Pietra dura

Portrait of Pope Clement VIII, 1600–1601

Pietra dura (it. "Hard stone") - "Florentine mosaic", the art of laying pictures and ornaments made of platelets made of hard stone types ( agate , chalcedony , jasper , lapis lazuli , as well as mother-of-pearl and coral ).

Unlike in the case of classic mosaic art made of colored cubes or pens, the pietra dura process uses precisely adapted shaped pieces that correspond to the larger fragments of the composition. Mastic putty is used as an adhesive . Finished mosaics are sanded to a mirror finish. This creates particularly resistant, permanent decorative surfaces. The heyday of the pietra dura craft occurred in the 16th century, especially in Florence. Even in our times, small souvenirs from pietra dura are made in Florence. In Florence in via degli Alfani 78 is the Museo dell'Opificio delle Pietre Dure , with a workshop that shows visitors how the works of art are made.

The process is not only found in Italy, but also reached India. The Taj Mahal was also decorated in this way.

gallery

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  Pietra dura picture with a vase of flowers and birds, around 1620, Florence or Prague. Bavarian National Museum , Munich

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  Mosaic from the Medici Chapel , Florence

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  Sunflower in Pietra dura, Anonymous 1664. Opificio delle pietre dure, Florence

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  Pietra dura table top, Florence around 1620. Victoria and Albert Museum

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  Pietra dura tabletop with a parrot on a pear tree branch in the center, Italy, 1st quarter of the 18th century. Warsaw Royal Castle

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  Altar Antependium with St. Angelus , Flowers, Fruit and Birds, 1647, Florence

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  Antependium of the altar in the Dubrovnik Cathedral

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  Landscape painting in Pietra Dura, 17th century. Grand Ducal Workshops, Florence (attributed to)

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  Pietra dura landscape by Baccio Cappelli ,
  early 18th century

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  Capellone di Sant'Ignazio di Loyola in the Gesù Nuovo church , Naples . Marble work by Cosimo Fanzago (1591–1678)

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  Main altar of the Church of
  Santa Maria la Nova (Naples) ,
  by Cosimo Fanzago

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  Tomb of Princesa Santa Joana, late 17th century, in Mosteiro de Jesus , Aveiro (Portugal)

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  Balcony of the Mughal Emperor at Diwan-i-Am ,
  Fort Agra , India

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  South gate at Itimad ud Daula mausoleum , Agra, India

literature

• Annapaula Pampaloni Martelli: Museo dell'Opificio delle Pietre Dure di Firenze. Arnaud, Firenze 1975.
• Annamaria Giusti: Pietra Dura. Hirmer Verlag, Munich 2005, ISBN 978-3-7774-2745-4
• Rolf C. Wirtz, Clemente Manenti: Art and Architecture Florence. Ullmann / Tandem 2005, ISBN 978-3-8331-1302-4

Web links

Commons : Pietre dure  - collection of images, videos and audio files