CATHOLIC ENCYCLOPEDIA: MOSAICS
Mosaics
Mosaics, as a term, according to the usual authorities is derived through generations of
gradual change from the Greek <mouseion>, "appertaining to the Muses." In the later
Latin there are the terms opus musivum "mosaic work," <musivarius>, "mosaic
worker," but probably the English word "mosaic" is derived immediately from the
French <mosaique>, which with its earlier form <mousaique> can only be borrowed
from the Italian or <Provencal and cannot be the descendant of the earlier French form
<musike>. It is, however, questionable if these terms were applied to all the different
species of work which may now be classed as "mosaic", and it is probable that they
were only properly applied to the products of the worker in <opus tessellatum> or
<vermiculatum>, formed of small cubes of glass, marble or other material. If we define
mosaic as a collocation of pieces of marble, glass, ceramic material, or precious stone
embedded in some species of cement so as to form an ornamental entity, we should
have to include the <opus Alexandrinum>, and other ordinary paintings such as were
used for the less dignified portions of Roman houses. The term mosaic would also be
made to apply to the <opus sectile> (Vitruvius, VII, i) made of pieces of marble and
glass forming geometrical or foliated patterns, each piece being ground exactly to fit
into the design or in the case of pictures, ground to make the shapes necessary for the
completion of the subject. We also apply the term to the pavement work of later date,
like that in St. Mary Major's in Rome, and that in Canterbury Cathedral and in the
sanctuary of Westminster Abbey in England, as well as to mosaics of a miniature
species used for jewellery and small pictures such as the Head of Our Lord which was
presented by Pope Sixtus IV to Philip de Croy in 1475 and is now in the Treasury of
Sts. Peter and Paul's, Chimay. This latter tradition of work still exists, and every visitor
to Rome or southern Italy is acquainted with the cheap but wonderfully executed
mosaic jewellery which is sold in most of the shops, and even in the streets of Rome.
There is little doubt but that mosaic in jewellery is of considerable antiquity.
History
In passing these various species in historical review, the earliest to be mentioned is that
in Exodus, a pavement (xxiv, 10) "a work of sapphire stones", and the pavement of
Ahasuerus at Susa "paved with porphyry and white marble, and embellished with
painting of wonderful variety", which here, probably, means varied inlaid colour since
surface painting would be out of place on a pavement. And we may well believe that
the Persians knew of tessellated work when we consider the enamelled bricks, which
may be called a large kind of "tessellatum," now in the Louvre from this same palace
at Susa. This is the only record earlier than the existing examples in the Roman
pavements of the Republic and Empire such as remain in the Regia, the Temple of
Castor, the House of Livia, Pompeii, etc. Suetonius says that Caesar was accustomed to
carry in his campaign both tessellated and sectile pavements. It appears according to
Pliny (XXXVI, i) that in the theatres and basilicas, as well as in certain palaces of noble
Romans, the pavements were in tessellate work or in marble sectile, and the walls
decorated with marble or glass by subjects and pattern; here is the passage from
Holland's quaint translation: "Scaurus when he was Edile caused a wonderfull piece of
worke to be made, and exceeding all that had ever been knoune wrought by man's
hand . . . and a theatre it was: the stage had three lofts one above another . . . the base
or nethermost part of the stage was all of marble, the middle of glass, an excessive
superfluitie never heard of before or after." Signor Luigi Visconti informed Herr von
Minutoli (Ueber die Anfertigung und die neu-Anwendung der farbigen Glaser bei den
Alten", p. 13 Berlin, 1836) that the walls of a chamber in a palace between the gate of
St. Sebastian and that of St. Paul at Rome were found covered up to five or six feet
from the pavement with beautiful marbles and above that with coloured glass plaques
and patterns. Some existing examples appear to have been of curious structure, the
pieces of coloured glass were laid upon a flat surface and a sheet of glass laid over
these and melted to a sufficient heat to join them together.
Concerning the method called "tessellatum" we have existing remains to prove the
perfection to which the art was carried by the Romans in the pavements, and in
remains of wall glass mosaic at Pompeii. One of the finest examples of pavements is
the representation of the "Battle of Issus" from the Casa del Fauno at Pompeii, now in
the Naples Museum. Many of the pictures and mosaics in Pompeii are supposed to be
traditional copies of celebrated antique paintings; and it is suggested that this "Battle"
is a traditional copy of a celebrated picture by Helen, a daughter of Timon, of the
Egyptian Hellenic school. From Pompeii came further the very beautiful columns in
glass mosaic now in the Naples Museum. Pompeii, as we know, was destroyed on 24
August, A. D. 79, so that these works precede the Christian Era. Their perfection
argues a development of considerable antiquity, the genesis of which is at present
unknown. Of the subsidiary works in mosaic of Roman pavements, mention has
already been made -- it consists of patterns in black and white, plain floors with
ornamental borders; groups of still life festoons of flowers, and other designs. These
exist in sufficient quantity to show how general was their use. That mosaic pavements
continued in use during the Christian era is proved by the numerous examples that
have been discovered, apparently of Roman origin, at places as distant from one
another as Carthage, Dalmatia, German, France, and England. In England a great
variety have been found in London and in all parts of the country dominated by the
Romans. The British Museum contains many mosaic fragments; amongst these is the
fine specimen of work from Carthage. Some of the earlier Carthaginian pavements
have glass tesserae; the later ones are of marble or ceramic cubes. Entirely different in
method from the work formed of cubes was the <opus sectile>, where, as already
described. the ornament or picture was formed of pieces of marble, stone, or glass of
different colours cut to a required shape, in the same way that a painted glass window
is now made. The manufacture of the necessary opaque glass was carried to a very
great perfection by the Romans, as is testified by the multitude of fragments that have
been found in mounds of rubbish or in the Tiber. <Opus sectile> as a wall decoration
seems to have been very subject to decay, the pieces of glass becoming detached by
their own weight, on the wall becoming damp, decayed, or shaken. There are some
very fine specimens in the Naples Museum; others have been found in the church of St.
Andres in Catabarbara, Rome, which is supposed to have been originally the basilica
of the house of the Bassi on the Esquiline dating from about A. D. 317. From this house
comes the spirited work of the "Tiger and Heifer," now preserved in the church of St.
Antonio Abbate. The background and stripes of the tiger are in green porphyry the rest
of the tiger's skin of <giallo antico>; the heifer is pale fawn marble, and its eyes of
mother-of-pearl. Other decorations of the same house showed that the walls had <opus
sectile> in glass ornament and figures, much in the manner described in the quotation
from Pliny, already given.
Sectile work in glass is found in some examples of Christian art, but marble is more
common, although the tessellated work in the same buildings may be of glass. This
use of marble probably arose from the decay in the manufacture of the special glass
and the difficulty of cutting and grinding it exactly to the forms. Sectile in marbles is
found in Santa Sabina, Rome (425-450), in the baptistery of the cathedral, Ravenna; in
San Vitale Ravenna (sixth century); at Parenzo (sixth century); in Sancta Sophia at
Constantinople and at Thessalonica (sixth century); its use thus has been continuous
ever since, and was an especial feature of the Renaissance. The portion of this theme of
the greatest importance in the present article is that concerned with the glass mosaic of
Christian churches. The initial steps by which it gradually emerged from Pagan art are
in a measure lost, for it rises suddenly like a phoenix from the ashes, complete, entire
in its manipulation, whilst the character of the subjects and designs represented
bespeak the traditions adopted by the artists of the catacombs.
Mosaic, as far as one can at present ascertain, became a vehicle of Christian art in the
fourth century. The earliest examples, such as those of the first basilica of St. Peter and
St. Paul are all destroyed. In the church of St. Costanza on the Via Nomentana there
still remains interesting work. We have also preserved in the Chigi Library some
mosaic from the catacomb of Cyriacus. A mosaic of St. Agnes in the catacomb of St.
Callistus was, however, so decayed, that the existing picture was painted over it in the
sixth century. Other mosaics have been found on sarcophagi in the catacombs. The
most interesting early works, however, that now existing in the apse of the church of
St. Pudentiana (398). It has been much restored in parts and was added to in 1588, but
the design remains. Of the same period is the mosaic in the baptistery at Naples. It is
uncertain whether the apse of St. Rufinus's is of the fourth or fifth century, but it is
interesting as early work.
A great impetus to the art occurred when Constantine, in establishing himself on the
throne of Byzantium, commenced to give his capital an imperial appearance as far as
art was concerned. He gathered together artists from all celebrated centres, and gave to
them special legal and civil or civic favours. Of the works carried out by them, the
mosaics of the church of St. George at Thessalonica in many cases yet occupy their
original position. The nave of St. Mary Major's in Rome still retains some of the fine
mosaics placed there in the fifth century (430-440) and the churches of St. Sabina (422-
433), of St. Paul without the walls, and of St. John Lateran were also so decorated in the
same era (446-462). St. Paul's, destroyed by fire in 1823, has since been restored and
little of the original remains. What remains of the original mosaics of St. John Lateran's
dates from 432-440. The mosaics of the church of Saints Cosmas and Damian (532-530)
were restored in 1660. At Ravenna the mosaic work in the various churches is the finest
of its period. That in the baptistery of the cathedral dedicated to St. John the Baptist is
an especially good example, the church being originally built at the end of the fourth
century but burnt in 434. The mosaics of the Mausoleum of Galla Placidia (450) are also
of excellent design and workmanship. Unfortunately some of these have been restored
with painted stucco. Those in the chapel of the archiepiscopal palace and of the church
of St. John the Evangelist are too of this period. The mosaics of the cathedrals of
Novara and Aosta and the chapel of St. Satira in St. Ambrose's, Milan, are also of the
fifth century. In France at Nantes, Clermont, and Toulouse historians record the
placing of mosaics which no longer remain.
The greatest works of the sixth century, and perhaps the greatest of all mosaic works in
extent, were those carried out under the Emperor Justinian in Sancta Sophia,
Constantinople. In 533, a fire destroyed what then existed, but in a quarter of a century
the restoration was commenced under Anthemios and Isidore, who, it is recorded,
employed ten thousand builders, craftsmen, and artists. The colour is subdued, and
the design and execution good of its period. Justinian also caused the church of Sancta
Sophia at Thessalonica to be built, and decorated with mosaic. Further great works
were executed at Ravenna at the same period.
After the conquest by Belisarius in 539, it became the residence of the exarchs in 552,
and S. Apollinare Nuovo, S. Maria in Cosmedin (553-566), S. Vitale (524-534), and S.
Apollinare-in-Classe (534-549) were built and filled with mosaics. It will be observed
that these churches were commenced under the Ostrogoths and finished under
Justinian, who probably had the mosaics executed by local artists. The names of
Euserius, Statius, Stephano, etc. are recorded. Greeks may have worked with them.
The design of the work in S. Apollinare Nuovo is new to Western art and consists of
two processions of figures very similar, which extend along the whole of the nave
over the arches. It is curious that in the mosaics of the Adoration of the Magi the Magi
wear the same Persian costume we find worn by Persians in the Pompeiian mosaic of
the "Battle of Issus" which is not unlike that in the painting of the three children in the
furnace in the catacomb of St. Priscilla, and that in the mosaic of the prophet Daniel at
Daphne.
The mosaic from S. Michele-in-affrisco at Ravenna was taken to Berlin in 1847 and
Pope Adrian I permitted Charlemagne to take what he chose of marble and mosaic for
his cathedral at Aachen. In Rome the church of Saints Cosmas and Damian (526-530 )
has mosaics of an entirely different character from those at Ravenna and of a ruder
type. In Rome also the basilica of St. Lawrence was decorated with mosaic (577-590).
These have been restored. In Paris the church of the Apostles which occupied the site
where the Pantheon now is was decorated with mosaic about this period.
Notwithstanding the deplorable condition of Rome in the seventh century, the arts
were still kept alive and Pope Honorius decorated the tribune of the apse of St. Agnes's
with a beautifully designed mosaic which still remains. The composition represents in
the centre St. Agnes, above her the Divine Hand blessing, and the popes Honorius and
Symmachus on each side. The work appears to be Greek. In the chapel of St. Venantius
at St. John Lateran's, and at St. Stephen's on the Coelian Hill some mosaics were placed
by John IV; other works were done at St. Peter's and at St. Costanza's on the Via
Nomentana.
Mosaics were also executed for Autun and Auxerre in France. An immense and very
fine pavement of this period was found by M. Renan in ancient Tyre, but it is not
Christian art. Of the eighth century very little mosaic remains. Considerable work was
done in the old basilica of St. Peter of which only a fragment, which came from one of
the chapels, exists. It is in S. Maria in Cosmedin and represents part of the "Adoration
of the Wise Men" and strikingly resembles the design of same subject in enamel on the
"Chasse de Huy". The mosaic was commissioned by John VII in 705-8. In the apse of St.
Theodore's, restored in the last quarter of the eighth century, there is a "majesty":
Christ is seated on an orb with Sts. Peter, Paul, and Theodore. The triclinium of the
Lateran Palace was ornamented with a mosaic of Christ appearing to the Apostles. On
the sides were the groups of Christ and St. Sylvester, Constantine, Copronicus, and St.
Peter with Leo III and Charlemagne -- all these mosaics, never of high class, were
injured by removal and restoration in the eighteenth century. The cathedral of Aachen
executed from the orders of Charlemagne at this period was injured by fire in 1650,
and utterly destroyed soon afterwards. Certain mosaics are known to have existed in
Picardy and were eventually destroyed by fire in the twelfth century. Some good
fragments of interesting mosaic of the early ninth century remain at Germingy-des-
Pres, Loiret, France.
In the ninth century, although the decadence in mosaic work was complete, there was
however an attempt at a slight revival. In Rome mosaics were placed in the churches of
Sts. Nereus and Achilles (795-816), S. Maria (817-24), S. Prassede, S. Cecilia, St. Mark,
Sts. Sylvester and Martin (844-847), and portions of St. Peter's and of S. Maria in
Trastevere (885-888). Mosaic was placed in S. Margaretta in Venice (837), in St.
Ambrose's Milan, and in Sancta Sophia at Constantinople, and some subjects were
inserted in the cathedrals of Capua and Padua. Probably the most interesting of the
period are those in S. Prassede, where that in the apse appears to be an adaptation of
an older design in Saints Cosmas and Damian. In the tenth and eleventh centuries
some mosaics were placed in St. Mark's Venice, one subject representing Christ, with
the Blessed Virgin and St. John on each side, and in 1071-1084 the Doge Domenico
Selvo had other mosaics executed, notably in the grand dome, and portions of the
pavement. It is likely that the smalti were made by the Greeks, who were also probably
the designers and executants. A comparison of the western works of this period with
those in the east is very unfavourable to the former. The art had been degenerating in
the West, and in certain instances, such as that of Sancta Maria Antiqua, painting, on
the wall had taken its place. Evidence of this decay, both in design and practice is
shown in the fact that when Abbot Desiderius, formerly legate at Constantinople and
who became pope as Victor III, wished to decorate the monastery of Monte Cassino
with mosaics, he brought artists and workmen from Constantinople in 1066 for that
purpose. These mosaics are lost or decayed, but it is not unlikely that the artists so
engaged, designed and worked on the wall paintings of Sant' Angelo-in-formis, a
subsidiary church of the monastery near Capua. These most interesting paintings are
still in a fair state of preservation. It is probable that this action of Desiderius had a
far- reaching influence in importing fresh energy especially when he came to occupy
the papal chair.
The schools of Paulus Laurentius and Rainerius were founded, which were ultimately
influenced by the Cosmos, and all the work of this character was at one time
erroneously called cosmati work. The generation of these schools is of considerable
interest in the history of mosaic and is given by Mr. A. L. Frothingham, in the
"American Journal of Archeology", I, 182. The main features of the decorative mosaic
of the Roman School were derived from southern Italy, indirectly from Byzantium, in
the eleventh century. The mosaics of the twelfth century are remarkable both for their
number and the development of design in Christian art. A new period was
inaugurated in Rome under Innocent II. In Italy, in Greece, in Arabia, as well as in
Germany and France, important examples are preserved. In Rome, S. Maria in
Trastevere (where the design and execution of the mosaic in the apse is extremely
grand), S. Crisogono, S. Maria, and S. Francesca Romana were also so decorated. The
Roman artists exerted great influence in Umbria, and the Abruzzi, including the
Marches. These men were at times both architects, mural painters, and mosaic
workers. From the Roman centre their works went west to considerable distances.
Other great works in Italy of this period are in the cathedral of Torcello, in the chapel
of St. Zeno, and in the apse of St. Mark's at Venice, 1159; in the Palatine chapel, in S.
Maria Martorana or S. Maria dell' Ammiraglio in Palermo, in other Sicilian churches
both of Monreale and of xxxx (1140) in the Palace chapel Arab workmen assisting the
Greeks both in the design and execution. The Mohammedans themselves,
notwithstanding the order of the prophet, had occasionally figure design in the mosaic
of their mosques; that of Abd-el-Melik at Jerusalem has figures of prophets in the
porch, and on the walls inside an <Inferno> and a Mohammedan <Paradiso>. The
mosaic ornamentation in the mosques of Seville, Cordova, and Granada are well-
known to travellers. In Greece there still remain most interesting mosaics of the
churches of Daphne, and of St. Luke of Stiris in Phocis. In Syria, there remain the
celebrated series of mosaics in the church of the Nativity, Bethlehem; those in the
Church of the Holy Sepulchre, and the Mosque of Omar. The mosaics of this period in
the churches of Mount Athos are all lost excepting a few figures at Vatopedi. In
France, Abbot Suger had mosaics executed for the church of Saint Denis, and there are
records of such work at Lyons and Troyes. The great period of Christian mosaic was
probably in the thirteenth century. Rome, Florence, Pisa, Venice, Parenzo, and Spoleto
still possess great works of this era, and the names of Cimabue, Giotto, P. Cavallini,
Gaddo Gaddi, Jacobus Torriti, Tafi, Apollonio, and others are connected with the craft.
Torriti did important work in St. Mary Major's and St. John Lateran's; Pietro Cavallini
designed the subjects under the apse of S. Maria in Trastevere; important mosaics were
done in St. Peter's, St. Clement's, and other churches.
In 1298 the great Giotto was called to Rome to design the "navicella" for the Porch of St.
Peter's; that now in situ is a restoration. In Florence the mosaics of the baptistery
commenced in 1225 by Jacobus, a Franciscan, were continued at the end of the century
by Andrea Tafi, Gaddo Gaddi, Apollonio, and afterwards by Agnolo Gaddi. Gaddo
Gaddi also did the beautiful "Madonna" at Santa Maria del Fiore, and the "majesty" at
San Miniato is also attributed to him, but it is so much restored that it is difficult to
pass judgement upon it. At the end of the century (1298-1301) there was executed the
celebrated "majesty" in the apse of the cathedral at Pisa. This has generally been
attributed to Cimabue and the side figures to Vicino. To this opinion Venturi adheres
with strong evidence (Storia dell'Arte Italiana V, 239-240). Gerspach, however, will not
have Cimabue amongst the mosaicists (La Mosaique, 127). At xxxx Castelana there is a
considerable work by the Cosmati, who possessed a school of architects, artists, and
mosaicists. They not only did mosaic pictures or subjects, but enriched the altars,
pulpits, columns, pavements, and other portions of the architecture with geometrical
mosaic patterns. The earliest Christian mosaics in England are of this century, when
the beautiful pavement placed before the shrine of St. Thomas in Canterbury cathedral,
and that of the sanctuary of Westminster Abbey was laid, and the shrine of St. Edward
the Confessor with its inlaid mosaic, was executed. Concerning this last, Robert de
Ware was sent by the king to Rome in 1267 to procure workmen for the ornamentation
of Westminster Abbey and to erect a new monument to St. Edward the Confessor, that
made in 1241 not being good enough. The abbot brought back with him one "Petrus",
who laid the mosaic pavement before the high altar and executed the tomb for the
golden shrine of St Edward. That this Petrus was an eminent person is without doubt.
There are recorded many artists of this name, but he who, in the opinion of Mr.
Frothingham (American Journal of Archeology, 1889, 186), did the work in St.
Edward's Chapel was Petrus Orderisi, son of Andreas. Horace Walpole (History of
Painting in England, I, 17) considers that the artist so called was Pietro Cavallini; both
these artists may be termed Cosmateschi. A portion of the inscription reads: HOC
OPUS EST FACTUM QUOD PETRUS DUXIT IN ACTUM ROMANUS CIVIS .
The work of the fourteenth century in Rome and in Italy generally was a continuation
of that of the thirteenth, the design towards the end of the era becoming influenced by
the rising art of the more western styles. In St. Mary Major's the "Coronation of The
Blessed Virgin" was commenced at the conclusion of the thirteenth and completed
early in the fourteenth century it is signed by the celebrated artist and mosaicist
Jacobus Torriti. Gaddo Gaddi designed the smaller subjects underneath, soon
afterwards. The same artist is said to have completed the work in St. Peter's left by
Torriti. He was then called to Arezzo to do the vault of the cathedral, which fell away
before the end of the century. Torriti also did the apse of St. John Lateran's; Filippo
Rusuti designed the "majesty", and Gaddo Gaddi the lower subject of the facade of St .
Mary Major's, Rome. A mosaic by Munio de Zamaro, a Dominican who died in 1300, is
on the floor of St. Sabina's. At the beginning of the century the work in St. Mark's,
Venice, was continued. A mosaicist, Solferino, did the dome at Spoleto; and the apse at
Parenzo was filled with mosaic.
Perhaps the most important developments of the art are shown in the subjects
decorating the lower part of the apse of S. Maria in Trastevere; in 1291 these subjects
were commenced by Pietro Cavallini, who is said by Vasari to have been a pupil of
Giotto, although this is questioned by modern critics on fairly substantial evidence. He
was the most celebrated Roman artist of his time and his designs, while adhering
more to the Byzantine than those of Giotto did, show a tendency that may be called
Gothic development. His accessories show his cosmatesque affinity. This is very
noticeable in the throne of the Blessed Virgin in S. Crisogono. Mosaic work of the
period remains at Salerno, Naples, and Ravello; at Feranio there are mosaics by
Deodato Cosmos (1332); at Orvieto by two religious Ceco Vanni and Francesco; at Pisa
(in 1321 ) by Vicino, who finished that commenced by Cimibue from the designs of
Gaddo Gaddi. Andrea di Nino and Michele worked in the cathedral of Sienna, and
Deodato Cosmos worked at Teramo. Charles IV called Italian mosaicists to Prague;
they also worked at Marienweide and Marienburg, but the art did not apparently
thrive in Germany.
Mosaic was, however, being rapidly superseded by fresco, which as a primary art
giving the sentiment and character of the artists immediately, was of course much
more esteemed by persons of discrimination than a mere copy in tesserae, or slabs of
opaque glass. Hence in the fifteenth century the cessation of mosaic work in Italy
generally was very notable, except in the case of churches in which it had been
commenced. Some little was done in St. Peter's, and the work in St. Mark's, Venice,
was continued in 1430, when in the chapel of the Mascoli the "Life of the Blessed
Virgin" was designed and executed by Crambono. Mosaicists named Petrus. Lazarus,
Sylvester, and Antonius also worked there. In Florence, Alessandro Baldovinetti (1425-
1450) did a mosaic for St. John's and restored that in San Miniato; he studied the
making of smalti, etc. from a German and wrote a work on the technique of the art. He
was the master of Domenico Ghirlandajo, who not only did the mosaic of the
"Assumption" over a porch of the cathedral and those unfinished in the chapel of St.
Zenobius, but also designed some of the painted windows in S. Maria Nuova, and
whose brother David also followed the same vocation and in 1497, worked at Orvieto
and Siena. A specimen of David's work is in the xxxx de Cluny. Ridolfo Ghirlandajo,
son of Domenico and a friend of Raphael, has certain later mosaics attributed to him.
In the sixteenth century the work of St. Mark's was still carried on and a great many
artists of reputation were engaged on the designs. The mosaics executed in this
cathedral commencing in 1530, are far too numerous to recapitulate here, and are
perhaps less fitted to the building than any hitherto placed; in fact, that greatest of
painters, Titian when rendered in mosaic, becomes coarse, heavy, and, on occasions
grotesque. Other works were desig;ned by Tintoretto, Salviati, and the best Venetian
artists of the day and rendered in mosaic by Zuccati, Rizo, Mariano and others.
Unfortunately many of the earlier mosaics were destroyed by the senate, it is said, on
the advice of Titian, to make room for the new work. The condition of many of them
was bad. Amongst his many other works, Raphael designed for mosaic. The "Creation
of the World" in the Chigi Chapel Santa Maria del Popolo, Rome, from his design, is
very fine. It was done in mosaic by Luigi di Pace, who came from Venice for the
purpose. Baldasare Peruzzi also designed mosaic for Santa Croce in Gerusalemme, and
F. Zucchio executed a mosaic in Santa Maria Scala-Caeli, whilst the work in St. Peter's
was commenced under Muziano da Brescia. That the mosaic art had degenerated
altogether and lost its vitality is evidenced by the work done in St. Peter's, Rome, from
the seventeenth century under this same Muziano da Brescia (1528-1592) and other
artists. The establishment of the pontifical works commenced in 1727 when the
Cristoferi were appointed superintendents by order of Benedict XIII. After occupying
various localities these mosaic works were finally settled in a cortile of the Vatican in
1825. In the first half of the seventeenth century the painting and frescoes of the
basilica began to be imitated in mosaic. The quality of the work errs on the side of
excessive smoothness, as much as some modern workers on that of excessive and
affected roughness.
Other work of the eighteenth and nineteenth centuries and great restorations kept the
art alive, notably those of St. John Lateran's and St. Mark's, Venice, by the Italian
mosaicists. The "Last Judgments" on the facade of St. Mark's designed by Latanzio
Querano in 1836. In 1839 a school of mosaicists arose in Russia, its primary object being
the restoration of the mosaics of Sancta Sophia in Kieff, and eventually Pius IX allowed
certain of the pontifical mosaicists in 1850 to go to St. Petersburg and join the Russian
mosaicists. An example of their work was shown in the international exhibition held in
Hyde Park London. The mosaics of the Russian church, London, are not, however,
very successful.
Numerous mosaics have been executed in England during the last half century notably
the figures of great painters in the Museum of South-Kensington. The earliest of these
were done by Venetians, but some of the more recent figures were executed at the
works of South- Kensington itself. Many mosaics were done in St. Paul's cathedral,
London; those in the choir were designed by Sir W. B. Richmond and under the dome
some strong figures were designed by Mr. Watts, R.A. The mausoleum at Frogmore is
also elaborately decorated with mosaic, as is the monument of Prince Albert in Hyde
Park, both designed by John Clayton, who is also responsible for the Brampton chapel
in Westminster cathedral. Mr. W. C. Symons designed the mosaics for the chapel of the
Holy Souls of Westminster cathedral in which mosaic work is still being inserted in the
various chapels. The writer of the present article designed a mosaic of the "Last
Judgment" for the church of the Annunciation, Chiselhurst; a figure of Blessed
Giacomo di Ulma for South-Kensington, and an "Epiphany" for the frontal of an altar
at the Assumption Church Warwick Street, with other works elsewhere. In Aachen the
mosaic of the dome of Charlemagne was restored, or rather redone, in 1869. In France
various mosaics of fair excellence have been executed but unfortunately the grand style
of the early centuries so exceptionally suitable to the art, has not been attempted.
The modern French mosaic appears to have been initiated by Signor Bellini, one of the
Vatican mosaicists, at the close of the eighteenth century who became the principal of
the "manufacture royale" -- one of its productions is in the Salle de xxxx in the Louvre;
the design was by Baron xxxx and M. Baudry Garnier, and the mosaic by Curzon
Facchino. The mosaics at the Opera are of Italian execution. In 1876 a national school of
mosaic was formed. When M. Gerspach was sent to Rome and obtained, with the
consent of the pope, the services of Signor Poggesi of the Vatican works. The execution
of the apse of the xxxx from designs of M. Herbert was the principal work that
followed, but the design is moderate, although considered good in its time. This
national school soon became extinct, and the mosaics since done have been by private
enterprise. Amongst these is that in the apse of the Madeleine and that over the grand
staircase of the Louvre. M. Ravoli has designed some mosaics for the new cathedral of
Marseilles. Technique. -- The making of a mosaic picture has differed in various
periods and under various manufacturers, and the cements into which the tesserae
were fixed have been the subject of discussion and in some medieval examples, of
secrecy. Historically no cement has effected a permanent mosaic, as nearly every
ancient example not destroyed is partially restored.
The following interesting account is from the personal examination by Messrs. Schultz
and Barnsley of the old work at St. Luke's of Stiris: "The method of fixing the mosaic
was as follows: -- over the structural brick work of the surfaces to be covered, a coat of
plaster was spread; this, like the first coat of plaster in ordinary wall coverings was
roughened on the face in order to make a second coat of finer stuff adhere. On the
surface of this second coat, which was evidently of a very slow-setting nature, the main
lines of the mosaic figure or composition were sketched on in tone with a brush and
the mosaic cubes were then pressed into this from the face, forcing up the stuff
between the cubes in order to act as a key. We are inclined to think that at any rate in
the case of the single figures, the first cubes put in position were the double or treble
row of gold tesserae which enclosed the subject; we have found in many cases that
these do not correspond with the lines of the figures was executed, odd spaces between
the lines and the final outline of the figure having been filled up with further gold
cubes after the mosaics of the figure have been finished in position. The backgrounds
are universally formed of gold tesserae, while the figures of subjects are composed of
cubes of many colours and gradations of tone. The principle coloured cubes are cut out
of sheets of opaque coloured glass, while the lighter ones, such as the flesh tints, etc.,
are of marble. The gold mosaics are formed in the usual manner; a piece of gold leaf,
having been laid on glass, a thin transparent film was then spread over the same, and
the whole afterwards annealed to a solid mass. The cubes do not vary greatly in size,
the average being about three-eighths of an inch. They are, however, slightly larger in
the main outlines of the draperies, etc., and smaller in the delicate gradations of the
face and hands The main portion of the gold background laid fairly regulary in
horizontal lines up the the rows enclosing the subjects" (Schultz and Barnsley, "The
Monastery of St Luke in Stiris", 43).
N.H.J. WESTLAKE
Transcribed by Michael C Tinkler
Taken from the New Advent Web Page (www.knight.org/advent).
This article is part of the Catholic Encyclopedia Project, an effort aimed at placing the
entire Catholic Encyclopedia 1913 edition on the World Wide Web. The coordinator is
Kevin Knight, editor of the New Advent Catholic Website. If you would like to
contribute to this worthwhile project, you can contact him by e-mail at
(
[email protected]). For more information please download the file
cathen.txt/.zip.
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