DOI Seite / Zitierlink:
https://doi.org/10.11588/diglit.1310#0122
OF THE WORLD'S INDUSTRY. 93
of giving to the colour of glass so many different shades, that it has been found to serve
the purposes of all the various descriptions of painting. The artist in mosaic has all his
various materials ranged before him in compartments, according to their several tints,
in much the same way as the printer arranges his different letters. To Pompeo Savini,
of Urbino, has been attributed the art of executing mosaics in relievo.
The origin of mosaic work must, apparently, be sought in the East, the rich carpets
of which were imitated in hard stone. It is probable that the art was known to the
Phoenicians, but to the Greeks its perfection and glory are to be attributed. From
Greece it passed, with the other ornamental points of knowledge, into Rome, towards
the end of the republic; the Italian conquerors of Greece transporting from that country
into their own the most beautiful specimens in the shape of pavements, &c., which they
could discover. Sylla was the first Roman who caused a piece of mosaic work of any
magnitude to be executed for the temple of Fortune at Prseneste (now Palsestrina); which
mosaic, at least a great portion of it, still exists. At first they ornamented in this man-
ner the pavements of buildings merely, but after a while the walls and arched ceilings
also. The tents of the generals, in time of war, were also paved thus, to keep off the
humidity of the ground, as Suetonius reports of the tent of Julius Caesar. The invention
of coloured glass was a great discovery for the purposes of mosaic work. "When the
dark ages had driven the elegant arts out of Italy, mosaic work, as well as painting and
sculpture, was preserved a considerable time amongst the Byzanthian Greeks, who used
it to adorn the altars of their churches. Towards the conclusion of the thirteenth
century, an Italian of the name of Tafi learnt to work in mosaic of a Greek called
Apollonius, who decorated the cathedral of St. Mark at Venice, where is still preserved
an admirable pavement executed by him. But, in general, these works are wanting in
design, are in bad taste, and equally bad in colouring. Since then the art has been
brought in Italy to a very high degree of perfection. Pope Clement VIII., at the com-
mencement of the seventeenth century, contributed much to this end by adorning in
mosaic all the interior part of the dome of St. Peter's. Among the earliest artists
employed thereon were Paul Rossetti and Francis Zucchi. One of the greatest advan-
tages of mosaic is its power of resisting all those things which ordinarily affect the beauty
of painting, and another the facility with which one can repolish it without at all
hazarding the brightness and effect of the colouring. At the same time, as it can only
be worked slowly, and requires great exertion, it can never come into such general use as
painting: nor would it have attained the degree of perfection which it did at Rome
and Florence, had not the respective governments of those two states made a point of
encouraging it. Among the most beautiful mosaics preserved in the pavements or
walls of ancient buildings, we may particularize that found in a chamber in Hadrian's
villa, near Tivoli, and the Pahestrine mosaic, before alluded to, which is remarkable for
the light which its delineations throw on the history, local and natural, of Egypt. In
the villa Albani is also a beautiful mosaic discovered in the territory of Urbino, which
represents a school of philosophers, and another depicting the history of Hesione,
daughter of Priam, In 1763 was found, in a villa near Pompeii (probably that of the
Emperor Claudius), a mosaic representing three females with comic masks, and playing
on various instruments. The name of the artist (Dioscorides, of Samos), was engraven
thereon in Greek letters. There are, besides, a very great number of others which
have been at sundry times dug up, and which present a greater or less degree of beauty
and of excellence in the art.
Among the mosaics exhibited in the Crystal Palace was a magnificent table, by the
Chevalier Barberi, executed for the Emperor of Russia. In that style of art it was a
work of consummate excellence. The principal cities of Italy contributed to form its
2 B
of giving to the colour of glass so many different shades, that it has been found to serve
the purposes of all the various descriptions of painting. The artist in mosaic has all his
various materials ranged before him in compartments, according to their several tints,
in much the same way as the printer arranges his different letters. To Pompeo Savini,
of Urbino, has been attributed the art of executing mosaics in relievo.
The origin of mosaic work must, apparently, be sought in the East, the rich carpets
of which were imitated in hard stone. It is probable that the art was known to the
Phoenicians, but to the Greeks its perfection and glory are to be attributed. From
Greece it passed, with the other ornamental points of knowledge, into Rome, towards
the end of the republic; the Italian conquerors of Greece transporting from that country
into their own the most beautiful specimens in the shape of pavements, &c., which they
could discover. Sylla was the first Roman who caused a piece of mosaic work of any
magnitude to be executed for the temple of Fortune at Prseneste (now Palsestrina); which
mosaic, at least a great portion of it, still exists. At first they ornamented in this man-
ner the pavements of buildings merely, but after a while the walls and arched ceilings
also. The tents of the generals, in time of war, were also paved thus, to keep off the
humidity of the ground, as Suetonius reports of the tent of Julius Caesar. The invention
of coloured glass was a great discovery for the purposes of mosaic work. "When the
dark ages had driven the elegant arts out of Italy, mosaic work, as well as painting and
sculpture, was preserved a considerable time amongst the Byzanthian Greeks, who used
it to adorn the altars of their churches. Towards the conclusion of the thirteenth
century, an Italian of the name of Tafi learnt to work in mosaic of a Greek called
Apollonius, who decorated the cathedral of St. Mark at Venice, where is still preserved
an admirable pavement executed by him. But, in general, these works are wanting in
design, are in bad taste, and equally bad in colouring. Since then the art has been
brought in Italy to a very high degree of perfection. Pope Clement VIII., at the com-
mencement of the seventeenth century, contributed much to this end by adorning in
mosaic all the interior part of the dome of St. Peter's. Among the earliest artists
employed thereon were Paul Rossetti and Francis Zucchi. One of the greatest advan-
tages of mosaic is its power of resisting all those things which ordinarily affect the beauty
of painting, and another the facility with which one can repolish it without at all
hazarding the brightness and effect of the colouring. At the same time, as it can only
be worked slowly, and requires great exertion, it can never come into such general use as
painting: nor would it have attained the degree of perfection which it did at Rome
and Florence, had not the respective governments of those two states made a point of
encouraging it. Among the most beautiful mosaics preserved in the pavements or
walls of ancient buildings, we may particularize that found in a chamber in Hadrian's
villa, near Tivoli, and the Pahestrine mosaic, before alluded to, which is remarkable for
the light which its delineations throw on the history, local and natural, of Egypt. In
the villa Albani is also a beautiful mosaic discovered in the territory of Urbino, which
represents a school of philosophers, and another depicting the history of Hesione,
daughter of Priam, In 1763 was found, in a villa near Pompeii (probably that of the
Emperor Claudius), a mosaic representing three females with comic masks, and playing
on various instruments. The name of the artist (Dioscorides, of Samos), was engraven
thereon in Greek letters. There are, besides, a very great number of others which
have been at sundry times dug up, and which present a greater or less degree of beauty
and of excellence in the art.
Among the mosaics exhibited in the Crystal Palace was a magnificent table, by the
Chevalier Barberi, executed for the Emperor of Russia. In that style of art it was a
work of consummate excellence. The principal cities of Italy contributed to form its
2 B