The stones of Venice
Author(s)
Bibliographic Information
The stones of Venice
Thames & Hudson, 2002
Available at 2 libraries
  Aomori
  Iwate
  Miyagi
  Akita
  Yamagata
  Fukushima
  Ibaraki
  Tochigi
  Gunma
  Saitama
  Chiba
  Tokyo
  Kanagawa
  Niigata
  Toyama
  Ishikawa
  Fukui
  Yamanashi
  Nagano
  Gifu
  Shizuoka
  Aichi
  Mie
  Shiga
  Kyoto
  Osaka
  Hyogo
  Nara
  Wakayama
  Tottori
  Shimane
  Okayama
  Hiroshima
  Yamaguchi
  Tokushima
  Kagawa
  Ehime
  Kochi
  Fukuoka
  Saga
  Nagasaki
  Kumamoto
  Oita
  Miyazaki
  Kagoshima
  Okinawa
  Korea
  China
  Thailand
  United Kingdom
  Germany
  Switzerland
  France
  Belgium
  Netherlands
  Sweden
  Norway
  United States of America
Note
Includes bibliographical references (173 p.) and index
Description and Table of Contents
Description
It is the meeting of stone and water that creates much of the magic of Venice, the solidity and permanence of the former and the evanescent fragility of the latter. Had Venice been built of wood, the incursions of sea water and the rugged climate would have destroyed the city centuries ago. What these elements have done, however, is to wear away exterior surfaces, making the simplest brick wall an object of contemplation, and giving a special patina to the expensive marbles used for anything from a staircase to a masterpiece of sculpture. The Venetians were great craftsmen and artists, and their use of stone is unparalleled in any other city. Following the Byzantine tradition, multi-coloured pieces of marble and semi-precious stone covered the floors of a religious building in a magic mosaic, while later on chips of marble of all possible hues were tossed into cement to carpet the floors of great palaces.
During the middle ages and the Renaissance, multi-coloured marble tombs climbed up the walls of the city's churches and great artists such as Andrea Verrochio, Alessandro Vittoria or Tiziano Aspetti made magnificent stones statues in all sizes for church and state as well as for the great patrician families who competed to outdo each other in the magnificence of their palaces. This beautiful, specially photographed book is a thesis on the texture, colour, shape and endless uses of stone in the hands of sensitive artists. It will be a revelation even to those who think they know Venice well, and a source of inspiration for designers and craftsmen in all areas.
by "Nielsen BookData"