I visited the National Gallery for the very first time on May 10, 2022. As a place which stores an enormous amount of masterpieces from great artists of different ages.
Besides the two men and the political significance of the image, we found some interesting decorative details. The green medieval style curtain and the red Persian rug (on the table) demonstrate the wealth of the two men depicted in the pictures. Later, I learned their identities and social status at the time, which was in accordance with the outfit they wore and the furnishings in the room.
Flooring: The use of Cosmati pattern, which is also known as the Rome’s Marble Carpet. Originated from a family of four generations of marble workers in Rome back in the 12 and 13th century. Cosmati (or Cosmatesque) floors are a style of decorative stonework characterized by white marble backgrounds inlaid with geometric shapes (including squares, circles, triangles, and serpentine) cut from colored marble, stones, and glass.
As of today, we could still see this type of flooring inside the High Altar of Westminster Abbey.
“The pavement belongs to a type of inlaid stone decoration known as Cosmati work, after one of the families of craftsmen who specialized in it and the technique is called opus sectile, ‘cut work’. This differs from ancient Roman and earlier medieval mosaic work which consists of square stones of equal size.”
According to the history, it was quite normal at the time to have a bed in the living room as bed represents a luxioury item that people could show off their wealth. This ideaology also applies to their clothes, oranges by the window.
Colour Theory: The most eye-catching colours in this picture are the Green from the woman’s cloth and the Red from the bed. During post-classical and early modern Europe, green was the color commonly associated with wealth, merchants, bankers and the gentry, while red was reserved for the nobility.
Often in the interior design project, we would assign colour to the interiors based on our concepts, client’s preferences, overall theme, or personal interests. However, as we discovered from the painting, colour usually have a more meaningful reason
pixeltocode.uk, P., 2022. Cosmati Pavement | Westminster Abbey. [online] Westminster Abbey. Available at: <https://www.westminster-abbey.org/about-the-abbey/history/cosmati-pavement> [Accessed 5 June 2022].
The Winged Sandals. 2022. Rome’s Marble Carpets The Cosmati Floors – The Winged Sandals. [online] Available at: <https://www.thewingedsandals.com/romes-marble-carpets-cosmati-floors/> [Accessed 5 June 2022].