Statuary

Roman sculptures were already made in this pure marble. During the Italian Renaissance, the quarries of Carrara were developed, particularly under the influence of the Medici family. This marble is appropriate to make statues, white and without any task, nor vein, unlike the one that we use for the works of architecture.

The statuary marble was the favorite of the greatest sculptors, such as Michelangelo who, for many of his works, which was completely pure white. Forexemple he sculpted in a hudge marble block the David exposed in the Galleria dell'Accademia di Firenze, or Gallery of the Academy of Florence. Today, statuary Carrara is no longer as white as it was at that time.

Carrara marbles have always been the most popular marbles and have been used to create exceptional works of art. Many mantels have been made out of this marble. The “ Hotel de la Marine ” in Paris retains many fine antique mantels made out of this marble, including those in the “ Salon des Amiraux ” and the “ Salon Diplomatique ”. Le “Salon Violet ” in Chantilly also features a beautiful mantel out of Carrara marble decorated with bronze. The rooms of Egyptian antiquities in the Louvre Museum in Paris also feature a beautiful mantel enitrely carved out of Carrara marble and with lion shaped jambs.

Bibliography

J. Dubarry de Lasalle, Identification des marbres, Ed. H. Vial, Dourdan, 2000

J. Dubarry de Lasalle, Utilisation des marbres, Ed. H. Vial, Dourdan, 2005

P. Julien, Marbres, de carrières en palais, ed. Le Bec en l'air, Manosque, 2006

Marmi antichi, ouvrage collectif, ed. De Luca, Rome, 1998

Dictionnaire de l'Académie Française, 8è édition