Full Description
Mosaic has been called "painting for eternity," and it is in fact one of the few arts of antiquity to survive in something like its original condition and variety. Mosaic pavements with geometric and figural motifs first appeared in Greece at the end of the fifth century BC and subsequently spread throughout the classical world, from the palaces of emperors and kings to even relatively modest private homes. Across the Mediterranean, local workshops cultivated many distinctive regional styles, while travelling teams of Hellenistic craftsmen produced figural mosaics of stunning refinement, often modelled after famous paintings; indeed, their work constitutes one of our only records of classical Greek painting, which has been almost entirely lost. The styles and techniques of the ancient mosaicist's art are given a concise yet authoritative exposition in the first part of this handsome volume. The second, and larger, part conducts the reader on a chronologically ordered tour of the most important centres of the art form's development, from the Macedonian capital of Pella, whose compositions in natural pebbles set a high artistic standard for mosaics at the beginning of their history, to the Basilica of San Vitale at Ravenna, whose wall and vault mosaics, with their glittering vision of a triumphant Christianity, mark the transition between antiquity and the Middle Ages. Special attention is given to Pompeii and its surroundings, where the eruption of Mount Vesuvius in AD 79 preserved intact an astonishing variety of mosaics, including such ambitious figural scenes as the famous Alexander Mosaic, composed of some four million miniscule tesserae, as well as characteristically Roman pavements in black and white, and the brightly coloured wall mosaics of garden grottoes.Featuring more than 230 vibrant photographs, many newly commissioned, Greek and Roman Mosaics is the first survey of its subject to be illustrated in full colour. It will be an essential visual reference for every student of classical antiquity, and a source of considerable delight for art lovers.
Contents
Introduction 7The Origins and Spread of Mosaics 11Etymological Considerations 15The Method of Execution 17Pliny and Vitruvius on Mosaics 21Types of Mosaic 25The Mosaicists and Their Signatures 35Workshops and Repertories 46The Dating of Mosaics 48Mosaics and Textiles 51Mosaics and Architecture 53Wall and Vault Mosaics 55The Stylistic Development of Mosaics 56The Iconography of Mosaics 77THE MOSAICSPella 99Alexandria 110Pergamon 115Delos 121Palestrina 125The House of the Faun at Pompeii 135The Alexander Mosaic 153The Mosaic from the House of the Faun 167Other Notable Dwellings of Pompeii 171Nymphaea of the Vesuvius Cities 197Mosaic Fountains of Campania 223The Villa Adriana at Tivoli 231The Musee National du Bardo, Tunis 243Antioch on the Orontes 250Piazza Armerina 255The Basilica of Junius Bassus in Rome 275The Great Palace of Constantinople 285The Basilica of San Vitale at Ravenna 289The Mosaic of the Holy Land at Madaba 300Bibliography 303Index of Names 313Index of Places 317Photography Credits 320
