Preview exhibition ‘Timeless Wonder’
Painting on stone in Rome between the sixteenth and seventeenth centuries
Known to the ancients, the practice of painting on stone was rediscovered by Sebastiano del Piombo, who was working on this technique before the Sack of Rome in 1527. After the terrible event, the painter and his patrons were under the illusion that stone supports would make painting indestructible and therefore eternal. The material would also make up for the shorter life span of painting compared to sculpture, a disadvantage always pointed out in the debate on the comparison between the two arts.
In 16th century Rome, large slabs of slate were often painted on, with a few imposing figures, and the painting completely covered the surface of the work. The support assumed a symbolic value, alluding for instance to the solidity of the Catholic Church, or to the concepts of eternal life and resurrection. The numerous portraits on stone, by Francesco Salviati and Daniele da Volterra as well as by Sebastiano, emphasize the moral solidity of the sitter, his outstanding role, as well as the exemplary character of his actions. By analogy with the touchstone, which revealed the authenticity of gold, the black stone was considered to reveal value and truth and retains this meaning in the following century.
An original feature of 17th century painting on stone is the proliferation of coloured supports, in which the veining becomes an integral part of the composition, so that the painter’s creative ability and that of nature combine without overpowering each other. Antonio Tempesta and Filippo Napoletano are the most skillful exponents of this genre, in which the painter ideally provides a concept that links the image to the support. It is up to the viewer, even today’s viewer, to decipher the enigma, relating the stone and the image painted on it and guessing the meaning of this association: the relationship with sculpture, the play of metaphors with poetry, the eternity of faith. Furthermore, from what we know of their use and circulation, these objects were believed to have a healing effect or even a magical power.
The marvellous works on display, some from the Borghese collection, testify to the birth of the genre in Rome until its decline in the mid-17th century. Its decline is partly due to the realization of the intrinsic fragility of stone painting, which proved to be cracked and fractured and far from indestructible. The exhibition takes us on a journey to discover a hidden wealth within the collections, bringing us closer to a form of artwork that could be touched, but that above all had to be observed closely and with great care, letting oneself be enchanted by the artist’s skill and the creative energy of nature itself. An alliance between Art and Nature that the exhibition seeks to bring back to the center of our gaze and thought.