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Intarsia are mosaics made of pieces of inlaid wood. They are a remarkable art form which reached a peak in northern Italy in the late 15th and early 16th centuries. To construct intarsia, outline drawings are used as templates for cutting many pieces of wood (perhaps a thousand or more in these examples). The cut wooden pieces are glued to a wooden substrate and varnished. Different colours of wood provide the different shadings used. Sometimes stains, bleaches, or heat were applied to the wood to provide a wider range of tones.
Note that intarsia are flat panels. The appearance of open cupboard doors is a trompe-l'oeil effect of the masterful perspective.
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