mosaics

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mosaics
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Mosaics in General

• Origins of Mosaics
• Roman mosaics were influenced by the Greek
  hellenistic era. 5th Century B.C. Abstract
  patterns in black and white. Late 5th B.C. animal
  and human figures introduced (Greek). 4th Century
  B.C. Mythological scenes. 3rd century B.C. Opus
  tessellatum originated in Sicily.

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Mosaics in General

• Mosaics are called opus tessellatum
• Made up of cubes called tesserae
• The tesserae are different coloured marble, tile,
  other hard stones, brick, glass, metal, pottery.
• A.D. 1 geometric motive but by A.D. 40 human and
  animal figures were developing.
• Emblemata were mosaic paintings made by artists
  in craftshops. They had all the shading and
  perspective common to wall paintings. After they
  were finished the emblemata were brought to a
  building and inserted into a prepared space in a
  floor as a centrepiece. These were made of many
  colours (polychrome)

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QUESTIONS TO ANSWER ALREADY

1. What era was the Greek Hellenstic era?
2. What happened in the late 5th Century?
3. What was introduced in 4th Century?
4. Where and when was mosaics introduced?
5. What is tesserae?
6. What is Emblemata?
7. What does polychrome mean?
8. Draw a timeline from the previous two slides.

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Technique
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FACT SCAN COPY THIS

• Date 125-134AD
• Type Art mosaics
• Location Hadrians Villa at Tivoli
• Height 52 cm
• Width 62 cm

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DESCRIBE THIS MOSAIC use the 5 ws 1 h
brainstorm the name of this mosaic is goats and
goatherd
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Goats and goat herd

• the scene is set in a rocky landscape, where a
  flock of goats graze and rest near a stream
• to the right of the middle ground stands a bronze
  statue
• the figure is dressed in Greek fashion in a long
  belted tunic. It wears a wreath on its head
• it holds a bunch of grapes in its right hand
• it holds a staff topped with leaves in the left
  hand
• this is probably an image of the god Dionysus
• leaning against the rock base of the statue is a
  painting of uncertain significance
• it has been suggested that it represents an image
  (a phallus?) connected with the fertility god
  Priapus
• the scene is clearly sacro-idyllic in character

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DESCRIBE THIS MOSAIC use the 5 ws 1 h!!
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THE LION MOSAIC

• STYLE
• The bull being attacked shows the techniques used
  in painting to indicate volume and depth.
• Shadows cast
• Body is forshortened with a ¾ view
• Shading
• Highlighting
• Animals outlined

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COPY THIS

• The impression of depth is also given
• There is overlapping, and lgiht colours
• Details vary
• Smaller in size
• Clear contrast between ground and sky as
  background colour is not a soft haze

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SIMILARITIES OF BOTH MOSAICS

• Both mosaics share not only a rich polychromy
  (various or changing colours) but also certain
  stylistic features
• to create the illusion of depth in the scene and
  volume in the figures, use has been made of
  shading highlighting three-quarter views
  foreshortening especially the "Lion attacking
  Cattle"
• in "Goats and Goatherd" linear perspective is
  noticeable in the diminishing scale of the goats
  the further into the background they appear
• such naturalistic characteristics are generally
  associated with painting particularly Greek
  painting from the 4th century BC onwards

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BURSARY QUESTIONS

• PLATE 4
• Who owned the villa where this mosaic was found?
• What technique and materials were used to create
  this mosaic?
• What is opis vermiculatum and what ONE advantage
  is using this method to make mosaics?
• Compare the mood of this mosaic with the other
  mosaic you have studied.
• Discuss the style of this mosaic and give
  evidence to support your answers.

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Essay question - Bursary

1. Describe the techniques used by the Romans to
   make mosaics. Outline the subject matter of ONE
   of the mosaics found in Hadrians villa at
   Tivoli and explain its stylistic features.

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Atmospheric perspective worm work the most intricate form of mosaic paving tiny pieces of tesserae laid in thin, curving lines to create a mosaic picture
Emblemata A Greek concept, a mosaic picture created and then inserted into a prepared space in a floor or a wall.
Foreshortening Gave the impression object had volume and were lit as they cast a shadow when they intercepted the light
Highlighting Little cubes used in creating the mosaics
Linear perspective Many colours
opus tessellatum Or gradations of the same colour - gave the impression the object had light falling on it and as a result was seen with varying tones to give the effect of light and dark as if it had volume
Opus vermiculatum Or the impression of real space on a flat surface is also suggested by the positioning of objects up or down on the panel, by the overlapping of one object with another, by a lack of detail in objects further away, by a more illusionary or impressionistic depiction of distant objects
Polychrome The name of the mosaics
Shading Where an object is shown neither front on/full face nor side on/profile but in between, at an angle
Shadows Where objects appear to converge in the distance if a series of receding parallel lines were drawn, even though they are in reality not converging
Spatial depth Where objects supposed further away or in the background are smaller in size than objects closer to the viewer or in the foreground.
tesserae Where objects supposedly further away and disappearing into the distance are in a paler colour than objects closer to the viewer.
Three-quarter view Where part of an object is shown shorter in scale than the rest of the object, due to visual perspective
Vanishing point Where that part of the object which was supposedly closer to the light source is in a lighter shade than the rest of the object.