There are essential questions in the fields of early modern art production and aesthetic theory that can be asked about the artistic use of the natural material stone and its imitation in painting. This collection presents over 40 sources with commentaries from the ancient period up to the 18th century that can be used to reconstruct the written discourse on stone marble, porphyry, and precious stones and the semanticization of this material.

Iris Wenderholm, University of Hamburg, Germany