Byzantine mosaic. Abstract: Byzantine Moaica Byzantine Painting Mosaic

In the case of Byzantium, one can accurately name the year that became the starting point of the Byzantine empire, culture, and civilization. Emperor Constantine I the Great moved his capital to the city of Byzantium (from the 1st century AD).

e. part of the Roman Empire) and renamed it Constantinople in 330.

The first centuries of the existence of the Byzantine state can be regarded as the most important stage in the formation of the worldview of the Byzantine society, based on the traditions of pagan Hellenism and the principles of Christianity. The formation of Christianity as a philosophical and religious system was a complex and lengthy process. Christianity absorbed many philosophical and religious teachings of that time. Christian dogma has developed under the strong influence of Middle Eastern religious teachings, Judaism, and Manichaeism. It was a synthetic philosophical and religious system, an important component of which were ancient philosophical teachings. The irreconcilability of Christianity with everything that bore the stigma of paganism is being replaced by a compromise between the Christian and the ancient worldview. The most educated and far-sighted Christian theologians understood the need to master the entire arsenal of pagan culture in order to use it in the creation of philosophical concepts. Thinkers such as Basil of Caesarea, Gregory of Nyssa, and Gregory of Nazianzus lay the foundation of Byzantine philosophy, which is rooted in the history of Hellenic thought. At the center of their philosophy is the understanding of being as perfection. A new aesthetics is born, a new system of spiritual and moral values, the man himself of that era is changing, his vision of the world and his attitude to the universe, nature, society.

Periods of the history of Byzantine art

Early Christian period (the so-called pre-Byzantine culture, I-III centuries)
early Byzantine period, the "golden age" of Emperor Justinian I, the architecture of the Hagia Sophia in Constantinople and the mosaics of Ravenna (VI-VII centuries)
iconoclastic period (7th-early 9th century). It was called the dark time - largely by analogy with a similar stage in the development of Western Europe.
period of the Macedonian Renaissance (867-1056) It is considered to be the classical period of Byzantine art.
the period of conservantism under the emperors of the Komnenos dynasty (1081-1185)
the period of the Palaiologan Renaissance, the revival of Hellenistic traditions (1261-1453).

Art Byzantine Empire- in many ways the subject of controversy among historians, philosophers and culturologists. But if many philosophical treatises and paintings have been lost over several centuries, then the beautiful Byzantine mosaics made of stone and smalt have become a symbol of an era and an entire civilization. In the Byzantine Empire, the production of mosaics and smalt was put on stream, the historical records included stories about experiments carried out by smalt masters to obtain different shades of smalt and attempts to impart various properties to smalt glass. Smalt mosaics were an indispensable attribute not only of places of worship and royal palaces, but were also decorations for the interiors of ordinary townspeople's houses.

Compared to antique mosaics made of pieces of stone, smalt compositions were distinguished by a greater variety of colors, brightness, play of light on the surface and, importantly, were much more affordable. This determined the rapid spread of smalt technology both in the Byzantine Empire itself and beyond its borders (in particular, in Ancient Russia)

Byzantine smalt mosaics. Early Byzantine period

Mausoleum of Galla Placidia in Ravenna, 5th century BC

Mausoleum of Galla Placidia, according to legend, was built as a burial place for the daughter of Emperor Theodosius. However, in fact, Galla is buried in Rome, and her so-called mausoleum was a chapel dedicated to St. Lawrence - a martyr and patron of the imperial family, especially revered in the family of Theodosius. Like many other Ravenna buildings, this martyrium was built using the Lombard brickwork technique. Outwardly, it is very similar to a fortress structure: closed, deliberately fenced off from outside world the volume is emphasized by thick walls, narrow, like loopholes, windows. In plan, the mausoleum is a Greek cross, at the intersection of the arms of the cross there is a cube, inside of which there is a dome on sails. The heavy, overhanging vault, which has no clear boundaries, is devoid of window openings. Only through narrow windows in the walls a dim, flickering light penetrates into the church.

The lower part of the walls of the chapel (up to the height of human growth) is lined with transparent jet marble of a slightly yellowish tint. The surfaces of the dome and arches, as well as the rounded sections of the walls under the arches (lunettes) are decorated with smalt mosaics. Pieces of smalt with irregular shape, form an uneven surface. Because of this, the light from it is reflected at different angles, creating not a uniform cold brilliance, but a magical radiant shimmer, as if trembling in the twilight of the temple.

The theme of the painting of the mausoleum is connected with the funeral rite. Mosaics are located only in the upper parts of the temple. In the center of the vault is a cross (a symbol of victory over death) with stars on blue sky. The vaults are decorated with dense floral ornaments associated with the symbolism of the Garden of Eden. In the southern lower lunette is depicted St. Lawrence walking with a cross to his death. The open cabinet shows the books of the four Gospels, inspiring the martyr to a feat in the name of the Savior.

Saint Lawrence. Mosaic of the south lunette of the mausoleum of Galla Placidia in Ravenna. About 440.

In the upper, large lunettes on the sides of the windows, the apostles are depicted in pairs. They raise their hands to the dome with a cross, in a silent gesture embodying the gospel call, the personification of which is the image of St. Lawrence: "Take up your cross and follow me." The apostles are depicted in such a way that their turns and gestures organize a circular movement passing from lunette to lunette. Only the chief apostles Peter and Paul in the eastern lunette (where the altar is located) are depicted symmetrically: the movement ends here.

In the northern lower lunette - Christ in the form of the Good Shepherd looks at the visitor from the wall above the entrance. Sheep walk around Him on the green grass, and He affectionately touches a sheep that has approached. The Divine shepherd is dressed in golden clothes and sits on a hillock, like an emperor on a throne, firmly leaning on a cross. The cross here acts as an attribute of power, like an imperial staff; Christ affirms it over the world as a sign of the triumphal procession of Christianity. The figure of the Son of God is shown in a complex contrasting turn: his legs are crossed, his hand reaches for a sheep, but his head is turned in the other direction, and his gaze is directed into the distance.

Christ the Good Shepherd. Mosaic of the north lunette of the mausoleum of Galla Placidia in Ravenna. About 440.

A characteristic feature of the mosaics of the Mausoleum of Galla is the contrast of the two lunettes.
The scene with the Good Shepherd is executed in the spirit of an ancient pastoral with intentional touching images. The pinkish-green gamut, subtle color transitions, the use of halftones in the rendering of flesh demonstrate the unfading charm of antiquity, emphasized by the conclusion of the composition in a heavy and magnificent frame of the surrounding box vault.
Scene with the image of St. Lawrence demonstrates the birth of a new artistic language. The composition is clear, distinguished by simple symmetry of large forms. The image is deliberately displayed on foreground. The beginnings of a reverse perspective (the image of a lattice under a strongly shrinking window) create the illusion of a space “tilting” towards the viewer. The composition is built not centric and pyramidal (following the example of the Good Shepherd), but crosswise, diagonally. The figure of St. Lawrence is captured in motion. The fragile contours of the folds of his clothes do not fall, but take off and cross in a whimsical rhythm. In the face of the saint there is not a trace of the soft beauty and psychological neutrality of the pastoral. It sharply and powerfully manifests the spiritual principle, the ecstatic illumination of a martyr for the faith.

Baptistery of the Orthodox in Ravenna, 5th century BC dome mosaic

The Baptistery (baptismal) of the Orthodox in Ravenna is an example of a centric-type building. It is an octagon in plan. The baptistery was decorated under Bishop Neon (451-73). Its luxurious decoration allows you to feel the special splendor of the rite of baptism. The decoration is very well thought out from the point of view of architecture, and the architectural (enriched Ionic order) and sculptural decoration (high reliefs with images of the prophets) are organically combined with mosaic painting and are included in it as an integral part.

The main feature of the decoration is the implementation of a single motif at all its levels - arches on columns or a portico with a pediment on columns. This motif forms the lowest tier of the octahedral baptistery, where deep arcosoles alternate with false niches. In the second tier, it multiplies: the arches, framing the sculptures of the prophets, surround the window openings. In a more complex and rich form, the same motif is found in the third, mosaic tier of the decoration. Here, this motif is illustratively embodied: it reproduces the space of the basilica, where porticos with episcopal chairs and fruit trees are located on the sides of the apses, in which thrones with crosses or altars with open Gospels on thrones are presented. Above, in the very last tier, surrounding the central medallion, the motif of the arch on the columns appears in a hidden form: the columns here become luxurious golden candelabra separating the figures of the apostles, and the arches or pediments become bends of drapery sagging in scallops from the frame of the central medallion.

The scenery of the baptistery is closely related to the theme of the Heavenly Jerusalem, which opens to the eyes of a Christian in the scene of the Baptism of the Savior (Theophany), located in the dome, directly above the baptismal font. The decoration seems to be "inscribed" into the sphere of the dome, this is achieved by a special technique: the figures and the elements separating them are interpreted as a kind of radius - golden rays emanating from the central disk. The theme of the Heavenly Jerusalem explains the presence of crowns in the hands of the apostles: it is they who will sit on the twelve thrones to judge the twelve tribes of Israel. Thus, Baptism is immediately placed in the context of the search for a good answer at the Judgment Seat of Christ, and the luxuriantly fruitful trees in the sections of the symbolic basilicas of the third tier are an image of the Christian soul bearing good fruit. The judgment is that “Light has come into the world”, and the motif of light flowing from the central medallion with Christ, indicated by white and golden streams (in level apostolic circle), takes on a special meaning in the composition.

Orthodox Baptistery in Ravenna. 5th century Dome mosaic.
The central medallion containing the scene of the baptism of Christ (Epiphany).
Around the Central medallion is an apostolic circle.

The theme of Heavenly Jerusalem appears in close interweaving with the theme of the earthly church. Along with the prospect of seeing the Heavenly City in the scene of the Epiphany, the theme of the transfer of power and grace is no less significant here. From the Savior receiving Baptism (central medallion), the grace-filled energy is transmitted through the apostles (radial rays) to the earthly church (it is symbolized by altars and episcopal seats of the third level of decoration). This outflow of blessed energy is thought to be continuous, constant.

The idea of the inexhaustibility, the infinity of this stream is emphasized by the peculiarity of the composition of the apostolic circle: it has neither beginning nor end, there is no center towards which the disciples of Christ would move. More precisely, this center is located outside the circle itself, it is the image of the Savior on the central medallion. Painting as a whole is very effective. The figures of the apostles are shown in motion. The largeness of their step is emphasized by the widely spaced legs and the bend of the hips. The illusion of space is still present: the surface on which the apostles are walking looks lighter than the mysterious and bottomless blue background of the main image. The heavy and opulent robes are reminiscent of the splendor of Roman patrician robes. In the apostolic chitons, only two colors vary - white, personifying light, and gold, the light of heaven. Only multi-colored shadows (gray, blue, dove) set off these luminous robes. Golden clothes are likened to a thin airy fabric - it lays down in lush, as if swollen folds. White fabric, on the other hand, freezes in unnaturally brittle folds.

The theme of the Epiphany is, first of all, the theme of the outflow of light, the bestowal of light. The apostles are shown as the bearers of this eternal light, since they carry the light of Christian enlightenment - enlightenment by the truth. The faces of the apostles are impressive, each of them has a pronounced individuality. They appear as real personalities, which is facilitated by the still undeveloped typology and iconography of Christian images. Large noses, sharply defined nasolabial folds, relief wrinkles, powerfully protruding nape, plump lips, expressive glances. In these images, likened to Roman patricians, incredible internal energy is guessed, which symbolizes the power christian church V century, which has become almost the only spiritual and political authority in the Western world.

Grand Imperial Palace in Constantinople. 5th century

Unlike religious buildings of the era, the floor of the Great Imperial Palace in Constantinople contains a large number of images of everyday scenes involving people and animals. The background mosaic layout draws attention - hundreds of thousands of pieces of a monochromatic white mosaic form a bizarre pattern in which the scale of the work and the accuracy of the ancient masters are striking.

Eagle and snake. Mosaic of the floor of the Great Imperial Palace in Constantinople. 5th century

Deer and snake. Mosaic of the floor of the Great Imperial Palace in Constantinople. 5th century

Hare and dogs. Mosaic of the floor of the Great Imperial Palace in Constantinople. 5th century

Boy with a basket. Mosaic of the floor of the Great Imperial Palace in Constantinople. 5th century

pastoral scene. Mosaic of the floor of the Great Imperial Palace in Constantinople. 5th century

Church of San Vitale in Ravenna, 6th century
The compositions are dominated by perfect balance. architectural forms, plant motifs, human bodies likened to the simplest geometric shapes, as if drawn on a ruler. Draperies have neither volume nor lively softness. There is no living sensation of substance in anything, even a remote hint of natural breathing. Space finally loses any resemblance to reality.

Basilica of Sant'Apollinare Nuovo in Ravenna, 6th century
In the depiction of martyrs and martyrs, there is a clear trend that can be called the sacralization of style. The image deliberately seeks to renounce any specific life associations. Even a distant hint of an imaginary space or environment of action disappears - all free space is occupied by an endless golden background. Flowers under the feet of the wise men and martyrs play a purely symbolic role and further emphasize the unreality of the depicted.

Basilica of Sant'Apollinare in Classe in Ravenna, 6th century
The style of the mosaics shows clear signs of Western taste. The forms are abstract and deliberately simplified, the composition is dominated by a linear rhythm. The wide and ethereal spots of the silhouettes are painted with an even color, which, in fact, retains its expressiveness. External elegance, color sonority compensate for the anemic and amorphous style.

Byzantine smalt mosaics. The era of the Komnenos dynasty

Smalt mosaics in the Church of the Assumption of Our Lady, Daphne

The most striking and complete manifestation of the Byzantine style of the late 11th century and the era of the Komnenos are the mosaics of the Church of the Assumption of Our Lady in Daphne, near Athens, representing a unique phenomenon in the history of Byzantine art. The temple is partly decorated according to the classical scheme: in the dome - Pantokrator with sixteen prophets in the walls of the drum, in the apse - the Mother of God with adoring prophets. However, a large number of festive scenes are located on flat wall surfaces, and not only on transitional architectural elements between rectangular and round parts or arched passages.

Christ - Pantocrator. Mosaic of the Church of the Assumption of Our Lady in Daphne. Around 1100

Mosaics of Daphne create a feeling of festivity, uncomplicated calmness and universal harmony. Any gloomy tones completely disappear from the painting, and the gospel images are filled with poetic beauty. Even in the scenes of passion there is no hint of passion and pathos of suffering and sacrifice. Blood, pain and the crown of thorns of the Crucifixion do not fit into this world of noble and neutral beauty.

Narrative tendencies are growing in Daphne's mosaics: there are more scenes, landscape, elements of architecture appear in them, more attention is paid to the plot. However, the main motivation of the master is by no means a craving for a pronounced development of the story. Carefully selected details, the ideal nature of the action, the absence of any kind of emotion and, moreover, expression and spiritual tension fix the world not as a process, but as a state. The artist is more interested in not what happens, but how it happens.

Baptism of Christ. Mosaic of the Church of the Assumption of Our Lady in Daphne. Around 1100

In Daphne, the compositional principles of Byzantine painting were developed. The compositions of the mosaics are very free, filled with a wide breath of space not occupied by forms. It is not just statuary that is characteristic, but the ideal, complete roundness of the volumes, likening the figures of the painting to a beautiful round sculpture. The ratio of figures between themselves and with space has changed: the characters are depicted in a variety of angles and turns, the abundance of three-quarter and profile outlines creates a constant movement of volumes from the depths outward. Volumetric, but light fabrics demonstrate the plasticity of bodies and at the same time lag behind the surface, as if slightly blown by the wind.

Appearance of an angel to Joachim. Mosaic of the Church of the Assumption of Our Lady in Daphne. Around 1100

The faces are striking in a special chilly beauty, serenity, endless distance from the world of passions and emotions. Even pretty gentle types (Our Lady, angels) are completely distracted from spiritual tenderness. The feeling of ideal dispassion likens the image of man and the God-Man to the dispassion of an ideally arranged and ordered cosmos. The color palette of smalt acquires a special lightness and inner radiance. The extraordinary richness of color overflows, instantly transforming the main tone, evokes a feeling of the oscillating surface of fabrics. All colors are taken in a single, coldish-silvery key with a predominance of ash, silver, blue, cold pink and radiant sapphire hues. The gold smalt of the backgrounds looks loose and transparent due to the light, slightly greenish tint of gold.

Mosaics from the Cathedral of Cefalu

The mosaics of the basilica in Cefalu (Sicily) belong to the classical direction of art of the Comnenos era, which continued to live throughout the 12th century. The creation of mosaics in Cefalu coincided with the reign of Manuel Komnenos, the time of the wide expansion of Byzantine art, the brilliant work of Constantinople artists around the world, reviving the glory of the great Roman Empire, the revival of the greatness of which the emperor dreamed of.

The ensemble was performed by Constantinopolitan masters by order of the Norman king Roger II. Compositions combine Byzantine perfection artistic performance and the depth of spiritual meaning with an unusual, slightly barbaric sense, festive luxury. The most important element of the mosaic decoration of the cathedral is the monumental image of Christ Pantokrator in the conch of the apse. This typically Byzantine image traditionally occupied Greek temples central dome. In the hand of Christ is the Gospel, on the spread of which the line is read: "I am the Light of the World." Reflecting the dual nature of the Sicilian culture of that time, the inscription is reproduced in two languages, on one page - in Latin, on the other - in Greek, although the image itself clearly belongs to the Byzantine master.

Christ Pantocrator. Mosaic of the conch of the apse of the cathedral in Cefalu. 12th century

The face of Christ is full of grandeur, but it does not have that severe alienation and spiritual intensity that are characteristic of Eastern Christian ideas about Christ as a “terrible Judge”. The composition is distinguished by clarity, rigor, transparency of artistic language and inner meaning. The figure of Christ is full of grace and special nobility of form.

These mosaics have different purposes, different technologies and they evoke completely different feelings. In the first case, we are transferred to the divine world, in the second, we remain to admire the mosaics in the earthly world.

Mosaic. Ravenna. Roman mosaic.

Byzantine mosaic. The most ancient surviving examples of Byzantine mosaics date back to the 3rd-4th centuries, and two heydays fall on the 6th-7th centuries (golden age) and IX-XIV (after the iconoclasm - the Macedonian revival, the conservatism of the Komnenos and the Palaiologan renaissance). The most famous Byzantine mosaics are those of Ravenna and images of Hagia Sophia (Constantinople).
Distinctive features:
1. Purpose: to move the beholder from the earthly world to the divine (due to technology, shining color, haze, gold).
2. Plots: grandiose in conception and implementation of monumental canvases on biblical subjects. Christian stories became the central theme of the mosaics, the desire to achieve the maximum impression of the image became the driving force behind the improvement of mosaic laying techniques and the development of new colors and compositions of smalt.

3. The material is, first of all, a mosaic of smalt (various metals (gold, copper, mercury) were added to the raw glass mass in various proportions and they learned how to make several hundred different colors of smalt). The colors of the smalt turned out to be bright, pure, transparent, radiant, divine. This is a hint at a non-earthly, divine world. Sunlight, falling on the smalt, comes to life and is colored by its color.

It was the Byzantines who developed the technology for the production of smalt.
4. Technology: the elements were laid at different angles to the wall and had an uneven surface, this allowed the light (daylight and candles) to be reflected in the colored smalt and give a haze over the mosaic that was perceptible by the body. The mosaics were laid out using the direct set method, and each element in the laying was distinguished by its unique surface and its position relative to other elements and the base. A single and living golden field was created, shimmering both in natural light and in candlelight. The uniqueness of the play of shades of color and reflections of light on a golden background created the effect of movement of the whole picture, a person was transferred to the divine world.
5. The shape of the mosaic elements - mostly cubes - it was the compositions of neatly laid out small and more or less the same size cubes that created fame for Byzantine mosaics.

6. Functions: visual tasks came to the fore (the main element of the artistic decoration of cathedrals, tombs, basilicas).
7. A feature of the Byzantine mosaics in the temples was the use of an amazing golden background. Gold is divine light.

8. Obligatory for the Byzantine masters was the technique of making the contours of bodies, objects, objects. The contour was laid out in one row of cubes and elements from the side of the figure or object, and also in one row - from the side of the background. The smooth line of such contours gave clarity to images against a flickering background.

12th century Byzantine mosaic in the conch of the apse of the cathedral in Cefalu, Sicily. Christ Pantocrator
Mosaics of Ravenna.
Mausoleum of Galla Placidia.

"Garden of Eden" - mosaic on the ceiling

The cross and the starry sky are a mosaic in the dome. This mosaic demonstrates the triumph of Christ over death, His absolute power over the created world.

Mosaic "Christ the Good Shepherd". The image of Jesus is not at all canonical.

Deer drinking from a spring. The plot of the mosaic is inspired by the verses of Psalm 41: “As a doe desires to streams of water, so my soul desires to You, O God!” .

Mosaics in the Church of San Vitale
The color is divine, the colors are truly luminous.

Emperor Justinian.

Empress Theodora with retinue. 6th c. in the Church of San Vitale in Ravenna. 526-547

Church of San Apolinare.

And this is a procession of martyrs from one of the walls in the Church of San Apolinar in Ravenna.

Ravenna. Mosaic in the apse of San Apollinare

Ravenna. Mosaic in the Church of Sant'Apollinare Nuovo of Saint Apollinaris of Ravenna

Mosaic depicting the city and port in Class

Barbarically dressed magi offering gifts to Christ, fragment

Poem Byzantine mosaics

In shimmering smalt oriental mosaics,

Without the joys of earthly existence

The harsh age has arrived. And God's face

Became a canon, looking from the conch * apsides.

The regulation keeps the foundation of life,

But the luxury of colors surpasses Rome.

The artist is a worm before wall painting,

No name, even though the temple was created by him.

Under the magnificent vault soars the blessing,

Saints in shining robes stand,

Like faith guards at royal places ** -

A line of strict guards of soldiers.

In Europe of the spirit, life was freer

In blooming frescoes of gloomy churches.

May 20, 2011 Vladimir Gogolitsin

*Conha - semi-dome ceiling of the apse inside the church.

** In the early Romanesque Byzantine churches in the main hall

usually there was a place for the head of state near the column.

ROMAN mosaic

The oldest Roman mosaics found during archaeological excavations date back to the 4th century BC. And during the heyday of the Roman Empire, mosaics became the most common way to decorate the interior, both in palaces and public baths, and private atriums.

Distinctive features:
1. Purpose: to entertain the beholder (beauty) and functionality, durability.

2. Three-dimensional mosaics with three-dimensional forms.
3. Material: preference is given to marble and natural stones. The color of the stones is matte, muted, not clear; it does not give the glow inherent in Byzantine mosaics.
4. Plots - everyday, earthly, real (fish, animals, people, birds, wreaths of grape leaves and hunting scenes with detailed images of animals, mythological characters and heroic campaigns, love stories and genre scenes from everyday life, sea voyages and military battles, theatrical masks and dance steps. The choice of plot for a particular mosaic was determined either by the customer (sometimes the mosaic depicted even a portrait of the owner of the house, for example), or by the purpose of the building).
5. Technology: the elements were laid parallel to the wall one after the other with straight masonry. The surface of the elements was smooth. Earthly feelings.

6. Form: the background elements of Roman mosaics are usually light and fairly large, often the background is formed by plain stones with a chaotic laying in no particular order. Elements of drawings and figures are smaller, but often still large for the selected drawing. A variety of colors often depends on the capabilities of the master in a particular settlement or, apparently, the financial capabilities of customers. If the mosaics of large palaces sometimes amaze with the sophistication of colors, then small compositions seem limited in the choice of colors.

7. Roman mosaics are characterized by ease of perception and at the same time the impression of luxury and wealth. Unlike the soulful and monumental images of Byzantine mosaics, which will be built later, the Roman mosaic is more ordinary and at the same time elegant and decorative, festive.

Fist fighters. ancient roman mosaic

On the banks of the Nile. ancient roman mosaic

Fight of Gladiators.

Ancient Roman mosaic on the wall in the Bardo Museum

Museum of ancient Roman mosaics in Tunisia

Sources
photo http://medieviste.livejournal.com/623641.html?view=4125721#t4125721
http://humus.livejournal.com/1616137.html?view=24140297#t24140297
http://mirandalina.livejournal.com/264857.html
Internet
Lecture text by L. M. Popov, Internet

04-04-2015

Byzantine mosaics usually consist of smalt. Several centuries ago, it was masters from Byzantium who discovered the method of producing mosaics from smalt. This discovery made it possible to use fairly inexpensive and easy-to-work glass in the manufacture of highly artistic mosaic paintings.

Byzantine Mosaic Manufacturing Principles

The manufacturing technology is as follows: various materials (gold, copper or mercury) are added to the raw mass of glass in the required proportion. Thus, as a result, Byzantine craftsmen received more than a hundred different colors of smalt. Using simple tools, mosaic elements were given the required geometric shape in order to lay them on the canvas and create the required image. Most often, craftsmen used square-shaped elements. The greatest glory to this species visual arts canvases were brought, laid out from approximately similar in size small cubes.

The main differences from the Roman mosaic direction

Roman mosaics solved both practical and functional issues, as well as aesthetic ones. In contrast to this approach, in Byzantium, mosaics were rather a purely artistic solution and either adorned cathedrals, basilicas and tombs. Byzantine mosaics primarily addressed visual design issues.

The plots in Roman mosaics were very diverse - from everyday scenes to mythological images. This decoration was used both in private atriums and public baths, as well as in administrative and religious buildings. In Byzantium, canvases were monumental and grandiose in scale, and mostly had exclusively religious subjects. Christian subjects became central to the mosaic pictorial direction. The desire to make the strongest and most reverent impression on the viewer with the canvas has become one of the driving forces for the search for new technologies, compositions and color schemes.

Distinctive features of Byzantine paintings

The main feature of the religious mosaics of the Byzantine style was the use of an expressive background of golden color. When laying individual elements, a direct set technique was used. It should be noted that each element had differences in color and surface relief and its position on the canvas in relation to other elements and the base. There is also a feature of the work of Byzantine jewelers in the technical implementation of the forms of objects - the outlines of objects gave a clear image on a shimmering gold background. In Byzantine culture, mosaic played more significant role than in Western Europe. Usually church decoration in Byzantium consisted of golden mosaics.

Mosaic Art Samples

Mosaic art flourished in the Byzantine Empire from the sixth to the fifteenth centuries. Most of the paintings were lost in the process of numerous conquests and wars. But those that have survived to this day give an idea of the greatness of this trend in decorative art.

Of the known, but not reached today examples of Byzantine mosaics include the building of Emperor Justinian in Constantinople, located in Hagia Sophia, and the Church of the Nativity in Bethlehem.

Fragments of the floor have come down to us Grand Palace Constantinople from the mosaic, which was created in the time of Justinian. Plants, animals and numbers are depicted in a classic style against a rather ordinary discreet background. Around the same period is a portrait of a man with a mustache, who was most likely a Gothic leader. Also worth noting is the small so-called "secreton" of the palace, which was erected in the sixth century by Justin II. Classic vine motifs are used here, reminiscent of works from Santa Constance. Also preserved elements of decoration with flowers in the Church of Acheiropoitos in Thessaloniki, which date back to the fifth or sixth centuries. The surviving image of St. Demetrius in the basilica of Thessaloniki is impressive.

In the sixth century, Ravenna became the center of the development of mosaic art. Istria was also a significant center for this direction of art. In the basilica in Parentium, built in the middle of the sixth century, there is a mosaic with the face of the Virgin, which is surrounded by frank saints and angels. Also elements of the mosaics in the church in Pola Santa Maria Formosa have come down to us, which are also dated to the sixth century. These canvases are made in the classical style by masters of Constantinople.

Many paintings suffered in the eighth century in connection with the iconoclastic movement.

First experiences

The history of mosaics dates back to the time of the Sumerian kingdom. The most ancient mosaic assembled from pieces of baked clay. Unfired clay was used as the basis.

The art of ancient Egyptian mosaicists is a variety of materials (semi-precious and precious stones, ivory and valuable tree species) and areas of application - furniture, household items, clothing of the pharaohs. The famous throne of Tutankhamen is also encrusted with mosaic elements.

Byzantium

The most ancient mosaic of Byzantium is dated III-IV centuries. AD The golden time of this technology falls on the VI-VII and IX-XIV centuries. AD Given the high cost of materials and work, the main customer of Byzantine mosaics was the Catholic Church. Magnificent ancient mosaics have been preserved in the temples of Italy (in Ravenna, Montreal, Cefalu) and Turkey (in the Hagia Sophia in Istanbul). The main motifs are biblical stories.

Byzantine mosaic is a standard, it is characterized by high artistic skill. The images are accurate, preference is given to large canvases, the effect of scale is taken into account: the remoteness of the viewer, his location. A distinctive feature of the drawing is the presence of a contour for each depicted object. The purpose of the technique is to visually highlight the element on a common, often golden, background when viewed from a long distance.

Mosaic "Christ Pantocrator". Cathedral of the Diocese of Cefalu (Italy, Sicily). 1145-1148

The ancient mosaic, created by Byzantine artists, is distinguished by respect for proportions, especially when depicted human body represented even in dynamics. The drawing is created voluminous, but the effect is leveled by the presence of a contour.

Masters in their work used smalt - colored glass. The technology is based on the addition of metal oxides to the glass, which give the tiles the desired color. In the workshops received up to several hundred various shades. The material for mosaics in Byzantium was very expensive. To create a panel, they resorted to smalt with the addition of gold leaf, mixed with copper and mercury. The technology is characterized by the density of the arrangement of plates (small squares, less often of a different shape) and the use of a direct set when laying them. The finished canvas has an uneven surface and a characteristic sheen.

Florence

Florentine mosaic Pietra Dura (from Italian - "carved stone") is a unique technique, the most complex of the existing ones. it ancient art, which is based on work with stone plates.

Florentine mosaic was especially popular in the 16th-19th centuries. AT late XVI in. Craftsmen from Milan were invited to the city, where the creation of stone products flourished in that period of time. The patrons of the masters were members of the Medici family, who created the first workshops and subsequently became the main customers.

Direction features:

Semi-precious stones were used in the work - tiger's eye, amethyst, malachite, lapis lazuli, hematite, jasper, marble, aventurine, rock crystal, agate, chalcedony;
The drawing project was created taking into account the peculiarities of the texture and the natural pattern of the stones;
The shape of the tiles was not limited to the classic rectangle;
Platinums were stacked so tightly to each other so that there was no gap;
The technique was used to decorate walls, furniture elements (tables, cabinets), caskets, chess boards;
Filigree performance ("stone picture"), complexity and realism of the composition. Masters created marinas, still lifes, landscapes, allegorical scenes.

Mosaic made in the Florentine technique on the doors of a wooden cabinet, from 20,000 colored stones (jasper, lapis lazuli, marble, amazonite and others). Peterhof Lapidary Factory. 80-90s 19th century

Florentine mosaic appeared in Russia in the middle of the 18th century. Russian masters easily mastered the technique, making a worthy competitor to the Italians. In the USSR, Florentine mosaics were used to decorate metro stations, although a priori the technique was used to create small canvases.

Rome

The ancient mosaic of Rome became the base that future generations of masters used. But at the same time, Roman mosaic as an art, as a technology, was borrowed from the Greeks. The work uses pieces of smalt or small stone - mainly marble and other natural stones - in the form of a square or rectangle. Traditionally, Roman mosaics were used to decorate the walls and floors of rooms (both public and private).

The oldest mosaic is dated to the 2nd century BC. BC. and found on the Greek island of Delos. The first samples are geometric ornaments made from whole rough stones. Later, stylized images of people and animals appeared.

The following techniques are known:

The duck on the floor is made in the opus tessellatum technique. Satyr and Nymph, mosaic in the House of the Faun in Pompeii. Opus vermiculatum. Opus sectile marble on the floor of Hadrian's Villa.

Opus tessellatum, in which tesserae (stone fragments) over 4 mm in size were used;
Opus vermiculatum, for which tesserae no larger than 4 mm were taken, which made it possible to draw small details;
Opus sectile, which combined both large and small blades;
Opus regulatum, where the paintings are formed from pieces of rock of the same size, laid out in straight lines.

Features of the panel pattern, made in the Roman style:

Light background randomly assembled from homogeneous stones;
Decorative elements (pattern, figures) are formed at the expense of smaller fractions;
The color scheme of the picture is limited by the financial capabilities of the customer - the more monumental the project, the more expensive it is, the more diverse the material used, the better artist can show their art and craftsmanship.

Venice

Venice is art and art is Venice. Therefore, its own school of mosaic work was created here. And this art flourished here, as evidenced only by the list of temples where there is a Venetian mosaic:

Archbishop's Chapel (Ravenna, 1112);
Church of Santa Maria e Donato (Fr. Donato, second half of the 12th century);
Cathedral of San Marco (Venice, XII-XIII centuries).

Mosaic of the central dome of the Cathedral of San Marco. Venice, Italy. 12th century

Local artists were influenced by both Byzantine and Romanesque traditions:

The figures of people are heavy, and their faces are monotonous;
Linear stylization is pronounced, especially noticeable when conveying volume and perspective;
Dark colors prevail.

Modern Venetian mosaic - "terrazzo", created on the basis of a cement mixture and inert materials (stone chips, granite fragments, broken colored glass).

A mosaic panel, regardless of the technique of execution, is the dominant element of the interior. Its plot and colors are the basis of the design of the room. comments powered by HyperComments

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