Opus Sextile - Part I

Opus Sextile, or Sectile, a very ancient form of mosaic, probably is the ancestors of all floor mosaics. When our ancestors got tired of walking on mud, they paved their dwelling with flagstones. Stones of different colours allowed for figurative or geometrical patterns, a sort of creative tiling.

Roman marble floor mosaic, Utica, Tunisia

Such technique has consistently been used since...

On Floors

House of Cupid, 4th cent. AD

It is particularly interesting in the realization of great floor patterns such as the Labyrinths of various medieval and modern churches ...

Amiens Cathedral, France, 12th century AD

 

Church of the Nativity, Dothan, AL, USA, 2004 AD

And on walls :

Basilica of Junius Bassus - Rome, Italy - 331 AD

In a next post, we will look at the use of Opus Sextile and similar technologies in furniture building ... Stay in touch !

I am a modern mosaic artist who greatly admire Roman and Byzantine Art. My mosaics are often inspired by the works of ancient masters. You can visit my site at mosaicblues, or my facebook page. If you are interested by my work, please contact me by email at frederic.lecut@gmail.com or by phone at (334) 798 1639.

You may also want to

SUBSCRIBE to my

NEWSLETTER

In which I keep you informed of my work, techniques, history and archaeology of mosaics.

Mosaic Labyrinth

So many ancient mosaics survive that we almost take them for granted and do not really pay attention to them. 

But we should ! 

For they often represent actual scenes of a past long gone or numinous myths and symbols, sending us unusual and important messages about the ancient world, and/or about ourselves...

One of them is the Labyrinth, a recurring pattern of classical Roman mosaics. Although it is more often of a square shape,

Conimbringa, Portugal. 3rd Century AD

Pompeii, Italy, 1st century AD.

it is also sometimes of circular geometry. This circle shape is probably more ancient as it is the shape of prehistoric labyrinths.

Avenches, Switzerland, circa 250 AD

In Pagan times, the center of the Labyrinth was often decorated with a depiction of the slaying of the Minotaur by Theseus.

House of the Labyrinth, Pompeii, 1st century AD

The abundance of Labyrinths designed and executed by Roman mosaicists clearly show that it still was a very powerful symbol during the first centuries of our era.

When Christianity became the official religion of the Empire, it kept the symbol, often - but not always -  removing references to Theseus. 

In some cases, Christian Churches simply "recycled" pagan labyrinths by changing their center piece. In Orleansville, Algeria the center of the Labyrinth was reworked to feature a jeu-de-lettres on the words SANCTA ECLESIA (Holy Church).

During the Middle ages labyrinths were incorporated in numerous French and Italian churches. The French Cathedrals of Chartres and Amiens (13th century) incorporate the two widest labyrinths known to us to this day.

Notre Dame de Chartres, France, early 13th century

Notre Dame d'Amiens, France, 1288

Both these huge labyrinths are still used today as prayer or meditation paths by visitors to these Churches. 

There are also a variety of smaller floor or mural labyrinth in other European Churches . 

The one at the wonderful San Vitale Basilica in Ravenna measures about 3.5 meters (11 feet) in diameter. Although originally thought to date from the sixth century, it is now generally believed to have been built at a much later date, probably during the first half of the 16th century.

Basilica San Vitale, Ravenna, Italy.

The Labyrinth is sometimes taken as an analogy for the spiritual quest. The pilgrim or mystic on his way to enlightenment or God follows a convoluted path, with numerous turns, but finally comes to the center, and then follows the same path back to the real world. 

The Labyrinth took me to mosaics, in a way I would never have dreamed of...

In the early years of this century, by a strange arrangement of coincidences, causes and conditions - this is how karma operates... - I came to built a Labyrinth for the Episcopal Church of the Nativity in Dothan. 

This is not the place to tell this story, and I told it somewhere else. But look at the odds of a French Nuclear Engineer building a prayer Labyrinth in South Alabama...

Based on the geometry of the Chartres Cathedral's, the Nativity Labyrinth measures 14 meters (42 feet) in diameter. 

Dothan, Alabama, Early 21st century

It is built of regular rectangular and circular pavers. In order to realize the curvature of the path I had to cut most of them. It took 20 months to complete the work.

Just after completion of this prayer labyrinth, I met in France Jean Pierre Soalhat of Mosaic Tahlaos. I was sooo amazed !

Beside the beauty of his work, I also realized the similarity between the techniques of mosaic and the ones I had used - on another scale - to build the Church Labyrinth.

As soon as I'd be back to the USA, I would try myself at mosaics !

I first built a small table, then the portrait of Venus after Botticelli and the 3rd piece I realized was a Labyrinth table.

Made of 3 materials only : Black Granite, Crema Marble and Red Terra Cotta, it represents the Chartres Labyrinth, flanked by classical Roman patterns.

This was my biggest piece so far. This table is so heavy it's probably tornado proof. It is now at a friend's home in Virginia.

 

C'est la vie ...

If you are interested in purchasing one of my existing mosaics, would like to discuss a special mosaic or labyrinthine project, or simply discuss the wonderful art of mosaics, please contact me by email at frederic.lecut@gmail.com or by phone at (334) 798 1639. 

You may also

SUBSCRIBE to my

NEWSLETTER

The Maze of Mosaics

On March 19, 2014, I had the pleasure to give a lecture about the building of the Nativity Labyrinth at the Wiregrass Museum of Art.

In 2004, by an unusual concourse of circumstances, I began building a 42 foot diameter Labyrinth in the cloister of the Church of the Nativity in Dothan, AL.

The Labyrinth is a very ancient symbol. Bronze Age engravings from around 4000 BC are reminiscent of it. Today's labyrinth are used as meditation and prayer path by spiritual seekers and as playground by children.

It took 14 month to complete the work. A great number of stones had to be cut and laid... This long lasting effort triggered something in me; inside and outside.

While working at this project, I met in France Jean Pierre Soalhat. His amazing mosaic work impressed me enormously. 

I decided to give a try at mosaics.

One of the first pieces I produced was a table inspired by the Labyrinth of the Chartres Cathedral.

The rest is history... Over the past 10 years I have greatly improved my technique and produced very different pieces. My first love however is still the Classical Roman style...

More of my mosaics can seen on my website mosaicblues. Some of my work is available for sale. I also work on commission. Together we will design your dream piece. A table, a mural, a floor piece which you and your family will enjoy for a very long time... 

If you would like to discuss the building of a labyrinth or commission a mosaic, please contact me at frederic.lecut@gmail.com. 

UBI TU GAIUS, EGO GAIA

The Romans had various forms of marriages, Generally, the first part of the ceremony took place at the house of the bride's paterfamilias where the bride's parents would hand over the bride to the groom. There would be happen some important verbal exchange. 

The bride would tell the groom :  

"Ubi tu Gaius, ego Gaia," 

"Where you are Gaius, I am Gaia." 

And the groom would reply :

"Ubi tu Gaia, ego Gaius"  

"Where you are Gaia, I am Gaius."

The pronuba, matron of honor, would then join the couple's hands. The marriage was now legally valid, and more festivities followed.

The ceremony could take place even if the groom was not able to be present. In that event, he would send a letter with his part of the verbal exchange.

        I am presently working on a mosaic on this theme - Pure Classical Roman style - no flashing colours, only natural tones of the kind the Roman mosaicists used up to the 3rd century - after which they started to use glass tesserae)

This is going to be my first mosaic of a pure Classical Roman style in a long time. The last one I did was the Labyrinth table - it was about 7 or 8 years ago. I came to mosaics because of my love of Roman archaeology, so this is a great pleasure to be working on such a project !

You can see on the picture above how I am - again - using the reverse method for this piece. Although this process is slightly more difficult to handle than the direct laying, I like the result much better ! It is also the only way for me to use materials of various thickness. 

Roman Marriage

 

More to come on this piece...