Mosaic

Mosaic is a well known even in ancient genus of Technique, (also parts of paper or fabric, stone or glass pieces ), specimens or images in which, by joining together of different colored or differently shaped parts. The word mosaic is derived from the Late Latin Musaicum (opus ) from (factory dedicated to the Muses ). As a mosaic narration technique is referred to the assembly of different colored flat plate ( made ​​of stone, metal, wood, etc. ) to decorative patterns. The individual stones are called Tessera.

The mosaic technique finds more recently, in computer programs to create photo mosaics application.

History

The date probably oldest documented humanoid mosaizierte area comes from Homo erectus bilzingslebenensis who must have it partially suppressed non-local stones and bones in the loess of an almost circular space with a diameter of about 9 m obvious. The discovery of this patch-like area is about 400,000 years dated back.

Between the Tigris and Euphrates in Mesopotamia, near the city of Ur was found the oldest mosaics from the Sumerian period (ca. 2500-3000 BC)

These were to columns of palm trunks, which had a jacket with asphalt (a mixture of the binder bitumen and aggregate ) and were decorated with mosaics. But mosaic mosaic pins and came as a material for wall friezes in buildings and as ornaments of jewelry boxes to use as the column reconstruction of parts of Enna sanctuary in Berlin Near Eastern Museum and the standard of Ur in the British Museum show.

Greece

The first mosaics in the Greek world are pebble mosaics. As the name implies, they consist of selected pebbles, the colors black and white dominate. An example of this is the mosaic of Dionysus riding a panther in the capital of the Kingdom of Macedonia from the period 330-310 BC.

In the Hellenistic period the pebbles were replaced by specially cut to size stones. A first heyday of the ancient mosaic in the second century BC. During this time, large motifs, which could cover the floor of an entire room, is produced. The best known example is the Alexander Mosaic in the House of the Faun in Pompeii, other examples were found in Delos.

Roman Empire

Especially in the Roman Empire mosaics were widespread. Many flooring, and sometimes walls in residential buildings of a high social class were decorated with mosaics. In the first century AD, especially black and white mosaics were popular, geometric motifs predominate. Figural representations are rather rare and are popular only in the second century. Since the second century polychrome mosaics occur again, which were especially popular in the African provinces and show your own style. To the east of the kingdom prevail classical Greek style elements and traditions.

The mosaic art was operated mainly in the Byzantine Empire. Well-known late antique mosaics are also located in Ravenna, Italy.

Also in Germany there are some older mosaics that date from the period of Roman occupation. One of the most famous mosaics is the Dionysus Mosaic in Cologne, which was found in 1941 during excavation work and over which the Roman-Germanic Museum was built.

Further, the article describes Roman mosaics in Britain.

Modern Mosaic

Mosaic is now supplied mostly industrially manufactured and prefabricated on web or paper. Available these prefabricated mosaic panels are as glass mosaic, ceramic mosaic and natural stone mosaic.

A significant limitation of the industrially for hand -crafted mosaic is in the form of the stones and the leadership of the grout lines. These produce in the laid artistic and hand mosaic by her the subject mitbildenden course of a drawing within the design as well as by its undulating the subject nachzeichnende lines of an aura about the motives in the first place constitutes the charm of a mosaic and the like pixels compiled the industrially produced Mosaic is missing.

The German Institute for Standardization refers to material surfaces with a side length of less than 10 cm as a mosaic, with more than 10 cm as tiles, and from 30 cm as plates. Ministeck is a modern variant of the mosaic.

The mosaic wins in the craft area in recent times, again more important. Many craft stores offer an increasingly templates and mosaic tiles made ​​of materials such as glass, ceramic, clay, marble and with different shapes such as pearl, hearts or stars.

In the Main Tower in Frankfurt is the Frankfurter wall mosaic stairs of the Berlin-based artist Stephan Huber.

With seven meters high and 125 meters long from the existing 800,000 mosaic frieze encircling one of the teacher's home at Berlin's Alexanderplatz as the largest plant in Europe image. The frieze under the title of Our Life of Walter Womacka was completed in 1964, renovated in 2004 and is a listed building.

Famous mosaics

  • The Alexander Mosaic with a representation of the battle of Issus, which was discovered in the excavations of Pompeii in the House of the Faun (Casa del Fauno ). The 5.82 × 3.13 m wide mosaic shows the warring armies and as central figures Alexander the Great and his opponent, the Persian king Darius III. It is now in the National Archaeological Museum of Naples.
  • The Nilmosaik of Palestrina, a 5.85 × 4.31 m large image mosaic with scenes from the Hellenistic Egypt. It was found in the Sanctuary of Fortuna in Praeneste, today's Palestrina. A reconstructed from fragments version is located in the Museo Nazionale Prenestino, the former Palazzo Barberini - Colonna.
  • The mosaics of early Christian buildings in Ravenna that were included in the World Heritage Site by UNESCO in 1996, the churches of San Vitale, Apollinare Nuovo, Apollinare in Classe, the Baptistery of the Cathedral (Ravenna ), the Baptistery of the Arians, and the tomb of Empress Galla Placidia.
  • The mosaics of the Villa Romana del Casale in Sicily (3500 m² surface mosaic from the 2nd half of the 4th century AD)
  • The mosaics of the Cathedral of Monreale near Palermo in Sicily ( 6340 m² surface mosaic from the 12th century )
  • Early Christian mosaic dome of Centcelles
  • The mosaics in the Park Güell in Barcelona by Antoni Gaudí ( 1900-1914 designed )
  • The mosaics of the Antakya Archaeological Museum
  • The mosaics from Zeugma Zeugma Mosaic Museum in Gaziantep
  • Important collection of the National Museum of Bardo

Important mosaic artists

  • Charles Crodel
  • Konrad Honold
  • Helmuth Uhrig
  • Peter Recker
  • Antoni Gaudí
  • Niki de Saint Phalle

Related Techniques

  • Composite structures made of different colored glass can be found in stained glass windows and Tiffany art glass.
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