Mosaics as art

To begin with,mosaic art is like working a jigsaw puzzle where millions of little pieces of glazed tiles,coloured glass and sometimes precious stones are placed together to form a larger picture. It may be said that the contemporary pixels of digital imagery were preceded by the mosaics where each little tile became part of a larger image or design.

Some of the most splendid mosaics can be found in the 4th century BC Macedonian palace-city of Aegae where they enriched the floors of Hellenistic villas. Nero commissioned his artists to cover the walls and ceilings of the Domus Aurea (Golden House) that was built in AD 64. The dog was a popular motif done in mosaic for the portico of villas in Rome.

With the coming of Christianity,the mosaics were adopted to religious themes,though a lot of pagan motifs were mixed up with images of the holy family and the saints as Christians converted the Roman tombs into religious edifices during the 4th century. Of these the Tomb of Galerius and Julii has remains of some splendid mosaics. In the 5th century Ravenna,the capital of the Western Roman Empire became the centre. Several mausoleums like the Galla Placidia were decorated by mosaics of high quality.

By the 9th century BC,the fall of the Roman Empire gave rise to a new kind of art—Byzantine Art. These mosaics are meant to be of greater embellishment than that of Rome. However,the history of these grand mosaics has been pieced together since much was destroyed by time and wars of succession.

Very few early Byzantine mosaics survived the Iconoclastic phase of the 8th century. Among the rare example is the 6th-century Christ in Majesty (or Ezekiel’s Vision) mosaic,in the apse of the Osios David Church in Thessaloniki. It survived because it was hidden behind mortar during those dangerous times. The mosaics of the Hagios Demetrios Church,which were made between 634 and 730 BC,also escaped destruction. The history of mosaics stretches on till the 14th and 15th century,with various local factors influencing the style. The advent of Modern mosaics can be seen with the architect Antonio Gaudi and Josep Maria Jujol. Watch this space for a special feature on Modern mosaics.

Demystify art,e-mail georgina.maddox@expressindia.com