Mosaic

This article is about a decorative art. See Mosaic (disambiguation) for other meanings.

Mosaic is a medium of art that may embody the most meaningful iconography in a culture's most important settings, as in the cathedral of Monreale (below), or it may be a technique of decorative art, an aspect of interior decoration. In mosaics, small tiles or fragments of pottery (known as tesserae, diminutive tessellae) or of colored glass or clear glass backed with metal foils, are used to create a pattern or picture.

Mosaic was used in Antiquity for domestic interior decoration. Mosaics of the 4th century BCE are found in the Macedonian palace-city of Aegina and they enriched the floors of Hellenistic villas, but mosaic floors are particularly associated with Roman dwellings, from Britain (illustration, right) to Dura-Europas. Splendid mosaic floors distinguished luxurious Roman villas across north Africa. In Rome, Nero and his architects innovated the extension of refined mosaics to cover the surfaces of wall and ceilings in the [[Domus Aurea]], built .

When Christian basilicas began to be purpose-built in the late 4th century, wall and ceiling mosaics were adapted to Christian uses. The greatest development of Christian mosaics unfolded in the Byzantine empire including its outpost the Exarchate of Ravenna and its territories in Sicily, and in its late rival Venice, where mosaic encrusts the exterior and interior of [[San Marco di Venezia|St Mark's]. In Western Europe, the demanding techniques of fresco replaced the even more labor-intensive techniques of mosaic.

The craft has continued through the ages, kept alive in the Eastern Orthodox tradition especially, and extending to Russia, where Moscow claimed to succeed Constantinople as the "Third Rome." Many modern examples of mosaic exist. M.C. Escher was influenced by Moorish mosaics to begin his investigations into mathematical properties called tessellation.

Mosaic technique

There are two main methods of creating mosaics. They are commonly referred to as the "direct method" of mosaic construction and the "indirect method" of mosaic construction.

Direct method

The direct method of mosaic construction involves directly placing (glueing) the individual tesserae onto the supporting surface. This method is well suited to surfaces which have a 3 dimensional quality such as vases.

The direct method suits small projects which are transportable. Another advantage of the direct method is that the resulting mosaic is progressively visible allowing for any adjustments to tile placing or colours to be done immediately.

The disadvantages of the direct method is that the artist must work directly at the chosen surface which is often not practical for long periods of time. It is unsuitable for large scale projects. Also, it is difficult to control the evenness of the finished surface. This is of particular importance when creating a functional surface such as a floor or a table top. If such qualities are important in the finished mosaic surface, then a look at the indirect method of mosaic construction may be useful.

Indirect method

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"Tilings" can lead to complicated mathematical problems; please refer to tiling and tesselation for details. A renowned mathematician who has recently associated himself with tiling problems is Roger Penrose, namesake of "Penrose tilings".