The legacy of Roman mosaic art
(4 min read) Now that we’ve dipped our toes into August, it seems only fair to dedicate an article to what’s to be (meteorologists say) the hottest month this year in both the western and northern hemispheres. July was already hot, but it seems that August will be hellish, so let’s talk nice about it and hope someone in charge of the weather will hear us…
On a cheerful note, August is famous for a variety of things, including dog days of summer, National Smile Week, and National Watermelon Day. However, August is named after Augustus Caesar, who was the founder and first emperor of the Roman Empire. It is also interesting to note that August was originally the sixth month of the year, so it had 30 days. It was later moved and one day was added to it, so it is as long as July, which was named after Julius Caesar, Augustus’s great-uncle.
So it seems that the most proper way for a mosaic blog to honor August is to chat a bit about Roman mosaic art and its significance and legacy. After all, if it weren’t for ancient Roman mosaic art, we wouldn’t know a variety of things about the lives of the ancient Romans we know today.
Ancient Romans created some gorgeous mosaic artworks, but their beauty was only one part of their overall value. Their true value was realized many centuries later because they helped future generations learn so much about the everyday life of Romans. From the essential documentation of ordinary objects such as tools, clothing, food, weaponry, and nature, to depictions of gladiator fights, hinting, athletics and farming, mosaic art truly served as a historian for this and many other time periods in human history.
In short, characteristic Roman patterns created of small white and black tiles are considered Roman mosaic art. As for materials used as mosaic tiles, ceramic glass and stone were most common, including colorful seashells of various shapes and sizes.
Roman mosaic art has its roots in the bronze age when Minoans started pebbling their floors. Greeks took over that concept and gave it a little twist — mosaic motifs on their floors repeated themselves. These first attempts at pebble mosaic art date back to the 5th century BCE.
However, it wasn’t until the 3rd century BCE that the Roman mosaic as we know it flourished and took off as an art form. Instead of pebbles mosaicists started using tesserae mosaic tiles and using coloration and shading to make their mosaic artworks more captivating. One of the best artists from that period was Sosus of Pergamon whose glorious Drinking Doves mosaic artwork is being replicated and admired to this day.
Roman mosaic art was heavily influenced by the Hellenistic period that came before it. So much so, that some of the most notable Roman mosaic artworks have Greek names. One of the most famous Roman mosaic artworks, the Alexander Mosaic, was a close replica of classic Hellenistic artwork. However, today we seem to acknowledge the influence of Roman mosaic art the most. We often forget that it started off by mimicking classical Greek masterpieces.
The white and black tesserae mosaic art was definitely the main current of mosaicism at the time and it managed to last all throughout the third century CE. Some other mosaic art forms included using mostly red mortar aggregate and white mosaic tiles, known as opus signum, as well as employing huge-colored stone or marble slabs, a technique called opus sectile.
All mosaic techniques were first used on floors and later on mosaic art started appearing on walls of Roman baths and pools, and from there it moved into other parts of palaces, rich homes, squares, etc.
Today, most mosaic artists still create their masterpieces the way that those in ancient Rome once did. The Roman and greek patterns still grace floors and borders in residences around the world, and some shadowing and coloring techniques are used on mosaic portraits. Thanks to its outstanding longevity and resilience, thousands of years old mosaic art taught us about ancient Rome and about itself.
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33 Comments
Oh, wow! I had no idea that the Romans use mosaic art, much less how gorgeous it was.
I enjoyed all the artwork when I was in Rome about 15 years ago. I didn’t know about the month of August being moved in the calendar.
i love the history in these posts! I have a great appreciation for roman culture and history, these mosaics reflect that
I certainly hope August is a bit more merciful to us! I loved the prompt for this month’s feature though. The Roman inspired art is truly gorgeous but I love the color palettes of the Roman era too.
When ever we would go on holiday to Cyprus when I was a kid I used to love going to see the old roman mosaics that you could visit. It’s amazing how many have survived, and how preserved some are after so many years x
Oh how I pray to God that the be meteorologists are wrong about August being the hottest month this year.
Wow! I just learned so much by reading this article! This is all so very interesting. Great read!!
What an interesting read, I always love to learn about history and the connection with Mosaic art is fascinating x
I am loving the history lesson and also seeing all of these mosaics. I totally love the one with the cat on.
That’s amazing! This is one of the most interesting arts! Thank you for sharing this information with me.
Lots of rich history behind these pieces. I love the colour palettes of the Roman scenes…really beautiful!
Oh wow! These are great mosaic art pieces. Loved knowing about them.
This is a really interesting post. Living near Rome, we have seen the mosaics a few times, but it’s interesting to learn about the history.
Such stunning Roman themed artwork, almost looks so real. I would love to have some of these decor in my home.
I love mosaics. I was not aware of the Roman history behind that art form.
if we talk about ancient mosaics no matter how close they are I always prefer Greek works over Roman but it does have a unique charm as well. You showed wonderful pieces here, I enjoyed looking through them and learning more about the mosaics
Such beautiful pieces of art! I am sure it must have been so labor intensive to come up with these masterpieces! Love the bit of history too. 🙂
If only we had these sorts of images in history classes at school. I would have been more interested in the subject.
These are just so beautiful and must take a lot of time making them. I really like the deer one
My jaw is dropping. It’s the art I didn’t know I needed!
So true, if there wouldn’t be art since ancient times, there is a lot we wouldn’t have learned
Wow look at the size comparison with a person there. I do love the drinking doves.
It’s nice to know this. The connection between the Mosaic and Roman is strong.
It’s nice to know about the history between Roman and Mosaic. The connection between the Mosaic and Roman is strong.
I love Roman mosaic art – I have always found it so interesting! Their mosaics are always absolutely stunning and I love the colours they used.
It amazes me how beautifully they did animals! so magical and so real. It’s hard to believe it’s mosaics very often
This was an interesting read. Mosaics were a very important form of art in ancient Rome and are still used widely today.
I have seen some amazing mosaics in Roman ruins from Spain to Turkey. Morocco is where I have seen artisans working their mosaic craft currently and it is quite impressive. I wonder if Moroccan mosaics have legacy back to the Roman empire.
Oh wow, I did not know that moasics were so historical! Thank you for sharing, and it feels very fitting to August indeed.
Wow all of this Roman art is stunning and so much history behind it – fascinating!!
Thanks for sharing
Laura
I love how beautiful and detailed they all are. Thanks for sharing with us this informative post and definitely learned something new
Everything really did start with the Romans didnt it! I Amazing pieces.
It has such a beautiful old world charm right? Amazing form of art by Romans. Beautiful is the word.