THE DORADORI AND THE ALCHEMY OF GOUACHE (GUAZZO) GILDING

An art handed down from the 18th century to the present day

 

Plaster, red clay, egg white, isinglass or rabbit-skin glue, gold leaf and agate stone.
Marvellous alchemies for decorating floating palaces, canopies, angels, thrones and ceilings like that of the Scuola di San Rocco at the Doge's Palace. Or indeed theatres like La Fenice, designed in the second half of the 18th century by Giannantonio Stella, a myth that is renewed, twice reborn from its ashes thanks to the magic of its name and the skill of the craftsmen who, over the centuries, have handed down the alchemic secrets of decoration.
Venice, and also Florence, shone with gold and shimmered, sumptuous and beautiful, thanks to the work of craftsmen and master gilders.  In the late Baroque period, in Venice alone, there were 33 workshops, 64 masters, 70 workers and 10 apprentices, who used the precious beaten metal rolled into sheets and spread like a golden mantle around the city.

We at Giovannini have taken up the baton and, thanks to Roberto's passion and tireless research, having studied the techniques and secrets of the master decorators of past centuries, experimenting and applying them with care and a loving dedication, our aim is to keep the art of decoration intact today. We are among the very few with the ability to re-edit artefacts designed in the 18th century, reviving them, like the Phoenix, ever more splendid, updated and in tune with the world of today.