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…are
the engravers of the parts of the gondola that can be carved. They
work in the finishing and decorating phase. From the barca lissa
(plain boat), on which only the trasto (thwart) is decorated, to
the barca de lusso (luxury boat), where the carving is not
restricted to the external parts of the boat but is also applied to the parécio,
the seating for the passengers. Above all, it is the work of the intagiadóri,
along with that of the gilder, which gives the gondola its character of a
boat created for pleasure. The
engravers can be specialised in ‘ornate’ or ‘figurative’ work, but
in either case the gondolier will make a selection from a ‘repertory’
of designs accumulated by the engraver. Recurring subjects are
variously entwined leaves, spirals, coats of arms, mythological
figures and cupids. Various styles, mainly ‘barocchetto’, are
drawn upon; religious subjects are never employed. |
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The
engraver brings his tools and life-size drawings, to be copied using
tracing paper, to the boatyard. Then the work of gouging and chiselling
begins (today an electric cutter is used): from the first rough cuts to
the most delicate details. Figures or spirals emerge from a smooth
surface, or from the pontìso, a pattern of dots made with a
special nail. In the past carvings were made separately in cirmolo
(pinewood). Today they are normally carved in bas-relief using the thickness of the boards, usually walnut, mahogany or oak. It takes several years of experience in the workshop to master the art, which requires a high degree of concentration and knowledge of the use of numerous and diverse cutting tools: from the tratìso stracanton (for the first rough cuts) to others of differing lengths and curvature of the tips. The intagiadóri, together with the wood sculptors, were part of the ancient art of the depentóri, whose statute dates back to 1271, and was characterized by disputes among its members from different trades. For this reason, in 1457, the Provveditori de Comun established a net separation between them. |
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associazione 'el felze' - san marco 430 - 30123 venezia - italy |  |