April 14, 2013

Making Ancient and Byzantine Mosaics (video)



There's more to mosaics than meets the eye. The design and arrangement of hundreds or thousands of tesserae (stone or glass cubes) was a complex process involving meticulous planning. However, before a mosaicist began any project, a solid foundation was necessary. From there, the artist could create a work of art that could last for centuries. In this video, a master mosaicist from the Chicago Mosaic School demonstrates the art of mosaic making by recreating a section of the Art Institute of Chicago's 5th century Byzantine mosaic fragment with a Man Leading a Giraffe.