Reviving the Renaissance With Italian Porphyry
Post date: 12 May, 2025
Earlier
this year, our West Thurrock Depot was approached by artist Jonathan
Long from The Renaissance Workshop. This workshop is dedicated to
exploring the techniques of Renaissance drawing and aims to
understand how to draw in the manner of the Renaissance masters.
Their main goal is to accurately recreate the drawing methods used by
artists in fifteenth-century Italy and to share the experience of
this historical process.
Jonathan
was looking to source Italian Porphyry to create an authentic
grinding slab and muller for making paint. He discussed the materials
we could supply, along with the different colours and forms of Italian
porphyry, with our resident geologist Simon Copsey. After that, he visited the
depot and took a porphyry slab and sett with him to work on.
We were
happy to receive this update from Jonathan.
I
got
there
in
the
end
after
weeks.
I
had
to
do
it
on
top
of
my
ordinary
work
with
historical
materials
and
drawing.
I
started
off
with
traditional
steel
chisels
and
then
realised
that
I
needed
them
to
have
tungsten-carbide
tips.
Then
I
realised
that
this
type
of
stone
was
not
normally
chiselled
into
shape
or
flattened
off
with
chisels
at
all.
I
bought
a
Flex
angle-grinder
and
started
shaping
the
stone
using
a
ruler
and
ink
to
map
where
to
make
my
cuts.
I
realised
I
needed
a
better
set-up
so
I
found
an
old
workbench
and
started
measuring
with
the
angle
grinder
on
it.
I
used
steel
ruler
to
help
me
work
the
surface
down
flat.
It
has been a journey but I am finally there. It is now a real,
authentic grinding slab and muller for making paint and grinding
pigments the way it was done by artists in Leonardo's time in the
Renaissance.
For
me it is a real dream come true. The slab and sett I got from CED
stone in Essex last year is now a living and functioning part of my
workshop.
It is
amazing.
