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Stucco: catalogue raisonné

Publication at Faculty of Arts |
2022

Abstract

'Stucco', a catalogue raisonné, is a follow-up of the exhibition of the same name held from 19 July to 30 October 2022 on the exhibition premises of the Plasy Building Heritage Centre of the National Technical Museum. The exhibition and the catalogue raisonné provide a historical overview of the craft and introduce various stucco materials and techniques.

Although the roots of stucco date back to ancient times, the techniques applied have remained almost unchanged. Stucco is a craft that consists in processing of flexible matter - stucco, or stucco mortar to be precise - in order to create sculptural ornaments, sculptures as well as refined and decorative surfaces such as artificial marbles or sgraffiti.

The wide range of stucco techniques situates the craft at the intersection of sculpture, painting and architecture. The popularity and widespread use of stucco in architecture can also be explained by the fact that it is a relatively simple and accessible way of achieving a variety of decoration, which would be very difficult to achieve in stone, for example, both in terms of time and money.