A night as dark as stone

A lot of Italian and foreign painters used the darks surface of slate and touchstone to dramatize the contrast with the light of fires or infernal scenes. These subjects, developed by Northern painters, and in particular by Adam Elsheimer who painted on copper, were mostly fashionable at the court of Cosimo II de’ Medici.
In Filippo Napoletano’s case, they were inspired by the witchcraft scenes by Jacob van Swanenburg seen in Naples during his youth. Their eerie atmosphere would have been emphasized by their being displayed in series, as in the case of Stefano della Bella’s Burning of Troy that was paired with Vincenzo Mannozzi’s Hell (displayed in the last section of the exhibition).

Jacques Stella, who painted on all kinds of lithic supports, creates a beguiling image of Judith in prayer shortly before slaying Holophernes. In the darkness of his tent, she is lit by the glow of the candle shining on the golden weave of the fabric. The lights of the room where the painting was displayed would have been reflected by the mirror-like surface of the slate.

In Michelangelo Cerquozzi’s painting, the polishing of the surface is used to represent the night sky elucidated by the light of the moon; Hans Rottenhammer by means of the lithic support calls to mind various aspects of the story of Lot and his daughters, from their taking shelter in a cave, to the transformation of Lot’s wife in a statue of salt.

 

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