic - moments where this well-known material has been put to radical use.

Classical Marble: Geochemistry, Technology, Trade

Classical Marble: Geochemistry, Technology, Trade PDF Author: N. Herz
Publisher: Springer Science & Business Media
ISBN: 9401577951
Category : Science
Languages : en
Pages : 464

Book Description
Marble in Ancient Greece and Rome: Geology, Quarries, Commerce, Artifacts Marble remains the sine qua non raw material of the an cient Greeks and Romans. Beginning in the Bronze Age sculptu re began in marble and throughout classical times the most im portant statues, reliefs, monuments and inscriptions were made of it. Yet, quarry sources changed in time as preferences for different marbles were influenced by local traditions, the pos sibilities of transport, esthetic tastes, and economics. Marble studies and the identification of the provenance of marble can thus reveal much about Greek and Roman history, trade, esthe tics and technology. Persons in many disciplines are studying various aspects of Greek and Roman marble usage. Geologists and geochemists are working on methods to determine the provenance of marble; ar chaeologists are noting changing patterns of import and use in excavation~ and discovering how improving quarrying techniques and prelimihary dressing of the extracted material influenced the final shape of artifacts; ancient historians are now under standing quarry organization and bureaucracies that controlled marble production and trade; art historians are seeing how phy sical characteristics of the stone affected the techniques and style of sculpture; architects and engineers are interested in quarry technologies and usage in building construction. These specialists drawn from many disciplines rarely have an opportu nity to compare notes and see how each can contribute to the research effort of others.

Quarrying in Antiquity

Quarrying in Antiquity PDF Author: John Bryan Ward-Perkins
Publisher:
ISBN:
Category : Business & Economics
Languages : en
Pages : 50

Book Description
"A wide survey over four millennia is possible for quarrying tools and techniques because of their simplicity and long-lived traditions. The chief contribution of the Romans was their organisation of the stone trade by mass production, standardisation and long-distance transport. Indeed, in post-Roman Europe, especially in Britain, it was the excellence of Roman building stone which allowed so much subsequent 'quarrying' in the buildings themselves. One exception in Saxon times was the quarry for Bradford-on-Avon's church. With the 12th-century spurt in church building activity, however, natural stone quarries once more became common and distribution methods familiar to the Roman world re-emerged." - COPAC.

Marble in Antiquity

Marble in Antiquity PDF Author: John Bryan Ward-Perkins
Publisher:
ISBN:
Category : Architecture
Languages : en
Pages : 202

Book Description
A collection of papers by John Ward-Perkins, who died in 1981. Includes a bibliography of his published works and ten of his lectures and essays. Together, they provide an introduction as well as more detailed examination of marble quarrying and building techniques in the ancient world.

Marble Past, Monumental Present

Marble Past, Monumental Present PDF Author: Michael Greenhalgh
Publisher: BRILL
ISBN: 9004170839
Category : History
Languages : en
Pages : 653

Book Description
This survey and synthesis of the structural and decorative uses of Roman remains, particularly marble, throughout the mediaeval Mediterranean, deals with the Christian West - but also Byzantium and Islam, each the inheritor of much Roman territory. It includes a 5000-image DVD.

Supports in Roman Marble Sculpture

Supports in Roman Marble Sculpture PDF Author: Anna Anguissola
Publisher: Cambridge University Press
ISBN: 1108307922
Category : Art
Languages : en
Pages : 282

Book Description
Figural and non-figural supports are a ubiquitous feature of Roman marble sculpture; they appear in sculptures ranging in size from miniature to colossal and of all levels of quality. At odds with modern ideas about beauty, completeness, and visual congruence, these elements, especially non-figural struts, have been dismissed by scholars as mere safeguards for production and transport. However, close examination of these features reveals the tastes and expectations of those who commissioned, bought, and displayed marble sculptures throughout the Mediterranean in the Hellenistic and Roman periods. Drawing on a large body of examples, Greek and Latin literary sources, and modern theories of visual culture, this study constitutes the first comprehensive investigation of non-figural supports in Roman sculpture. The book overturns previous conceptions of Roman visual values and traditions and challenges our understanding of the Roman reception of Greek art.

Marble

Marble PDF Author: J. Paul Getty Museum
Publisher: Getty Publications
ISBN: 0892361743
Category : Classical antiquities
Languages : en
Pages : 299

Book Description
In sixteen essays, prominent art historians, sculptors, scientists, and conservators discuss ancient marble sculpture. The essays are based on a symposium held at the J. Paul Getty Museum in April 1988. Topics include the provenancing of marble, the detection of marble forgeries, scientific analysis and authentication of ancient marble, marble quarrying and trade in the ancient world, and the techniques used in ancient sculpture.

Imperial Mines and Quarries in the Roman World

Imperial Mines and Quarries in the Roman World PDF Author: Alfred Michael Hirt
Publisher: Oxford University Press on Demand
ISBN: 0199572879
Category : History
Languages : en
Pages : 566

Book Description
The control over marble and metal resources was of major importance to the Roman Empire. Alfred Hirt's comprehensive study defines the organizational outlines and the internal structures of the mining and quarrying ventures under imperial control.