mosaics
Mosaics in General
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Origins of Mosaics:
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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.
Mosaics in General
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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)
QUESTIONS TO ANSWER ALREADY
1.
2.
3.
4.
5.
6.
7.
8.
What era was the Greek Hellenstic era?
What happened in the late 5th Century?
What was introduced in 4th Century?
Where and when was mosaics introduced?
What is tesserae?
What is Emblemata?
What does polychrome mean?
Draw a timeline from the previous two slides.
Technique
Technique cont
–Trace picture onto mortor, outline of pattern
Put in tesserae, tapped with a weight
–Grout it, with opus signium covering then wiping it off.
FACT SCAN – COPY THIS
Date:
 Type:
 Location:
 Height:
 Width:
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125-134AD
Art: mosaics
Hadrians Villa at Tivoli
52 cm
62 cm
DESCRIBE THIS MOSAIC – use the 5 w’s 1 h – brainstorm the
name of this mosaic is goats and goatherd
Goats and goat herd
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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
DESCRIBE THIS MOSAIC – use the 5 w’s 1 h!!
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
COPY THIS
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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
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
1. Who owned the villa where
this mosaic was found?
2. What technique and
materials were used to
create this mosaic?
3. What is opis vermiculatum
and what ONE advantage
is using this method to
make mosaics?
4. Compare the mood of this
mosaic with the other
mosaic you have studied.
5. Discuss the style of this
mosaic and give evidence
to support your answers.
Essay question - Bursary
a)
Describe the techniques used by
the Romans to make mosaics.
Outline the subject matter of
ONE of the mosaics found in
Hadrian’s villa at Tivoli and
explain its stylistic features.
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.