Painting with Stone: the story of the Melocco Brothers
Painting with Stone: the story of the Melocco Brothers
The work of Melocco Bros is embedded in the architecture of Australia. In mosaic, terrazzo, sgraffito, and scagliola across Sydney, these exotic terms are presented in stunning images as the story unfolds about how three extraordinary brothers who migrated from a small village in northern Italy to Sydney made their mark in history, painting with stone.
In 1908, with nothing more than their talent and the indomitable desire to succeed, Peter, Antonio, and Galliano Melocco founded a business that would redefine their adopted city. Sydneysiders might have booked a train ticket amidst the mural frieze and terrazzo mosaic floor at Central Station or shopped at the marbled David Jones and Mark Foys. They may have transacted amidst the gleaming columns of the Commonwealth Bank at Martin Place or the Bank of New South Wales in George Street. On the weekend, they might have marvelled at the magnificent Tasman Map in the entrance foyer of the Mitchell Library or silently contemplated the heroic exploits of the Anzacs in the Hall of Memory and at the Well of Contemplation at the Anzac Memorial in Hyde Park or been awed by the extraordinary mosaic and terrazzo crypt under St Mary’s Cathedral. In the evening, they might have been entertained in the glorious picture palace of the State Theatre.
Speaking through the language of stone, each inanimate piece of their tesserae ‘earth’ enriched Australia’s architecture and elevated it from beyond architecture to the realm of art. Astonishingly, ninety per cent of the marble, scagliola, and terrazzo work in hundreds of Sydney’s public buildings up to the 1960s bear the handiwork of Melocco craftsmen.
Despite the ubiquity of the Melocco Bros’ work, detailed acknowledgement of their achievements has been lacking until now. In Painting with Stone, architectural historian Zeny Edwards rectifies this gap and shows that these three brothers were masters of innovation and craftsmanship who have long deserved special recognition in Australia’s architectural history.
Painting with Stone: the story of the Melocco Brothers is a project instigated by Victoria Hynes, a visual arts writer of 25 years and granddaughter of Peter Melocco, with the support of the Consulate of Italy in Sydney and Co.As.It. Sydney.
About the author
Zeny Edwards is an architectural historian, award-winning biographer, and human rights advocate. She has published the biographies of Australian architects John Sulman and William Hardy Wilson, and photographers Harold Cazneaux and Max Dupain, among others. She is noted for her architectural histories of historic properties in Australia and overseas. Zeny has served as president of the National Trust of Australia (NSW), Director of the UNAA Peace Program and Vice-president of the 20th Century Heritage Society.
Book details
Retail price $65.00, 224 pages, hardback, 250 mm (H) x 270 mm (W), 100+ full colour photographs. ISBN 978-1-7635361-4-2
