Domenico Di Niccolo, Mattia Di Nanni and the Development of Sienese Intarsia Techniques - Antoine M. Wilmering

8/22/2019 Domenico Di Niccolo, Mattia Di Nanni and the Development of Sienese Intarsia Techniques - Antoine M. Wilmering

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Domenico di Niccol, Mattia di Nanni and the Development of Sienese Intarsia TechniquesAuthor(s): Antoine WilmeringReviewed work(s):Source: The Burlington Magazine, Vol. 139, No. 1131 (Jun., 1997), pp. 376+378-379+385+387-397Published by: The Burlington Magazine Publications, Ltd.Stable URL: http://www.jstor.org/stable/887576 .

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ANTOINE WILMERING

Domenico d i Nicco l6 , M a t t i a d i N a n n i a n dt h e developmentf S i e n e s e i n t a r s i a techniques*

THE fourmagnificentpanelsfrom the bench of the SieneseSignoria (Figs. 0, 11, 12 and 13), identified by KeithChristiansen ndthepresentauthoras documentedworksbyMattia di Nanni, mark the climax of intarsia making inSiena, an art developedand refined over a period of morethan a century.They also bear eloquent testimony to theassertionof the most famous Sienesewoodworker,Domeni-co di Niccol6, that Mattia was his one pupil who hadexcelled.Indeed, the panelsdemonstrate hat the pupil sur-passed his master in both technical execution and artisticexpression.An appreciationof the achievementsof thesetwointarsiatoriust be approached hroughan understandingofthe craftas it developed n Orvieto as well as Siena,foritwasin the choir-stallsof Orvieto cathedral,largelycarried outunderthe directionof Sienesemasters, hat figurative ntar-siamakes ts firstappearance.'According to surviving documents, production of thechoir-stallsbegan around 1329/30 and continuedforoverahundredyears.2By 1337varnishwasbeingpurchased orthechoir,3 uggestingthat some partswere alreadycompleted,but there is no way of statingdefinitivelywhat theseparticu-lar stalls ooked like. The first reference o the term 'tarsia'sfound only in 1354,4but the elementaryform of what isknownas tarsia toppo, escribedbelow,must havebeen pro-duced from the start,whilethe visualevidencepointsstrong-ly to the earlyplanningoffigurativentarsia.The purchaseofwoodsbythecathedralworksalsosupports heseconclusions.The mainpurchasesn the earlyyearswere ofpoplar (Populussp.),alder(Alnusp.),walnut,andsomechestnut Castaneap.).Apartfromalder,which is somewhatunusualbut appears nthe earliestdocuments,these are the most common woodsused for construction(poplarand chestnut)and facing, orvisible,wood (walnut).But alreadyin 1330 paymentsweremade for'lingnoiluvii',5nd n 1334, 1337, 1338 and 1339for

quantitiesof'ligninigri'.6 oth terms refer o bog oak,a woodwithverylittle inherentstructural trengthand thereforepri-marilyused for intarsia.In 1348 therewas an isolatedpur-chase of 'legnorumesorbo',he dense light-rosewood of thesorbus ree (Sorbusp.),also usedforinlay.7Although here s a rich harvestofdocuments orthe Orvi-eto choir,theyareincompleteand do not providea compre-hensivepictureof the materialsemployedor their sequenceand kindsof use. With thisproviso, t iscurious hatreferencesto many of the woods necessary orproviding he varietyofcolour and texture essentialto the woodworker'spalette forfigurative nlay 'ligno arsiarumcoloris igrirubei lbiet bisci'appear in the documents only after 1430, a century afterworkwas firstundertaken. n theyears1431-33, we findsev-eralpurchasesof red wood ('ligno ubeoprooro'), log ofmaple('uno occhioceri rocoro'),s well as bog-oakagain.8This is aclear indicationthat in the 1430s intarsiapanels were stillbeing made for what is referred o in the documentsas thenew choir.This lastcampaignwas carriedout by a groupofSienese craftsmen,directedby a youngercontemporaryofDomenico di Niccol6, PietroMinellada Siena(1391-1458).9Much of the earliest ntarsiaworkmust have consistedofthat most common form of decoration,intarsia toppo thesortthat can be seen represented n Simone Martini'sUffiziAnnunciation,ainted in 1333 for the chapel of S. Ansano inSiena Cathedral (Fig.25)and in the cassone of Mattia diNanni'sJustice anel (Fig.24).Toppoesignsare composedofhundreds of tiny wood sectionsshapedas triangles,rectan-gles,trapezoids, quaresorothergeometric orms,cut as end-grain sectionsapproximately ive centimetreslong. In mostcases the wood typeswere walnut(Juglansp.),bog-oak(Quer-cussp.), spindle tree (Euonymusp.) and pear (Pyrus p.). Ablock,orloaf,of thesevariouswoodswasassembledandthenslicedtoproducethin,long-grainstrips ivemillimetres hick,

*Thanks are due to manypeople for help of variouskindsduringthe research orthis article: o Keith Christiansen or his enthusiasticsupportand collaboration nthe project,and to Robert Little of the Musee des Beaux-Arts,Montrealfor facili-tatingresearchon the Montrealpanelsand alertingus to the Scipio fricanusanel;at the Victoria andAlbertMuseum,to ChristopherWilk or allowingme to exam-ine and restoretheJusticepanel, toJonathanAshley-SmithandJohn Kitchin forfacilitatinghisprocess,and toNickUmney,JosephineDarrahandAlbertNeher fortheir help with the conservationand technicalexamination;at the MetropolitanMuseum,to MarkWypyskiorperformingEnergyDispersiveSpectrometry naly-ses on the ScipioAfFicanusanel;also, to AlessandroBagnoliof the Soprintendenzaper i B.A.S. of Siena, Mauro Civai, Director of the Palazzo Pubblico,and GiusiTesta of the Soprintendenzaper i B.A.A.A.S of Perugia, or allowingcloseexami-nation of the intarsiaworks n SienaandPerugia,and to MarioGammino,conser-vatorof the Orvietointarsia, or sharinghis observationson it; to Lucio Riccetti,whogavemetranscriptionsfunpublisheddocumentsrelating o the Orvietowood-work;and to Amee Yunnforreadingthe manuscript.The researchwas supportedby severalgrants rom the MetropolitanMuseum of Art.'Forpublishednformationon theOrvietochoir, ee L.FUMI:lDuomo iOrvieto suoiRestauri,ome [1891], and G.TESTA,d.: LaCattedralei Orvieto,ome [1990].2FUMI,op. it.above,pp.271-307, and docs.I-CLXXXVII.3Orvieto,Archiviodell'Operadel Duomo (hereafterAOPSM, Cam., 2, fol.447v):'vernicisoctepronverniciandoigna on'. amgrateful o LucioRicettiforthis andother

unpublisheddocumentaryreferences,derived romthe importantongoingprojectof computerisinghe documents orthe constructionof OrvietoCathedral.4FUMI,op.cit.at note 1 above,p.292, doc. LXXXV (AOPSM,Memorie e contratti1353-64, fol.56): Perapiscione'uno nno er achasa ovetamastro inoafare atarsiaepagati er 'anno elMCCCLIIIJ'.'Ibid.,p.283, document III, 9thJanuary 1330 (AOPSM,Cam., 2, fol.89v):'Mag.Addamomagistrierini arpentario,uosdixit e solvisseroexpensisactisproseetmagistroJohanne ure eSenisquandopsi veruntpud ontratamelontetapud ontratamagniomi-ni Ugolini upiciniro ingno iluviiprocoro icteEcclesie'.ucioRiccettikindly nformsme that 'ligno iluvii'(literally,loodwood) isbog wood, most likelybog oak: this isoak that has been submerged n an aqueousenvironment or a considerable ime,duringwhich it slowlyturnsblackon accountof a chemicalreaction between thetannins n the wood andferrouselements ntroducedby thewater.6For purchaseof 'ligninigridediluviorocoro icteEcclesie'n 31st March 1334, see

FUMI, op. it.at note 1above,p.287,doc.XXIV LucioRicetti hasalsotold me ofpay-mentson 12thMarchthatyearfortransportinguna almaigninigri ediluviorocorodicte cclesie'rom S. Quiricod'Orcia AOPSM,Cam., 2, fol.331v).For hepaymentsin 1337and 1339,seeAOPSM, Cam., 2, fols.357rand 708v,andfor 1338,seeFUMI,op. it.at note 1a, p.290, doc.LXVI.7AOPSM,Cam., 3, fol.212v."AOPSM,Cam., 18,fols.217rand 260r.9FUMII, loc.cit. at note 2 above. 387


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THE DEVELOPMENT OF INTARSIA TECHNIQUES IN SIENA

24. Detail of the throne rom theJusticepanel (Fig.23),hereattributedo Mattia di Nanni. c.1430.Intarsiatedwood, 83 by 56 cm. (wholepanel)(Victoriaand AlbertMuseum,London).

25. Detail of theVirgin'shrone n theAnnunciation,y SimoneMartini. 1333.Temperaon panel, 184by 210 cm. (wholepanel)(Uffizi,Florence).

thus repeating a design to about eight times the length of theoriginal block. Shallow channels of equivalent depth wouldhave been cut out of the matrix wood with chisels and knivesto receive the strips of toppo,orming symmetrical, geometricpatterns.The dating of the Orvieto choir-stalls' figurative portion -crucial for any history of the craft - is problematic. Although

the documents show that work continued well into the fif-teenth century, a stylistic analysis of the surviving portions ofthe choir-stallsand lectern suggests that the designs were pro-duced at the very inception of the project - along with thosefor the monumental stained-glass windows and, like them,possibly carried out under the supervision of the celebratedSienese sculptor and architect Lorenzo Maitani, who servedas capomaestrot Orvieto Cathedral from 1310 to 1330. Hewas the most influential figure in the building and decorationof the cathedral, and it is quite probable that designs gener-ated while he was capomaestroontinued to be followed afterhis death in 1330.10It is indeed with the finely-featured, elon-gated figures of the stained-glass windows in the apse of thecathedral, and with the similarly elongated bronze angels ofthe Maestaholding the baldachin over the central door of thefacade, that the large intarsia tympanum with the Coronationof theVirginFigs.30 and 31), which crowned the entrance tothe free-standing choir, bears closest affinity. By contrast, thefigures of the choir-stall backs (Fig.26) and imposing lectern(Figs.28 and 29) show such strikingsimilarities to the paintedwork of Meo da Siena - a Sienese artist who is not docu-mented at Orvieto, but was active in and around Perugiafrom 1319 to 1333/34 - that either he or some close associ-ate must have been reponsible for supplying the designs."(Compare, for example, the apostle St Peter in the Orvietochoir, Fig.26, with the equivalent figure in Meo's signed anddated altar-piece in the Galleria Nazionale in Perugia,Fig.27).The technique for the figurative decoration followed stan-dard procedures. For most intarsia - and especially for figu-rative inlay - a drawing would be made as a cartoon, whichin turn was used as a pattern to cut the tesseraento the desired

"ForMaitani, naddition o FUMI ndTESTA,oth citedat note 1above,seec. HARD-ING, in TheDictionaryfArt,London[1996],XX, pp.140-41, andXXIII, pp.583-88.Workon the choirhad startedoneyearprior o the deathof Maitani n 1330;see L.RICCETTI:Le origini dell'Opera.LorenzoMaitani e l'architettura el Duomo diOrvieto', in M. HAINESand L. RICCETTI,eds.: Opera:Carattere ruolodellefabbricheitta-

dinefinoall'iniziodell'EtdModerna,Florence [1996], pp. 157-267, esp. pp.255-56."I am grateful to Keith Christiansen for this suggestion. For Meo da Siena, see D.GORDON,in TheDictionaryofArt, London [1996], XXI, pp. 144-45; F. TODINI:Lapit-turaumbradal duecentoalprimocinquecento,Milan [1989], I, p.222; II, pp. 107-09.

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26. StPeter,etail fromchoir-stallpanel.Sienese,secondhalf of the fourteenth entury. ntarsiatedwoods(OrvietoCathedral).27. Polyptychrom S. Maria di Valdiponte,byMeo da Siena.Temperaon panel,233 by 242cm. (GalleriaNazionale,Perugia).

28. Detailof Fig.29showing he headof StAndrew.

shapesandto transfer he designto the matrixpanel.Wood-workerswould haveprepareda plainpieceof wood cutto theproperdimensionsof, forexample,a choir-stall ack(walnutwas used in the Orvietochoir).The smoothedpanel wouldserve as a matrix for the tesseraehatwere to be inlaid.Oncethe transfer f the cartoonwascompleted, helargersectionswere inlaidby being fixedto the substratewith glue and/orsmallwooden pegs accordingto the generaloutline of thedesign. This process was repeated, progressivelysmallerpieces of wood graduallyaddingmore detail. Betweeneachround of inlay, he face of the panelwouldhave been planedorscraped o reveal he stateofprogress.Whennecessary,hecartoon wouldhavebeen re-transferredver the semi-com-pleted image. The matrix remainedvisible as part of thecompletedwork(Fig.26).At Orvieto the level of skillshownby the intarsiatorias exceptional.The eyebrowsof the apos-tle St Andrewin the lectern, for example,are meticulouslyinlaid with tinysliversof end-grainwood almostarticulatingeach individualhair(Fig.28).The tympanumwiththe CoronationftheVirginFigs.30and31)showsa slightlydifferent echnique romthat nthe choir-stallsandlectern,and it mayhavebeen executed ater. nter-estingly, he tympanum'sechniqueresembles hatemployedby Domenico di Niccol6 for the choir-stallsn the Cappellade'Signori in the Palazzo Pubblico, Siena. The substratewood was first covered with smallersheets, about 5 mm.thick, of oak, bog-oak, and lighter-colouredwoods, whichwere fixed with glue and small wooden pegs to form theroughoutline ndicatedbythedesign.The inlaywas then cutinto the surfaceveneer.All furtherstepswere executed n thetraditionalmanneralreadydescribed.The extremely argesize of the tympanum,which is constructedof sevenboardsand measuresc.290 cm. high and 300 cm. wide, made it anincredibly complicatedwork to produce. This astoundingpanel,with the exquisitelygraciousand introvertedigureofthe Virgincrownedby the Lord and surroundedby angelsandsaints,musthavebeenregardedas one of the most ambi-tious intarsiaworks of the fourteenthcentury.It must beremembered hat the actualcuttingof intarsia equiresa cer-

29. Baseof lecternwithfiguresof saints.Sienese,c.1356.Intarsiatedwood(OrvietoCathedral).

tain amount of physical strength,comparable o but quitedifferent rom carving sculpture.Whereasin sculpture heapplied orceandmovement saway romthebody, heintar-siacutteroftenworks owardsand closeto thebody.For hatreason,mostintarsiapanelsaresmallor divided nto smallermatrix sections,as is the case, for example, in the late fif-teenth-century tudiolofrom the Ducal Palace in Gubbio,now in the MetropolitanMuseumof Art,New York.'2The Orvietointarsia,especially he CoronationftheVirginpanel, provides he essentialbackground or understandingthe work of Domenico di Niccol6. It is not known whereDomenico receivedhistraining,or whetherhe learned o cutintarsia in the conventionalfourteenth-century echnique.All hisearlywork or Siena Cathedral s lostand ourknowl-

'2See o. RAGGIO nd A.M. WILMERING:The Liberal Arts Studiolo from the DucalPalaceat Gubbio', TheMetropolitanuseumfArtBulletin[Spring 1996].A muchfullerpublicationof the Gubbio studiolo s in preparation y the sameauthors.

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edge of his craftderivesexclusively rom his lastandgreatestcommissions the choir-stalls or the Cappella de'Signori,and two independent panels that were likewisepart of theinteriordecorations f the PalazzoPubblico.'3n a numberofrespectshis methodas foundin these late worksseems to beuntraditional.Although the Coronationf theVirginanel inOrvietoprovidesclose analogies,Domenico developedsev-eral technicalrefinements.He veneeredhispanelswith smallsheetsofbog-oak,orlighterwoods(boxwood orspindle ree)of about 5 mm. thick, ixed withglueand smallwoodenpegsto theirsubstrate, nd then cut the details nto thisveneer.Noknowndocuments temisethe purchaseof materials or hisSiena choir-stalls,but examination reveals that he used aslightlynarrowerrange of woods than appear at Orvieto,including (in addition to those just mentioned), walnut,poplar,pear, cherry (Prunusp.), plum (Prunusp.),boxwood(Buxusp.)'4 ndpossiblyrobinia Robiniap.).Domenico was a mastercraftsmann differentmedia andthismay accountforthe fact that he did not confine himselfin his intarsia o the use of woodalone,but alsointroducedarangeof colouredputtiesto heightenthe expressive harac-ter of hiswork.In the Confiteornum aptismaanel,for exam-ple,heuseda greenpasteto representhe waterbeingpouredfromthejug. More dramaticare Christ's edstigmata n theEt iterum enturuspanel, or the blood gushingout of his chestin the Crucifixustiam ronobis Figs.34and 35). Each initialcapital n the Latin extson the scrollsgiving he relevantpartof the Creed is executedwith a red-colouredpaste in imita-

31. Detail ofFig.30showing he head of the Virgin.

30. Coronationof theVirgin.Sienese,secondhalfof the fourteenth entury.Intarsiatedwood, 290by 300 cm. (OrvietoCathedral).

32. Detail of the Raisingfthedeadromthe choir-stallsn the Cappellade' Signori,byDomenico di Niccol6,c.1415-21. Intarsiatedwood (PalazzoPubblico,Siena).

'3Forhese twopanelsand theirpossibleorigin romdoors,seeKEITH HRISTIANSEN'Sarticle n thisissueabove,p.376.'4Boxwoodwas commonlyused by the earlySienese intarsia cutters. It was pur-chased,for example,in Orvieto on 16thDecember 1402: 'Itemdedit t solvitFratrilacobo ancti gostinirouno occhioussi uod mit roactandohorumoldos ecemenario-rum'AOPSM,Cam., 13, fol.237v).390


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THE DEVELOPMENT OF INTARSIA TECHNIQUES IN SIENA, .......:., ......... ......

33. Detail of PatremmnipotentemFig. 7) rom the choir-stallsn the Cappellade'Signori,hereattributedo Mattia di Nanni,c.1421-28. Intarsiatedwood (PalazzoPubblico,Siena).

34. Detail of Fig.34 showingred-colouredbloodspurting romtheCrucifiedChrist.35. Crucifixustiampronobis,rom the choir-stallsn the Cappellade' Signori,by DomenicodiNiccol6. c.1415-21. Intarsiatedwood andcolouredputty,49.5 by 46.5 cm. (PalazzoPubblico,Siena).

&-1

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36. Detail of ScipioAfricanus Fig.13), here attributed to Mattia di Nanni.

tion of the redinkof an actualchoir-book,and the other et-ters are inlaid with blackputty simulatingblack ink. Blackputtywas usedthroughout hepanelsfor the smallestdetails,which would have been difficultto execute with bog-oak(Figs.32and 37). Black putty was also commonly used atOrvieto for small details but the applicationof colouredpasteshas not been observed.In the choir-stallson the left

37. Detail of Credon unum eum(Fig.19)rom the choir-stallsnthe Cappellade'Signori,hereattributedo Mattia diNanni.c. 1415-21. Intarsiatedwood. (PalazzoPubblico,Siena).

side of the Cappellade' Signorigreenpastewas usedagain,to imitate he sea in the mappamondif three of the panels(seeFig.33).In this group,a furthernoveltywas the use of thinmetal stripsfor certaindetails, such as the feathersof theangels'wings.A wonderfulandimaginative xampleof thesetiny metal stripsis provided by the inlaid breakersof thewavesin the sea of the mappamondof the Patremmnipotentempanel (Fig.33).The technical refinement of the left-handgroupofchoir-stalls, ateableon documentary videnceafter1421, stronglysuggests he presenceof a new,youthfulandinnovativeartistalongsidethe middle-agedDomenico: thiscan only be Mattiadi Nanni. How greata r61e he youngerartisthadin theproductionof these stallsmustremaina mat-ter of conjecture,but it is arguable hatin the productionofthe last eightpanelshis was increasingly he dominantper-sonality.'5"t any event, thesepanelsset the standard or hisworkon the Signory'sbench.One of the mostpeculiarand innovativetechniquesntro-ducedby Domenico is the applicationof laminatedstripsofwood to control he gradationof wood colour,usedpredom-inantly n the folds of the drapery.The use of laminaen thisparticularmanner is not found elsewhere in Italy and isuniqueto Domenico and hisstarpupilMattia.It allowed or

5Sincethe intarsiapanelsweremadeindependentlyromthe stalls,rather han setinto a matrix, t ispossible hatthere were twocampaignsof intarsiadecoration ol-lowingthe constructionof the stalls hemselves. f this was the case,the firstmighthavebegunc. 1418- allowing ourto sevenyears orthe construction f the stallsand the secondin the 1420s, ncluding he door on left,which ispartof the overallscheme,wasbegun.The firstgroup sfinelyexecuted,but as CHRISTIANSENemarksin his articleabove,differs tylisticallyrom hesecond,which shows he influenceofGhiberti.Christiansen nd I arefully n agreement hat Mattia di Nanni maywellhavebeeninvolvedn thesecondgroup; ndeed,thetechnicalmasteryandattentionto detail found in the Credon unum eumpanel,whichgoes farbeyondDomenico'searlierwork, s a sufficient ndication hat its executionmaybe ascribed o Mattia.392


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38. Detailof the Cassapanca Fig.8),with the threepanelsshowingM. Curiusentatus,ompeyndMettusCurtius.

a subtle and perfectlycontrolledgradationof the naturalwood colours o renderhighlightsandshadows,and was usedvery effectively o create hollowed-out folds in draperybyinterweaving ight and very darkstrips,as can be seen inDomenico'sJusticepanel (Fig.7).The applicationof theselaminae add a painterly quality to the intarsia which wasdeveloped o a very sophisticatedevelbyMattia(seeFig.24).Wood laminationswere used in intarsia hroughout he fif-teenthcentury, ut witha completelydifferent ntention.Theguillocheborder n the Gubbiostudiolo, orexample, scom-posed of fourteenstripsof wood, rangingfromvery light todeep black,to createa three-dimensional, olumetriceffect,andsome of the booksin the studiolohave laminatedblocksto simulate he individualpages,but laminaeare never usedto modelthe form.16As one wouldexpect,Mattiadi Nanni's ntarsia echniquesdevelopedfrom Domenico di Niccol6's. The four survivingpanelsfromthe Signory'sbench(Figs. 0, 11, 12, 13 and 35),togetherwith the panel ofJustice Fig.23)n the VictoriaandAlbertMuseum undocumentedbutcertainlybyMattiaandassociablewith the Palazzo Pubblico commissions revealMattia as a master of intarsiaof unequalled ability.ScipioAfricanusFig.13)may have been among the firstcompletedpanels, as the seated figure and the oddly foreshortenedbench are clearlyreminiscentof Domenico di Niccol6 (the

figure may be compared with the Et iterum enturuspanel inthe Cappella de'Signori choir). Mattia refined Domenico'stechnique of laminating wood shavings by employing lami-nae of various thicknesses, and by mixing different woodspecies. Whereas the older master had used shavings withblunt ends, Mattia tapered them meticulously, enabling pre-cise and smooth interweaving of the different, naturallycoloured woods. This technique allowed Mattia to createimages with carefullymodelled details, and some of the inlaidsliversare as fine as apainter's brush stroke(Fig.39).The lam-inae were probably produced by two different techniques.One seems to have involved wet boards, which were shavedon their side with a coarsely-set plane, as indicated by a closelook at the right arm of 'Marcus Curius' (Fig.40),with its lam-inae of even thickness with tiny fractures. The second musthave incorporated dry boards to produce straight stripswhich, in turn, needed to be moistened before they were lam-inated. The laminae must have been assembled with the aidof jigs to force them into the required shapes. Then the sec-tions of inlay were cut from these newly assembled blocks toa thickness of about 5 cm. If the laminae were not wetenough, or some of the curves were too small, tiny breaksoccurred, as can be seen in Pompey'sight arm (Fig.43). Oncethe small laminae were in place, forming the rough outlineof the design, they may have been further inlaid with detailsfollowing the intarsia technique (Fig.41).Mattia created finely rendered images with a beautifulpainterly quality, combined with a bold sculptural presence"For llustrations see RAGGIOnd WILMERING,ited at note 12 above.

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39. Detailof the garmentbow ofJustice Fig.23),hereattributedo Mattiadi Nanni.

reminiscentof Ghiberti.His paletteof wood species s quitesimilar to that of Domenico, incorporatingwalnut, pear,poplar,bog oak,brownoakand spindlewood. The selectionofwood seems almost oo limited orintarsia, specially fwecompareit to the Florentineworkshops.However,Mattia'sclever amination echniqueenabledhimto createa fulltonalspectrum.He abandoned he use of colouredputties,exceptforblack,used forthe finest details:bone and metal seem tobe the onlynon-woodmaterial ncorporatednto hispanels.He used bone rather ngeniously o make the whites of theeyes in MettusCurtius, cipioAfricanusnd (combinedwithlight-coloured spindle wood) Pompey,nd to highlight thebridgeof the nose of the latter wo (Fig.42). n addition,ScipioAfricanusas bone denturesand metalstripson the brimofhishelmet(Fig.36).'7This technicalmasteryreachesa climax in the beautifulJustice anel in the VictoriaandAlbertMuseum,which wascarefullyexaminedduringconservation reatment n 1992.X-radiographyndicatedcertaindarkerbrownareasof inlayto be moreX-raydense thanothers,andfurther xaminationwithX-rayfluorescence evealedelevated evels of copper nthe head-dress,the lining of the garment, the shoulder-bands,the ribbontyingthe dresstogetherandthe mappamon-do Figs.45and46),whilethe lighter-colouredwoodsshowednopresenceofmetalliccomponents. t ishighlyprobable hatthe coppertracesare the remainsof a now-discoloured op-per resinateglaze that partiallypenetratedthe wood fibres,andthat the intentionwas to have certaindetails n thepanelappeargreenorgreenish,whilekeeping heunderlyingwoodvisible.As we haveseen,the precedent or the applicationofcolours nfigurativentarsiahad beensetbyDomenico,usingopaquepigmentedputties o enhance certain solateddetails.Mattia,by contrast, eemsto have used hisglazesto empha-

40. Detail ofrightarm of M.Curius entatus(Fig. 0),here attributed o Mattiadi Nanni.

sisethe pictorialqualityof hiswork, ollowing hepracticeofpainters.'"It is hardto imaginesomedetails n theJusticeigurehigh-lightedwitha greenglaze,whilethe restof thepanelwasren-dered only in naturallytoned woods. When representingmantles and cloaks,fifteenth-centurySienesepaintersandpolychrome culptorsnormallyused one colour forthe exte-rior of mantles andcloaksand another for the lining,some-times set off by a still differentlycoloured undergarmet.There is no reason o assume hatfigurativentarsia,once thepossibilityof colour was introduced,would have been pro-ducedaccording o adifferent esthetic.Thus theevidenceofa green liningin theJustice anel has to be recognisedas anindication hat the exterior abricof the dresswasglazedaswell - probably n a red tone not unlikethe colourscheme oftheJustice ainted by Taddeo di Bartolo n 1414 in a lunetteof the antecappellan the PalazzoPubblico.Mattia's igurativeintarsia houldthus be comparedwithpainting,polychromesculpture,or enamels andjewellery,whereglazeswere com-monly applied o enhancean underlyingdesignor colour.The Justiceiguremost probablyhad colouredglazesnotonly in the dress,but also on her face and hands.How elsecan it be explained hatherface lacksthe detail renderedbycontrastingwoods in otherpartsof the samepanel (Fig.44)?While the face certainlyrevealsextensivewood modulationand fineworkmanship, lmost all the woods are used in onetone.Herrighteyebrow,orexample, s lostbetween helam-inae of the eye socketand forehead,and there is perhapsnootherexplanation orthiseffect thanthather sereneexpres-sion was intensifiedby glazes,or even opaque paints.Since,unfortunately,he panel has been scraped (undoubtedly oeliminatea darkenedsurface),we cannot be sure what thepolychromylooked like. Most fifteenth-centuryglazes for

"EDSanalyses onfirmed hat the metalcompoundconsistedof a lead-tinmixture.'8Apreliminarynspectionof theScipio fricanusanelrevealed hathere too a greencolouringagenthad been usedin the liningof the garment,which is stillpartially

visible o the nakedeye.EDSanalyses onfirmed hatcopper-resinatead beenusedas the colouringsubstance.

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41. Headof M. Curiusentatus(Fig. 0). 42. Head of PompeyFig. 1).

43. Detailof rightarm of PompeyFig. 1),here attributedo Mattia di Nanni.

paintedor wooden surfaceswerecomposedof organicmate-rials(except orcopperresinate), uchas kermes rom the lacinsect and verzinofrombrazilwood. Tracesof thesemay beimpossible o detectwithanalytical quipmenton an alreadyscrapedwood surface.That these materials were used incombinationwith intarsiadecoration sbeyonddoubt,and issupportedby the documentaryevidence from Orvieto. In1345, duringthe early stagesof the intarsiawork,verfinor

brazilwood (Caesalpiniap.)waspurchased or the choir,andin 1431 on two separateoccasionsverdigriswas bought 'procoloribusrocoro'1It is not widelyunderstood hat intarsia n the fourteenthand fifteenth centuries was often coated with a cookedoil/resin varnish (verniceiquida),atherthan being finishedwith wax or spiritvarnishes.The Orvietodocumentsmen-tion a 'cookedvarnish'being appliedto the choirin 1337.20

'9AOPSM,Cam., 3, fol.104r; 18, fol.250v; 18, fol.260r. 20See ote 3 above.395


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44. Head ofJusticeFig.23)Recipesforsuchvarnishes,whichwerecommonlyapplied opaintings,appearas earlyas the twelfthcentury n the man-uscriptofTheophilus,who states hat,whenapplied o paint-ings, they make them 'bright, beautiful and completelylasting'. Wooden surfaces oo required inishes to saturate

and clarifythe wood colours.When Vasaricommentedonintarsiain 1550, however,he praisedthe achievementsofwood-workers, ut was criticalof theircraft,because ntarsia2TheophilusnDiversArts,d.J.G.RAwTHoRNEnd s.c. SMITrrH,ew York 1979],p.28.396


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45. X-radiographofJustice anel (Fig.23).

'issomethingwhichturnsblackat once'.22 he phenomenonof the darkening of oil/resin varnishes, keenly observed byVasari, s well knowntoday.It apparently akesplace morerapidly n darkenvironments uchas chapelsand choirs, orwhich, ironically,most intarsia was made. This darkeningexplains why nineteenth-century restorers had to resort tosuchstrongcleaningagentsaslyeinorder o exposethewoodsurfaces from the heavily cross-linked varnishes. Mattia'spanel too must have been varnished and darkened n thisway,whichexplains he scraping hatwas laternecessary oclean the surface.The original ettingof theJustice anelhas notbeen docu-mented,but thehypothesisadvanced n theprecedingarticlethat twaspartof apulpit n the councilchamber eemscred-ible.The convergingines in the Sassetta-like avement ndi-cate that the panel was intended to be seen at a fairly owposition (the horizon line at the viewer's knee height), whichwould haveemphasised he trompe'oeil ffectwroughtby theone-point perspective.2Thus Mattia di Nanni should berecognisednot onlyas one of the mostinnovativeand skilledintarsiacutters of the fifteenthcentury,but also as a crafts-man of a new generationwho, despitenot havingbeen partofBrunelleschi'sircle,may layclaimto beingone of the ear-liestSienesemaestriiprospettiva.

MetropolitanuseumfArt,Newrork

46. Detail of 45 showinggarmentbow.

AppendixObservations on condition.The threepanels n Montrealare in faircondition.Theywereprobably estoredat the turn of the century,at which time theywere also mounted into a pasticherenaissancebench. They are unusually ightlycropped n the lozengeframe,andmust havebeen trimmedat the sides.Their surfaceshave been rigorously leanedand scraped,as is evident in the lower left corner of the 'MarcusCurius'panel,where the mouth of the sackhas almost ost its detail.The boards of the substratewood have shrunkunevenly, ausing he intarsia o crack,buckleanddelaminatensomeplaces.The Scipio fticanus,cquiredby the MetropolitanMuseum of Artin 1997,is inoverall aircondition.The thinnedpoplarsubstratepanelhasbeenpreserved lmostflatwithoutanycracksand the inlayis well consolidated o the surface.There areseveralrepairs o the intarsia,especially o areaswithbog-oak nlay.At somepointin itshistory hepanelwasturned ntoa cabinetdoor,as is evident romvoidsmadefor a lock and two knife-hinges now ost); he back and sideshave been veneeredwith rosewoodover hepoplarsubstrate, robably t thetimeofthisconversion.Thelozengeborder s a modernrestoration.Interestingly,he titles seemto have been separated rom thepanels(futureech-nicalexaminationmaybe ableto confirmthis),possiblyaccounting or some of theconfusions in the names. The titles 'MAGNVSONPEVS'and 'Q. cvRCivs' (which, asKEITHCHRISTIANSEN oints out above, p.379, isstrictly speaking a mistake for 'M.CvR-cIvs')certainly ome from heoriginalbench,while MARCvsvRIVs'whichs amis-take for 'MANLIVSVRIVs')eemsto be a replacement,as it is made from a differentwood and fillmaterial.The inscriptionat the bottomof the MetropolitanMuseumpanel,slightlymisspelled s 'SCIPIo FFRICANUs',spartof theoriginalbench andfea-turesblackputty nlay.The Justice anel, which entered the South KensingtonMuseumin 1859, hadprobablybeen restoredwhen it was takenout of itsframework, rperhapswhen itwas sold.Obliquescratchmarks eveal hatthesurfacehadbeenscraped,and tmayadditionallyhavebeen cleanedwithaquamaestra,r lye.Bothtechniqueswerecom-monlyusedbyrestorersnthenineteenthcentury.The overall onditionof thepanelis fairlygood,however,withonlysome minorwoodrestorations.

22G. VASARI:e vitede'pizi ccellentiittori,cultoriarchitettori,d. G.MILANESI,lorence[1878-85], I, pp.202-03.23Theperspectivedesign and inherentoptimumviewpointin this panel are notunlike, orexample, hose n the lowerpanelsof a cabinetmadebyFraGiovannida

Verona n 1502for the choirbooks of the monasteryof Monte OlivetoMaggiore;see G.BRIZZI:I1corontarsiatodell'AbbaziaiMonteOlivetoMaggiore,Milano [1989],p.132 (ill.)

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Documents

Domenico Di Niccolo, Mattia Di Nanni and the Development of Sienese Intarsia Techniques - Antoine M. Wilmering