Genesis of Marquetry - Part IV

Siena was a city, more than any other, that had the environment for craftsmen of intarsia, as well as patrons looking for novel decorative arts, to flourish. At the close of the 13th-century the number of inhabitants was nearly 30,000. In central Italy, the cities of Orvieto, Gubbio and Urbino also employed workers of this trade, but they arrived by way of siena where they had learned the craft. In the countryside, at remote monasteries, lay monks also worked at this craft since they were exempted from the obligatory Offices and devotions mandated by their order. They usually worked at the Abbey in which they were attached and sometimes monasteries would hire Florentine intarsiatori from Siena.

The first occasion of large scale intarsia that is found in historical documents is a certain Manuello who, with his son Parit, in 1259, worked on the ancient choir of the Siena Cathedral. This was most certainly Certosina Intarsia (geometric shapes of wood, bone and ivory inlaid into a background of wood) and one of the earliest form of intarsia - the earliest form being intarsia a toppo. They have long since been replaced. It must be noted that most ancient intarsia made during the renaissance were created over a span of several decades. In some cases the original craftsman did not see their completion.

Figurative intarsia did not appear until after 1430 and this by all records was at the Orvieto Cathedral, 60 miles from Siena. The work on the choir-stalls date back to 1330 with this early work being executed in intarsia a toppo. From 1430 to 1441 the best Sienese craftsmen worked on the choir. These include Domenico di Niccolo, Mattia di Natti and Pietro della Minella. This new intarsia, however, had become very popular for those that could afford it - namely the Church and Nobles. It had become so fashionable that by 1472 eighty woodworking shops were operating in the region. One of the innovations that stimulated this popularity was the discovery of perspective painting in the middle of the 15th-Century. Soon this technique was appled to inlaid panels of wood. The two best examples of this work are the Studiolo from the Ducal Palace in Gubbio and the choir stalls at the Abbey of Monte Oliveto Maggiore.

Mattia di Natti about 1430
Palazzo Pubblico (town Hall) in Siena

The Studiolo was constructed about 1480 by Giuliano da Maiano with designs by Francesco di Giorgio Martini. It was completed in a mere 3 years. Around Florence the Maiano workshop was renown for its work on the Florence Cathedral as well as other commissions in the area, but the Studiolo was their greatest work. It contains over 2,000 square feet of intarsia in the above style. At Monte Oliveto Maggiore, the choir stalls and other items were decorated at a later date (1505) by Fra Giovanni da Verona (Fra being the Italian designation for a lay brother). He learned intarsia at an early age and became the leader of the monastic workshops at Verona where the monastery had a church - Santa Maria in Organo. Later he was called to the Vatican to decorate the Stanza della Signatura.His designs were more complex than the previous example and included Polyhedra in various forms. He died in 1525 at Verona.