Long-lost Roman Mosaic built for Caligula and smuggled to the US finally returns to Italy.

The destiny of Works of Art can be surprising !

In the 2015 movie Woman in Gold an elderly Jewish refugeefights the Austrian Government to reclaim a portrait by Gustav Klimt of her aunt Adele Bloch-Bauer, portrait which had been stolen by the Nazis prior to World War II.

Portrait of Adele Bloch-Bauer by Gustav Klimt

Closer to us, last September, prosecutors seized in New York City a piece of floor mosaic from one of Roman Emperor Caligula’s opulent private ships discovered in 1928 by Italian Archaeologists.

One of Caligula's ship discovered in 1928.

The mosaic, stolen from an Italian museum during World War II was in the possession of an antiques dealer of New York. She had bought it in good faith in the 60’s from an aristocratic Italian family and was unaware of its origins.

For much of the past five decades, the four-by-four piece of mosaic - featuring a complex geometric pattern made of pieces of green and red porphyry, serpentine and molded glass - had been sitting in their Park Avenue apartment, where it was used it as a coffee table.

The mosaic retrieved from the Caligula Ship

Caligula, whose real name was Gaius Julius Caesar, was emperor between 37 and 41 AD. His short rule came to a bloody end when he was assassinated by officers of the Praetorian Guard, amid a revolt over his terrible behaviour and reckless spending.




The mosaic is on its way back to Italy.
 
In a next post I’ll tell you about a Roman mosaic looted from a Syrian museum by ISIS, which a Turkish smuggler proposed to sell me.

Mosaic stolen from a Syrian Museum.

I am a French mosaicist

living in Headland, Alabama, USA.

My Art is about inspiring people.

You can see some of my work 

at www.mosaicblues.com

You can contact me either by phone 

at (334) 798 1639 or by email at 

frederic.lecut@mosaicblues.com

You can also subscribe to my

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A mosaic portrait of two happy children

In May 2013, I created a mosaic portrait of Ella and Lane, the children of my good friends Natalie and Aaron from Auburn, Alabama.

Mosaic Portrait of Ella and Lane

in 2014, Natalie sent me a picture of the kids under their portrait ! 

The kids under their mosaic portrait

The first thing you see when you come into the house is the gorgeous smile of the kids on the mosaic on the wall facing the entrance door !

Last week end, as I was bringing them a small mosaic derived from my Miura Project, Aaron invited me to share their meal (Great Hamburgers and grilled chicken) and he took this picture of the kids and me under the mosaic ! 

Fred, Ella, Lane, under their mosaic portrait.

Knowing that people I appreciate enjoy my art daily is very rewarding to me. I feel I am contributing something positive to their family. Art should be present in everybody's daily life. We mostly remember ancient civilizations and cultures for the creations of their artists and architects.

If you would like to commission a mosaic portrait, you can contact me at :

frederic.lecut@mosaicblues.com

In one of my next posts, I'll tell you of the other portrait I created for Natalie and Aaron. 

I am a French mosaicist

living in Headland, Alabama, USA.

My Art is about inspiring people.

You can see some of my work 

at www.mosaicblues.com

You can contact me either by phone 

at (334) 798 1639 or by email at 

frederic.lecut@mosaicblues.com

You can also subscribe to my

MosaicBlues Newsletter

 

3 mosaiques romaines : un chat, deux canards et une perdrix.

Read this post 

in English

L'etude des mosaiques romaines revele enormement de choses sur la vie quotidienne des nos ancetres, et egalement sur la maniere dont travaillaient les mosaicistes antiques.

Je suis persuade que nos ancetres utilisaient des livres - catalogues de dessins pour montrer a leur clients ce qu'ils pourraient executer pour eux. Sur ce sujet, j'ai ecrit il y a quelques temps un article sur la Mona Lisa de Galilee et sa copie.

Voici a present trois superbes pieces qui illustrent fort bien comment les artistes de l'Antiquite se copiaient, ou peut etre s'empruntaient les modeles de leurs oeuvres.

Mosaique de sol. Villa du quartier romain de Cecchignola

Emblème d'une mosaïque de sol représentant un chat et deux canards. Opus vermiculatum, œuvre romaine de la fin de l'époque républicaine, premier quart du Ier siècle av. J.-C. Visible au Musee national de Rome - Pallazo Massimo alle Terme 

Mosaique de sol, Maison du Faune, Pompei

Mosaique provenant du Triclinium de la Maison du Faune a Pompeii, visible au Musee Archeologique de Naples (Museo Archeologico Nazionale - inv. nr. 9993).

Mosaique de sol, Musee du Vatican

Mosaique de provenance inconnue visible au Musee du Vatican.

Ces trois pieces sont clairement apparentees. Leur architecture est similaire. Elles sont composees de deux tableaux superposes. Dans le tableau superieur, un chat attaque un oiseau, dans le tableau inferieur, deux canards vivants sont en accompagnes de divers mets - fruits, fleurs, fruits de mer et/ou petits oiseaux.

Ce type de mosaique "Emblema" etaient produits par des maitres artisans employes dans des ateliers tres specialises. Une fois terminees, elles etaient expediees pour etre inserees in situ au sein d'autres mosaiques de facture moins complexe.

Les experts s'accordent a penser qu'il devait au 1er siecle n'exister que deux de ces ateliers, probablement en Grece, et en Syrie ou Turquie.  

Je pense que les deux pieces de Pompeii et Ceccigniola furent executees dans le meme atelier, peut etre par le meme artiste, et que la piece du Musee du Vatican fut realisee plus tardivement par un artiste de moindre abilete. 

Comment les dessins passerent-ils de l'un a l'autre ? Je pense que les mosaicistes de l'antiquite disposaient de livres - catalogues de dessins transmis de Maitre a Apprentis ou copies, avec ou sans permission, par les artisans charges d'installer in situ les emblema expediees depuis l'atelier de production. 

Si vous avez des connaissances sur ce sujet, merci de bien vouloir les partager ! 

 Je suis un mosaïste Français 

vivant a Headland en Alabama 

dans le Sud des Etats Unis. 

J'aime inspirer les gens. 

Vous pouvez voir mon travail a

www.mosaicblues.com 

Vous pouvez me contacter 

par téléphone au (334) 798 1639 

ou par e-mail a  

frederic.lecut@mosaicblues.com 

Vous pouvez aussi vous abonner 

a ma lettre d'information  

MosaicBluesNewsletter

How to create several mosaic portraits from one model.

Opus Pixellatum allows for an amazing range of variations and improvisations.

To illustrate this versatility, I have worked from an actual model of a mosaic portrait I have executed several times.  

Green Eyes, opus pixellatum, 6 levels Grayscale

This model is designed on a six levels gray scale. The numbers are the references of Mosaic Art Supply "elementile 8 mm" recycled glass tiles. The mosaic once complete would measure 13 x 27". This mosaic is what you would obtain if you would scrupulously use the references printed on the model.

While the model calls for set colors, the mosaicist has all latitude to change them to fit his creativity and fantasy.

He can for example decide to change the colors from a Gray Scale to a Blue Scale.

From Gray to Blue Scale.

This is the simplest change that the mosaicist can use.

Other modes of variations can use 2 different scales. In this combination of a Blue and an Orange Scale, the respective darknesses of colors has been respected.

Variation # 6

In this one, however, the progression in darkness is different for the colored scale than it is for the gray scale.

Variation # 1

There are many more possibilities as illustrated below.

Green Eyes Mosaic, Variation #1

In the piece below, only every other tesserae are laid in accordance to the grayscale of the original model. then, the other tesserae are laid, the colors progress from Red on the Left to Blue on the Right.

Green Eyes Mosaic, Variation #2

The progression of colors in Variation #3 is similar to the Variation #1, with warmer tones.

Green Eyes mosaic, Variation #3

#4 has brighter colors.

Green Eyes mosaic, Variation #4

On #5 based on #3, every other tile is filled with a gray color.

Green Eyes mosaic, Variation #5

#6 is a different repartition of brighter colors, still Blues, Yellows and Reds

Green Eyes mosaic, Variation #6

In #7 based on #5, a gradient of colors has filled up every other tile.

Green Eyes mosaic, Variation#7

#8 is a brighter, more contrasted version of #7

Green Eyes Mosaic, Variation #8

The filling gradient of #9 is darker than the one of #8

Green Eyes Mosaic, Variation #9

# 10 uses Green tones instead of the previous Blues used in #2 to #9

Green Eyes Mosaic, Variation #10

In #11 the lower veils is using reds where as the top of the image is similar to the top of #10

Green Eyes Mosaic, Variation #11

A totally different type of variation consists in the superposition of two layers of different images. In the 3 following examples, I have used an opus tessellatum image on top of the Opus Pixellatum. 

Green Eyes Mosaic, Variaton #12

Practically, this is done by first building the opus tesselatum piece by gluing the tesserae on top of a vinyl sheet that covers the tesselatum model, once this done, the mosaicists removes the Tesselatum model and inserts the Pixellatum model under the vinyl, and resume the execution of the mosaic, following the design of the Pixellatum model.

Green Eyes Mosaic, Variation #13

This may sound a little complicated, it is not really. I Plan to teach this technique during a seminar next spring.

Green Eyes Mosaic, Variation #14

Opus Pixellatum allows for a formidable array of variations. Only your imagination is the limit. Several of my students have experimented and obtained amazing results with this technique (Click here for my Post on Daniel Adams).

I encourage you to give it a try. 

I will email you, for free, the Gray scale Model at the top of this article.

Just contact me at frederic.lecut@mosaicblues.com

You just have it printed and get to work !

I am a French mosaicist

living in Headland, Alabama, USA.

My Art is about inspiring people.

You can see some of my work at www.mosaicblues.com

You can contact me either by phone 

at (334) 798 1639 or by email at 

frederic.lecut@mosaicblues.com

You can also subscribe to my

MosaicBlues Newsletter

The Tour de France Mosaic - an hommage to the greatest bicycle race.

 

I started last week a piece about the Tour de France.

Even if you are not French or a bicycle aficionado, you probably have heard of the grueling bicycle race  organized in France every summer. It has been going on almost non-stop for over a century.

My friend John Henderson, owner of the Dothan Cycle and Fitness store commissioned this piece based on a poster related to the 1913 Tour de France.

Original JB Louvet Tour de France 1913 Poster

Because of the Art Nouveau style, I decided to use glass for this piece. The Map and Letterings will be  Opus Tessellatum, but I will use Opus Pixellatum to create a different background changed from plain Navy Blue to a gradient Dark Blue to Deep Purple. So I am using 2 models to build this mosaic.

The 2 models for the Tour de France mosaic.

Because I am using the reverse method, the model on the right is a mirror image of the original poster.

I laid the first tiles on October 6 , 2017, beginning with contour of France in bright Yellow.

First tiles laid ! October 6

On October 8, I had progressed well on the Red Road (La Route du Tour !), and ran out of yellow tiles... 

The Tour de France mosaic, October 8

For now, waiting for the tiles I ordered from Mosaic Art Supply, I will be working on the man and his bike.

Stay tuned, I will keep you posted on my progress on this remarkable piece of bicycle Art !

I am a modern mosaic artist with a deep admiration for ancient Greek, Roman and Byzantine Arts.

You can see my own mosaics on my site at mosaicblues.  

If you are interested by my work or would like to drop me a line please contact me by email at frederic.lecut@mosaicblues.com or by phone at (334) 798 1639. 

You can also 

SUBSCRIBE to my

NEWSLETTER

3 Roman Mosaics figuring two ducks, a cat and a partridge.

There is a lot to learn by studying Roman mosaics about life in the Empire,  what people liked and disliked, how they lived, worked, died and loved. And of course about the ways of ancient mosaicists.

I believe our ancetors used some sort of catalogs of drawings to show their patrons (I do that !). It is likely some designs were simply copied, there were no copyrights in the Roman times... A few month ago I wrote about the Mona Lisa of Palestine and her copy.

Today lets look at 3 Roman pieces which very much illustrate how people were copying or borrowing each other's designs...

Floor mosaic from a Roman Villa (Rome - Cecchignola)

This piece comes from the triclinium (Banquet room) of a suburban villa of the Cecchignola area is currently visible a the Pallazo Massimo alle Terme - National Museum of Rome 

Floor mosaic from the Villa of the Faun, Pompeii

This gorgeous piece from the triclinium of the House of the Faun in Pompeii is visible at the National Archaeological Museum in Naples, Italy.

Roman Floor mosaic of unknown provenance.  

This third piece unfortunately of unknown provenance and period can be seen at the Vatican Museum. 

These three pieces are closely related. They are similarly structured as a superposition of 2 scenes. In the upper panel a cat is biting a bird, a partridge in the first two mosaics, a rooster in the third one; In the lower panel two live ducks sit beside various edible material (lotus flowers in the Cecchignola piece; lotus flowers, dead birds and shellfish in the Pompeii piece: olives and apples in the bottom piece).

Emblema pieces were executed by highly skilled craftsmen operating out of specialized workshops. Once completed they were shipped in the whole empire to private or public buildings were other less skillful workers would mount them. There were very few workshops able to produce pieces of this quality. 

While the Pompeii and Cecchignola pieces are of close and excellent quality,  the last piece is of a inferior facture. This leads me to think that the first ones were executed in the same workshop, possibly by the same artist while the last one was executed later, in a different workshop, by a worker of lesser ability. 

How was the design passed from one shop to an other ? 

I believe our ancestors used hand-written and drawn books of patterns that apprentices would copy from their masters. Until archaeologists find and read these documents we won't know! 

If you have any knowledge on this subject, I would be very interested in hearing from you !

I am a modern mosaic artist with a deep admiration for ancient Greek, Roman and Byzantine Arts.

You can see my own mosaics on my site at mosaicblues.  

If you are interested by my work or would like to drop me a line please contact me by email at frederic.lecut@mosaicblues.com or by phone at (334) 798 1639. 

You can also 

SUBSCRIBE to my

NEWSLETTER