tech
Game of stones: how paintings of marble reveal a world of magical medieval mysticism
From trippy swirls to blood-soaked slabs, a new book mines gothic and renaissance art for the supernatural significance of the precious rock
TL;DR
- Marble was historically viewed as a living structure with spiritual properties, contrasting with modern scientific understanding of it as a metamorphic rock.
- Karl Kolbitz's book, 'Divine Presence', explores pre-science mentalities where marble was linked to miracles, astrology, and divinity.
- The depiction of marble in medieval and Renaissance art often deviates from perspectival rules, symbolizing transcendence and divine power.
- Examples include abstract marble floors in Zanobi Strozzi's 'Annunciation' and marble used to delineate both earth and heaven in Piero della Francesca's work.
- The practice of painting marble on the back of artworks (versos) elevated the material and served as a meditation on divine creation or paradise.
- Kolbitz suggests that the unconventional painting of marble offered artists a way to evoke gateways to something beyond the earthly realm.
- The book encourages readers to reconsider their perception of everyday materials and find beauty and inspiration, drawing parallels to contemporary fascination with crystals and celestial influences.