|
Evolution & History of Mosaic Art
Mosaics
history is rich and diverse. Available archeological evidence
indicates the use of mosaics in the ancient civilization of Mesopotamia
some four thousand years ago (in Chaldean and Sumerian civilizations).
There, pebbles were used as floor coverings and as embellishments on
walls. Remnants of mosaic pavements in the ancient gardens of China and
in Meso-American ruins have also been discovered.
Mosaic glass
first appeared in Egypt about 1400 B.C. and has been produced
intermittently for 3,500 years up to the present day. The technique
gained popularity in different areas of glass production, usually for
short periods. It is seen in the Hellenistic era (332–165 B.C.) after
ancient Egypt, then in Rome and Alexandria in the fourth century A.D.
Greek Mosaic Art History & Roman Mosaic History
As
an art form, mosaic truly thrived during the Greco-Roman period in
history: from Alexander the Great until the fall of Rome. It was the
Greek, in the four centuries BC, who raised the pebble mosaic technique
to an art form, with precise geometric patterns and detailed scenes of
people and animals. By 200 BC, specially manufactured pieces
("tesserae") were being used to give extra detail and range of color to
the work. Using small tesserae, sometimes only a few millimetres in
size, meant that mosaics could imitate paintings. Many of the mosaics
preserved at, for example, Pompeii were the work of Greek artists.
This
mosaic style was embraced by the Romans, who by 200 AD were beginning
to create mosaics on walls as well, with examples such as "The Battle
of Issus", depicting the famous battle of Alexander the Great and
Darius.
Mosaic Origins
The oldest known
mosaics come from the 8th BC. They were made of pebbles. Greek
manufacturer developed this technique further in the 5th BC. Pebbles
are homogeneous and vary in the color range between black and white
only. Manufacturers gathered the pebbles and used them for floors and
footpaths.
Greek manufacturers were able to create complex and
first-class designs using this simple mosaic technique. They inserted
stones on the scale of 1 to 2 cm and filled the outlines with small
black pebbles. In the 4th BC the color range was extended by green and
red pebbles.
In the ancient world mosaics were basically used for
floors and footpaths. Life time was an important reason for using
mosaics. Especially stones made of marble and chalk came out as
particularly suitable for mosaics. Marble can be broken in very small
pieces and provides a natural range of colors. So artists were not very
much restricted in their possibilities to create mosaics. A full range
of nice colors could be used to design premium arts. Although the
origin of mosaics is accredited to the Greeks, mosaics were also used
in Assyrian, Egypt, Persia and other ancient civilization. Roman
mosaics enjoyed a good reputation. The Romans sophisticated mosaics for
the use onto walls and floors in halls, villas and public houses.
After the roman era mosaics were integrated in Christian, Byzantine,
Persian and Indian architecture. Today’s centers of handmade mosaics
are Lebanon and Syria. In countries like Italy and Greece handmade
mosaics are very expensive. Despite a big tradition in making mosaics
the craftsmanship here seems to be lost.
|
|