Game of stones: how paintings of marble reveal a world of magical medieval mysticism

From trippy swirls to blood-soaked slabs, a new book mines gothic and renaissance art for the supernatural significance of the precious rock When we think of marble, we think of it as a desirable commodity: of luxurious interior decoration, from deluxe kitchens to the most corporate of foyers – and of a roaring global market. Yet in the centuries prior to the enlightenment brought about by science and the birth of geology, marble captured the popular imagination as a mysterious, living structure with spiritual properties. It is a way of thinking that’s alien from today’s knowledge, informed by

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