Horror vacui in Early Modern Ceramics. Overall Approach to Covering Surfaces

In this paper, the concept of horror vacui, i.e. the fear of the void, is applied to early modern ceramics, where the artists decorated every part of their artworks so that no empty space is left. This overall approach in covering the surface is examined based on ceramic examples in the technique of incised slipware, which were produced in Venice in the fifteenth and sixteenth centuries. Different methods for covering the surface can be determined, like foliage, interlaced motifs, linear and cross-hatchings, and incised dots. These approaches show how the ceramic artists expressed the idea of horror vacui in their artworks.