DOI Page / Citation link:
https://doi.org/10.11588/diglit.67683#0447
MINOR ARTS
301
Another source of color in the Italian houses was the majolica,12
which is earthenware covered with a whitish, opaque glaze on
which the decoration is painted. The colors used were intense,
and their effect was heightened by an additional coating of rich
transparent glaze and by a luster of amazing brilliancy. Very
fine majolica in the “ grotesque style” was made in the sixteenth
century at Urbino by the Fontana family, showing the influence
of Raphael in its decoration. A plate of Orazio Fontana (Pl.
in c) contains in the center a mythological scene closely related
both in design and in spirit to the paintings of Raphael. Sur-
rounding this are two borders of grotesque forms — winged
lions, birds, half-human figures — combined with garlands,
medallions, and scrolls painted with a sweep of line and delicate
grace that remind us very much of the stucco decorations used by
the Romans (Pl. 53 a) and adopted by the late Renaissance archi-
tects.
Fine fabrics played an important part in Italian life, as the
paintings show.13 Silks, velvets, brocades, and tapestries were
much in demand for costumes, both for ecclesiastical and secular
purposes, and for hangings. We have seen how Persia had been a
center for weaving, especially of fine silks; how Justinian intro-
duced the craft into Europe; and how the Mohammedans became
expert weavers. In their conquests westward the Moslems
brought the craft with them to Spain, to Sicily, and thence to
Italy, where luxuriant stuffs were woven which in pattern,
color,and motifs were entirely of the tradition of the Near East
(Pls. 64 b, 68 a, and 71 a). In the fifteenth century, however, the
Italian weavers, quite in accordance with the spirit of their times,
broke with this old tradition. In their velvets and brocades,
which are the culmination of this craft, they limited themselves
chiefly to one pattern, but within it used a great variety of detail.
This pattern consisted of the pomegranate motif enclosed in a
leaf-shaped border (Pl. ill b). The boldness and vigor of these
fabrics conveys a distinctive quality that is in harmony with
Florentine life and art.
In the field of bookmaking, the Italians made valuable contri-
butions. We have been following the evolution of the book from
the long rolls of the Egyptians, Greeks, and Romans to the codex
(p. 159, note 3), which became in the early Christian era most
12 Probably derived from Majorca, one of the Balearic Islands, a calling-place of the ships that
brought to Italy the glazed and lustered wares of Spain.
13 See particularly the paintings of Domenico Ghirlandaio, Benozzo Gozzoli, the Bellini,
Crivelli, Titian, and, in fact, most of the Venetian painters, whose works reveal so clearly the
love of the Venetians for fine stuffs.
301
Another source of color in the Italian houses was the majolica,12
which is earthenware covered with a whitish, opaque glaze on
which the decoration is painted. The colors used were intense,
and their effect was heightened by an additional coating of rich
transparent glaze and by a luster of amazing brilliancy. Very
fine majolica in the “ grotesque style” was made in the sixteenth
century at Urbino by the Fontana family, showing the influence
of Raphael in its decoration. A plate of Orazio Fontana (Pl.
in c) contains in the center a mythological scene closely related
both in design and in spirit to the paintings of Raphael. Sur-
rounding this are two borders of grotesque forms — winged
lions, birds, half-human figures — combined with garlands,
medallions, and scrolls painted with a sweep of line and delicate
grace that remind us very much of the stucco decorations used by
the Romans (Pl. 53 a) and adopted by the late Renaissance archi-
tects.
Fine fabrics played an important part in Italian life, as the
paintings show.13 Silks, velvets, brocades, and tapestries were
much in demand for costumes, both for ecclesiastical and secular
purposes, and for hangings. We have seen how Persia had been a
center for weaving, especially of fine silks; how Justinian intro-
duced the craft into Europe; and how the Mohammedans became
expert weavers. In their conquests westward the Moslems
brought the craft with them to Spain, to Sicily, and thence to
Italy, where luxuriant stuffs were woven which in pattern,
color,and motifs were entirely of the tradition of the Near East
(Pls. 64 b, 68 a, and 71 a). In the fifteenth century, however, the
Italian weavers, quite in accordance with the spirit of their times,
broke with this old tradition. In their velvets and brocades,
which are the culmination of this craft, they limited themselves
chiefly to one pattern, but within it used a great variety of detail.
This pattern consisted of the pomegranate motif enclosed in a
leaf-shaped border (Pl. ill b). The boldness and vigor of these
fabrics conveys a distinctive quality that is in harmony with
Florentine life and art.
In the field of bookmaking, the Italians made valuable contri-
butions. We have been following the evolution of the book from
the long rolls of the Egyptians, Greeks, and Romans to the codex
(p. 159, note 3), which became in the early Christian era most
12 Probably derived from Majorca, one of the Balearic Islands, a calling-place of the ships that
brought to Italy the glazed and lustered wares of Spain.
13 See particularly the paintings of Domenico Ghirlandaio, Benozzo Gozzoli, the Bellini,
Crivelli, Titian, and, in fact, most of the Venetian painters, whose works reveal so clearly the
love of the Venetians for fine stuffs.