The history of mosaic

Mosaics are incredibly old, but how old exactly? And who started making mosaics? And were patterns already being made then? These are interesting questions that we will answer in this article. We will talk about the Greeks and Romans, about the times that followed and we will answer some specific questions. Questions or comments? Leave them in the comments.

The history of mosaic

Mosaic is old. Very old. According to various sources, the first mosaics date back to the second half of the third millennium BC. Yes, that's old. These mosaics were found in Abra, Mesopotamia. They consisted of various pieces of colored stone, shells and ivory. The first glazed mosaic tiles were found as early as 1500 BC. However, the well-known mosaic patterns that we know today were only found in the Sasanian era.

Greeks and Romans

The Greeks were lovers of mosaics, this was evident from how often and in what forms they started laying mosaics. The style of the Greeks was developed in the third century BC. The subject of these designs were often mythological creatures, god, wealth and nature.

A more prestigious form of art from that time was painting, so it is quite possible that many mosaics are based on paintings from that time. The themes of the artworks were also largely the same. The Romans happily adopted the mosaics from the Greeks. It was especially a good way to decorate the homes of the wealthy and add an extra dimension of art to homes. Covering floors with mosaic was particularly popular at the time.

Most of the artists who laid the Roman mosaics were Greeks, because they had more experience with this art form. Most of these artists were slaves who worked for and in the homes of the wealthy. Such floor mosaics can still be admired in Tunis, Tunisia, among other places.

Two movements

In Greco-Roman times there were two techniques, or movements. The “ Opus Vermiculatum ”, this technique used small, thin stones. These were made on small panels and then moved to the larger work and laid there.

The other technique was “ Opus Tessellatum ”, which used larger stones that were placed directly on the location. An Italian style using black stones on a white background was a major influence.

Christian mosaics

At the end of the 4th century, many basilicas were built by the Christians in Europe. In these basilicas, walls and ceilings were often covered with mosaics, in these mosaics works of art about Christianity were made. Just as happened in the paintings of that time.

In the following century, Ravenna, the then capital of the Western Romanesque region, also became the capital of mosaics. For example, the mausoleum in this city was covered with mosaic works, this was around 425 to 430. After Ravenna was conquered by the Eastern Roman Empire, mosaic works of the highest quality ever were made in this city. This was in the mid-6th century.

Byzantine Empire

The Byzantine Empire deserves a special mention in this blog, because mosaic art flourished during this period. Byzantine churches were completely covered with mosaic works of art, often gold. From the 6th to the 15th century, mosaic was a much-loved art form in this empire. However, most Byzantine works have been destroyed over the years, as have Roman works.

During the Middle Ages

The last really good period for the development of mosaic art was the 12th and 13th centuries. In Rome this art form developed enormously, fewer and fewer restrictions were imposed on the artists, resulting in more and more works being created. The subject of these works also changed. Fewer religious works were created and more and more realistic works of art, often inspired by nature, were created.

The most famous works of this time were the Basilica of Saint Clemente, the facade of Santa Maria in Trastevere and San Paolo fuori le Mura.

Conclusion

So much for the history of mosaic. Our article has become concise, because there is much more to say about the history of mosaic, such as developments in the Middle East and the influences of other religions. But we will go into more detail about that in another blog.

Hopefully we have been able to provide a good picture of the history of mosaic. If you have any other questions or additions, we would love to hear from you.

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