Today, the mosaic is taken for granted, but only the wealthiest people could afford it. At a time when there was no mass production of tiles, people spread their drawings with their own hands, using only improvised means and colored stones.
At the moment, historians have four techniques for making mosaics: Roman, Russian Alexandrian and Florentine. The most complex of all is the Florentine mosaic. To make it, craftsmen use colored ornamental stones: tiger's eye, amethyst, malachite, agate, carnelian, serpentine, jasper, marble, lapis lazuli, sodalite, hematite. When making an image, stones of certain shades are used, which are given the desired shape and cut. After processing, the stone elements join together to form a pattern. For the selection of rounded lines, many small stones or one carefully crafted element are used. The resulting image can accurately transmit fine and details and halftones, which is difficult to achieve even with oil paint.
History of the mosaic
Florentine mosaic originated in the early 16th century and was popular for 300 years. In the development and improvement of the art of creating "stone paintings" a great role was played by the Tuscan duke Ferdinand I de Medici. He was the first to establish a workshop for working with precious and semiprecious stones, which was called the "Gallery of Dei Lavori." Here the Italian masters began to experiment with the compilation of images from colored stones, which later became known as "pietra dura".
Jewelers have developed their own style of mosaic called "commesso", which in translation means "docked". Why such a name? The fact is that the semi-precious stones, after cutting and shaping the desired shape, were added to a certain pattern so that the line between them was almost invisible. The technique of Florentine mosaic was used in the manufacture of table tops, wall panels, jewelry boxes, chess boards, as well as for decoration of furniture elements. Unfortunately, by the end of the 19th century this kind of art ceased to be relevant, as people switched to painting and architecture.
Today, mosaics in the technique of "pietra dura" can be found in historical museums and private collections. The most famous mosaic works: "Moscow courtyard", "The panel with a sunflower", "The sense of smell and touch", "Mountain river".
Florentine mosaic made of stone - manufacturing features
Italian mosaic has a number of features that distinguish it from other types of masonry:
- all parts of the figure are so tight that the connections between the stones are almost invisible;
- all elements must be carefully ground and in the same plane;
- even the most exact copy of the picture is different from the original, because in nature there are no absolutely identical stones;
- the creation of a single mosaic may take several months;
- unlike the drawings on the canvas, the images from the stone do not fade and do not burn out for many years.
Today, "stone paintings" decorate small boxes or cabinet doors. A lot of money is taken for work, as each image is made according to a personal order.
Some designers use Italian technology to make women's jewelry. Pendants, brooches and large earrings are decorated with thin plates of colored stone, which are added to a certain pattern. It should be noted that the same elements in one product may have different shades due to the heterogeneity of the natural stone.
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