Jewels in painting

How does painting provide evidence about the history of antique jewellery from the Middle Ages to the late 19th century?Looking at fifty paintings of great masters (Mantegna, Leonardo da Vinci, Rubens, Raphael, Caravaggio, Vermeer, Lotto, Rembrandt, Velazquez, Tiepolo, Ingres, Picasso and many others), the book features the fascinating world of jewellery; among such masterpieces by old and modern masters as the Giovanna Tornabuoni by Domenico Ghirlandaio, the Portrait of Battista Sforza by Piero della Francesca, the Lady with an Ermine (Cecilia Gallerani) by Leonardo da Vinci, The Marriage at Cana by Veronese and the Portrait of Gertrud Stein by Pablo Picasso.There is an introduction by Alvar Gonzalez Palacios, followed by Diane Scarisbrick’s essay (world expert of European jewellery) on the history of jewellery, its role and symbolism.Four chapters on coral, semi-precious stones, cameos and pearls precede the illustrated section where each painting – reproduced in full page – is described in detail from a personal point of view by Marie-Christine Autin (art historian and painter).