Stucco in Turin, 1630–1730: The Changing Roles of Designers and Stucco Workers

The interior decoration of the residences of the Savoy court in Turin offers a fascinating field of observation regarding collaborative practices in stucco decoration. The shifting roles of designers and stucco workers become crucial in the transition from the drawn form to the sculpted object that emerges from the moulding of the stucco impasto, leading to a range of outcomes in style and taste: when design and execution are entirely in the hands of a partnership of stucco workers from Lugano, and the personality of a figurative sculptor becomes more significant than the production of routine ornamental patterns (c. 1630–50); when a stucco worker interprets the proposal of painters overseeing a decorative project and, seduced by the malleable substance, takes the suggestion supplied by the designer in a new direction (c. 1680–1715); when the architect’s design rigorously determines the overall process of interior decoration and the stucco workers’ mastery over their own medium leads them to operate within the confident outline of the drawing (c. 1715–35).