Boat-shaped vessel with foot in the form of a turtle. Milan, Annibale Fontana (1540–1587) (?). Rock crystal and enamelled gold. Milan, c. 1570 (vessel), Italy (?), c. 1570–90 (mounts).
Madrid, Museo Nacional del Prado.
Rock crystal carving from the Renaissance at the Prado The Museo del Prado presents the exhibition Transparent Art. Rock crystal carving in Renaissance Milan, which offers an analysis of the previously little explored art form of carving rock crystal or hyaline quartz. October 14, 2015 – January 10, 2016.]]>
Source: Museo del Prado
Of the 20 examples of carved rock crystal on display in the exhibition, 14 are from the group known as “The Dauphin’s Treasure”, which belongs to the Museo del Prado, while 6 come from the Medici collections in Florence and that of Louis XIV, grandfather of Philip V of Spain, in Paris. Together they constitute a remarkable group of works which are now displayed so that visitors can visually appreciate all their artistic merits in a unique and unrepeatable experience that is further enriched by the technological support of Samsung in the form of tablets which allow for a 360-degree view of some of the objects as well as highly magnified details.
These rock crystal objects, made in workshops in which members of a single family applied their talents to the different stages of this difficult art form, were destined to enrich the collections of the great European monarchs, among them the Holy Roman Emperors, the kings of France, dukes of Bavaria, Mantua, Tuscany and Savoy and also the Spanish monarchy, given that in 1554 Philip II assumed the duchy of Milan and patronised the leading Milanese lapidaries (stone cutters).
In order to understand the artistic context of this art form, the exhibition offers an in-depth exploration of the historical circumstances that gave rise to this facet of sculpture, while also focusing on intellectual and symbolic aspects that explain the choice of certain themes, both religious and mythological, to be seen on the works. Some of them, in the form of fantastical beats, are not the result of chance but rather of ways of seeing the world based on certain Neo-platonic ideas regarding the universe and nature, and are also influenced by the thinking of Leonardo da Vinci, whose ideas are thought to have been used to improve the design of the tools and machinery required for rock crystal carving.
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