A sweeping history of premodern architecture told through the material of stone Spanning almost five millennia, Painting in Stone tells a new history of premodern architecture through the material of precious stone. Lavishly illustrated examples include the synthetic gems used to simulate Sumerian and Egyptian heavens; the marble temples and mansions of Greece and Rome; the painted palaces and polychrome marble chapels of early modern Italy; and the multimedia revival in 19th-century England. Poetry, the lens for understanding costly marbles as an artistic medium, summoned a spectrum of imaginative associations and responses, from princes and patriarchs to the populace. Three salient themes sustained this “lithic imagination”: marbles as images of their own elemental substance according to premodern concepts of matter and geology; the perceived indwelling of astral light in earthly stones; and the enduring belief that colored marbles exhibited a form of natural—or divine—painting, thanks to their vivacious veining, rainbow palette, and chance images.

Transform ordinary stones into colorful works of art. Full-color illustrations accompany step-by-step instructions for creating 30 different themes: trees, flowers, animals, mandalas, geometric patterns, marine and holiday motifs, more.

Almost Eternal: Painting on Stone and Material Innovation in Early Modern Europe gathers together an international group of ten scholars, who offer a novel account of the phenomenon of oil painting on stone surfaces in Northern and Southern Europe. This technique was devised in Rome by Sebastiano del Piombo in the early sixteenth century and was practiced until the late seventeenth century. This phenomenon has attracted little attention previously: the volume therefore makes a significant and timely contribution to the field in the light of recent studies of materiality and the rise of technical Art History. Contributors: Nadia Baadj, Piers Baker-Bates, Elena Calvillo, Ana Gonsalez Mozo, Anna Kim, Helen Langdon, Johanna Beate Lohff, Judith Mann, Christopher Nygren, Suzanne Wegmann, and Giulia Martina Weston.

In the past hundred years, haiku has gone far beyond its Japanese origins to become a worldwide phenomenon—with the classic poetic form growing and evolving as it has adapted to the needs of the whole range of languages and cultures that have embraced it. This proliferation of the joy of haiku is cause for celebration—but it can also compel us to go back to the beginning: to look at haiku’s development during the centuries before it was known outside Japan. This in-depth study of haiku history begins with the great early masters of the form—like Basho, Buson, and Issa—and goes all the way to twentieth-century greats, like Santoka. It also focuses on an important aspect of traditional haiku that is less known in the West: haiku art. All the great haiku masters created paintings (called haiga) or calligraphy in connection with their poems, and the words and images were intended to be enjoyed together, enhancing each other, and each adding its own dimension to the reader’s and viewer’s understanding. Here one of the leading haiku scholars of the West takes us on a tour of haiku poetry’s evolution, providing along the way a wealth of examples of the poetry and the art inspired by it.

Alleviate stress, foster creativity, and commune with nature while creating beautiful art with Meditative Stone Art. Let artist Maria Mercedes Trujillo Arango guide you on a meditative art journey, for beginner and expert crafters alike, as she shares her unique, sophisticated, and inspiring designs for decorating stones. Along with the fascinating histories of rock art and mandalas, meditation practices, information about gathering the perfect stones, tools, and art techniques, Meditative Stone Art includes 50 illustrated step-by-step projects—25 calming mandala designs and 25 nature-inspired designs, including: Drawing and Painting Techniques: Creating White Work Designs Creating Black Work Designs Creating Colorful Designs Creating Metallic Designs 25 Mandala Designs (Step-by-Step Tutorials): Ancient Symbol Mandalas: Spirals, Dots, and Concentric Circles Hinduism-Inspired Mehndi and Kolam Mandalas Buddhism-Inspired Mandalas Judaism-Inspired Mandalas Christian Rose Window–Inspired Mandalas Islamic Geometric Rosette–Inspired Mandalas Free-Form Mandalas 25 Nature-Inspired Designs (Step-by-Step Tutorials): Butterflies Beetles Flowers Leaves Gardens Fish Feathers Shells Clouds Galaxies Constellations Chock-full of beautiful photography of finished pieces and easy-to-follow illustrations and instructions to get your designs just right, Meditative Stone Art will have you feeling focused, creative, and relaxed in no time.

Paint Stones creatively In this exercise book you will find many different coloring pages with which you can learn and get great ideas to paint your stones.br>Included are: stencils for creating mandalas finished dot mandala templates for coloring finished animal mandala templates for coloring

Paintings on Stone examines a fascinating tradition long overlooked by art historians-stone surfaces used to create stunning portraits, mythological scenes, and sacred images. Written by an international team of scholars, the catalogue reveals the significance of these paintings, their complex meanings, and their technical virtuosity. Using a technique perfected by Sebastiano del Piombo (1485-1547), 16th-century Italian artists created compositions using stone surfaces in place of panel or canvas. The practice of using stone supports continued to engage European artists and patrons well into the 18th century. This volume reveals the beauty of these works and examines the complexity of using materials such as slate, marble, alabaster, lapis lazuli, and amethyst. Illustrated with more than one hundred examples with essays on topics ranging from importing stone to its relationship to alchemy, Paintings on Stone will become the essential reference on this little-studied practice.Accompanies a major exhibition at the Saint Louis Art Museum from October 25, 2020 to January 17, 2021