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Paintings in stone: the scientific and the sacred

Exhibition February 20 − May 15, 2022

St. Louis Art Museum hosts exhibition "Paintings on Stone: Scientific and Sacred.".

The exhibition features more than 70 amazing paintings by 58 artists from the 16th to 19th centuries.

In 2000, the St. Louis Art Museum acquired Cavaliere d'Arpino's Perseus Rescuing Andromeda, an outstanding painting on lapis lazuli. The acquisition of the stunning work of art spurred extensive research, culminating in the book Paintings in Stone: Science and the Sacred 1530-1800, the first systematic study of this unusual and little-studied art practice. In 1530 Italian artists began painting portraits and sacred images on stone. At first masters used slate and marble. By the last decades of the 16th century, the list of materials had expanded, eventually including alabaster, lapis lazuli, onyx, jasper, agate, and amethyst.

Prepared according to the materials of the website St. Louis Museum of Art.