Duomo Scene

28 x 18 cm

Landscape scenes and buildings also work well depicted in stone. This scene of the Duomo in Florence looks across from the Boboli Gardens. Getting the right texture in each piece of stone was vitally important to give the sense of perspective.

No artificial pigments were used, with all stones being selected for their natural colouring. The sky is slightly different, though, and was created by using a transparent onyx that Thomas has painted on the back of to give the illusion of a beautiful blue sky. The thickness of the stone was crucial here: too thin and the brush marks would have shown through; too thick and it would be have been too faint. Shading is key to create the illusion of distance with clouds painted on the reverse.