Prékopa Ágnes (szerk.): Ars Decorativa 32. (Budapest, 2018)

Miklós GÁLOS: An Antonio Tempesta Rediscovered in the Collection of the Museum of Applied Arts, Budapest

Subsequent examinations verified our first impressions. The stone support was made of lapis lazuli.17 The frame, however, was only partially ebony: the mouldings were indeed made of ebony, but the veneer forming the background of the inlays was walnut stained ebony black, just as the basic material of the frame itself was also walnut. Where there were once inlays, only the old glue was found; therefore we can only imagine the mother of pearl used for the original inlays.

3. Painted on lapis lazuli—analogies to the Budapest painting

According to Giorgio Vasari, Sebastiano del Piombo was the first modern painter to

use stone as a support for his paintings.18 His first paintings on stone were made around 1530, at the time northern painters had begun using copper as a support. The two unconventional types of supports had similar advantages. They provided completely smooth surfaces that would not crack like wood and would not sag like canvas; the paintings were thus impervious to the effects of time. However, these types of supports also shared some disadvantages: they required a very steady hand as repairs and corrections were difficult to make; flaws in the prepared surface frequently lead to losses in the paint layer. Stone slabs are usually heavy, and if the painter uses a thin sheet, it is highly vulnerable to fractures.

8. Antonio Tempesta: Pearl Diving in India, oil on lapis lazuli, 42.5x60 cm, before 1618, photo: © RMN-Grand Palais (Musée du Louvre) / Thierry Ollivier

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