Glass

Venetian glass, including beads, was the most prestigious glass in western Europe. The glass mosaics of Venice were internationally famous. In the latter 13 th century, glassmakers in Venice were united in a guild protecting their industrial secrets. Also since that time, the glassmakers have been located on their own island of Murano, where the factories continue to operate today. There were other glassmaking centers in Europe by the late 15 th century, some of them founded by emigrant artisans from Murano.

Handbook to Life in Renaissance Europe

3.10 Lusterware plate with the arms of Aragon and Sicily. Manises, Spain, c. 1500. (Courtesy of The Hispanic Society of America, E651)

The factory at Saint Germain-en-Laye near Paris, for example, executed commissions for the French royal family. With various advances in the applied sciences, several media in the decorative arts achieved new standards of excellence. For glass, the discovery of clear, pure cristallo gave Venice an edge in the market. Renaissance tastes preferred orna-

Mented glass, such as the enameled and gilded pieces favored by Catherine de’ Medici (1519-89), queen of France, who influenced aristocratic tastes at court. Glass was also painted from the back, such as glass platters stenciled on the bottom with a design that was then painted by hand. Although the painting could be sealed with a clear substance, it could

Art and Visual Culture

Not be heated and was thus rather fragile. In this technique, portraits, heraldic motifs, and classical imagery could be painted on commemorative vessels, such as large cups celebrating a marriage. Imagery from famous Renaissance paintings was occasionally copied and painted onto glass. Clear or monochromatic glass could be textured with ribbing or another simple pattern, and the rim gilded or enameled. The decorative glass described here was largely a product for the upper class; a poor family might have nothing more than a commemorative cup or bowl, if that.

Furniture

During this period, wood-carvers undertook many different types of commissions, from altarpieces to storage chests. They often had large workshops that

3.11 Intarsia paneling in the study of the duke of Urbino. Designed by Baccio Pontelli, latter 15th century (before 1492). (Palazzo Ducale, Urbino, Italy/Bridgeman Art Library)

Were run by family members or by an artist acting as overseer. Wooden furniture was a good market because every middle-class household needed the basics: beds, chests, cabinets, tables, chairs. Oak and walnut were the preferred woods. Because members of the aristocracy regularly moved from one residence to another as the seasons changed, most furniture was made in sections so that it could be taken apart and easily transported in wagons. Upholstered furniture had not yet been invented; people spread carpets or pieces of carpets over tables, beds, and chairs, along with cushions, thus brightening the house and providing some padding. Chests and cabinets often were painted with figural scenes or were carved. For wealthy households, furniture might have gilt details. Intarsia, with small pieces of different-colored wood inlaid, was a durable form of flat decoration that could be used on the top of a table or other flat surface. Some intarsia artists took this technique to extremes, executing commissions to create entire trompe l’oeil rooms in which every wall contained objects “painted” in wood. Florentine furniture makers also used tortoiseshell, ivory, and mother-of-pearl for inlaid designs.