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

MosaicBlues Newsletter

 

The Mona Lisa of Gallilee - A case of plagiarism in Roman Mosaic Art ?

Since the beginning of humanity, artists have been borrowing from each other.  In a previous post, I wrote about the amazing similarities between a 2nd century BC Pasiphae Mosaic in Zeugma - Turkey and a 1st century AD fresco from the House of the Vettii in Pompeii, Italy. 

Today I'd like to share with you an example of a troubling resemblance between 2 Roman mosaics.

The stunning Mona Lisa of Galilee was unearthed from the ancient city of Sepphoris, an ancient town  grown between the 1st cent. BC and the 7th century to become a thriving administrative, commercial and religious center with a diverse, multi-ethnic and multi-religious population of some 30,000 living in relatively peaceful coexistence.

 

The Mona Lisa of Galilee

 

Her enigmatic smile can presently be admired in the antic town of Zippori on the Triclinium floor of the Roman Villa.

I stumbled on the "Mosaique au buste feminin" - Female Torso mosaic - browsing the Internet for Roman mosaic portraits, and she immediately reminded me of someone...

 

This gorgeous piece had been auctioned by a French Art Dealer for the modest price of 5,500.00 Euros.

 

 

Mosaique au buste feminin.

Although obviously the two pieces are not of the same aesthetic quality, the resemblance is stunning. This beauty cannot possibly be a copy made from memory. Either she was laid from a drawing made after the first piece, or the drawing used to lay her was a copy of the drawing used to lay the first piece.

Unfortunately, we do not know the provenance of this mosaic. My attempts at contacting the auctioneer were not successful. The catalog lists her as "ca 4th century AD", which would make both mosaics contemporary. 

Now, why would a modern mosaic artist care for this kind of things ? Well, maybe for the same reasons why Renaissance masters cared for Roman 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 

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Emperor Hadrian's Mosaic of the Doves

lire en Francais

 

  

The Capitoline Mosaic of the Doves was discovered in 1737 during archaeological excavations of Emperor Hadrian’s Villa.

The Doves Mosaic unearthed in 1737 at Hadrian's Villa.

While some scholars believe this beauty is the actual Dove Mosaic built by the famous 2nd century BC Sosus of Pergamon and mentioned by Pliny in his Natural History, others believe it to be a 2nd century AD copy of it made for Hadrian.

Numerous copies were made of this mosaic, even into late antiquity. In addition to Tivoli, these have been found at Delos; at Pompeii and Capua...

Doves Mosaic unearthed in Pompeii 1st century BC

In other parts of the Empire and in the Christian mausoleums of Santa Costanza in Rome and Galla Placidia in Ravenna. 

Doves Mosaic with svastika borders in Malta, 1st century.

Doves Mosaic from Ostia Antica, 1st Century BC

  

Doves Mosaic - Mausoleo of Galla Placidia, 5th Century AD

I consider the finest of all to be the emblema discovered at Hadrian’s Villa, made of thousands of very small tesserae - 2 to 3 mm squares, a technique named  opus vermiculatum, by far the most sophisticated mosaic technique.

A fragment of the outside border of this mosaic is displayed at the Musee d'Arles Antique this summer. 

Fragment from the border of the Capitoline Doves mosaic

The tesserae used to build this border were no bigger than 3 mm (0.11"). Usually this size of tessera was only used for the center piece - the emblema, and regular Opus Tessellatum built from bigger tesserae was used for the borders. Hadrian was a protector of the Arts. Those kind of Chef d'Oeuvre were only assembled in a couple of very specialized workshops of the Empire by very highly skilled craftsmen.

 

Those variations of a same pattern are an other example of the way ancient musivarii worked. I believe they had  books or scrolls of models for the architets or patrons to chose from. In some cases, several patterns were mixed in a same mosaic (I will write something later about the parrot you can see in the lower right corner of the piece from Ostia...)

One reason why I am visiting many sites and museums in Europe is that I am putting together a library of geometric patterns used by the Romans. This is taking quite some time as those patterns are anything but simple. They are, however, gorgeous, and they bring to any center piece the same depth a vibrant frame brings to a painting. 

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

Roman Mosaic Art in Bavay, Northern France

Bavay, the Antic Bagatum, was the capital of the Nervii, a tribe of Belgian Gauls which almost defeated Caesar at the battle of the Sabis.

The South Wall of Fortifications.

Bagatum was located at the intersections of 7 Roman roads joining many parts of Western and Northern Gaul to Southern Germany.

Roman Roads of Northern Gaul, 1st century AD.

It was an important political, strategic and economical town and Rome built there an impressive Forum, the biggest ever been excavated in France.

The archaeologists revealed exquisite mosaic art decorating public and private buildings laid in precious and very accurate geometric patterns.

fragment of mosaic and individual tesserae.

2 major mosaic floors were excavated in 1955 and 1959.


The Grande Rue mosaic came from the forum itself.

The Grande Rue Mosaic in Bavay

Its superb arrangement of 10 mm (3/8") black and white tesserae was laid in patterns of meanders and svastiska on one side and lobelled circles on the other side.



The Louvignies mosaic covering the floor of a private villa was expertly laid on top of an Hypocaust - the Roman version of Central Heating much needed during the winters of Northern Gaul.

Fragment of the Louvignies Mosaic in Bavay, France

At 5 mm (3/16") the Louvignies tesserae are much smaller than the Grande Rue ones.Their five colors are Black, White, Orange, Yellow and Grey. 

Most of what is left of this bright mosaic are geometric patterns of Rectangles, Losanges, Octagons and Meanders.

Square angles in the Louvignies Mosaic Art.

Lozanges in the Louvignies mosaic art.

But I believe several portraits were originally part of it.
 

Detail of the Louvignies Mosaic, possible portrai.

The mosaic was originally 7 x 7 m (500 square feet). Although only about 20  % of it are left and it was built with 5 colors only, the Louvignies Mosaic is absolutely GORGEOUS !


So the next time you consider designing a mosaic, and believe you need many different nuances, try to remember our Greek and Roman ancestors were able to work wonders with 2 or 5 colors....

Frederic Lecut is a French mosaicist.

In 1992 he made Alabama his home.

His Art is about inspiring People.

You can contact him either 

by phone at (334) 798 1639 or email at 

frederic.lecut@mosaicblues.com

You can also subscribe to his

MosaicBlues Newsletter

Recurring patterns in Ceramic and Mosaic Arts in the Antiquity.

A pattern is a particular way in which something is done or organized, or in which something happens.

What is fascinating about them is that patterns seem to perdure possibly forever, once they have been set. 

This glazed tile, dated 875 - 850 BC is part of the collections of the British Museum. It was excavated from royal palace of the Assyrian city of Nimrud, which was first destroyed at the end of the 7th century BC and again by islamist terrorists in 2015.

The tile depicts an Assyrian king, possibly Ashurnasirpal II who reigned during the early 9th century BC, accompanied by soldiers and attendants.

Now what really got my interest when I first saw this picture was not the representation of another victorious king, (They never seem to represent losers. I wonder why ?) but the rounded decorative pattern of the border below the King.

A thousand year later Roman mosaicists laid this beautiful mosaic of a boxing scene from the Aeneid on the floor of a Gallo-Roman Villa in Villelaure (France) .

Look at the Borders... 1000 years separate them...

If you watch close, history does nothing but repeat 
itself... 


I'll be traveling to Europe for 3 weeks to visit my family and explore and study several Roman mosaics in France and build up my library of borders.  Stay tuned !

Frederic Lecut is a French mosaicist.

In 1992 he made Alabama his home.

His Art is about inspiring People.

You can contact him either 

by phone at (334) 798 1639 or email at 

frederic.lecut@mosaicblues.com

You can also subscribe to his

MosaicBlues Newsletter

3 Muses in painting and mosaics

The Nine Muses have been inspiring artists since the antiquity and there are countless paintings, drawings, designs, poems and statues dedicated to them. Many artists of all times acknowledged their importance in artistic creation,  dedicating their works to them.

In this painting displayed in the Musee du Louvre, 17th century artist Eustache Lesueur represented 3 of them : Melpomene, Polymnia and Erato

The Roman mosaic of Vichten was manufactured 14 centuries before Lesueur around 240 AD in a specialised workshop in Trier. It is one of the most beautiful Roman representations of the nine Muses and an eloquent example of the philosophical and literary culture of the urban elites in Roman Gaul.

Melpomene, protector of Tragedy, invented tragedy, rhetoric speech and Melos. She was depicted holding a tragedy mask and usually bearing a bat.

Erato was the protector of Love and Love Poetry – as well as wedding. Her name comes from the Greek word “Eros” that refers to the feeling of falling in love. She is depicted holding a lyre and sometimes love arrows and bows.

Polymnia, protector of the divine hymns and mimic art, invented geometry and grammar. She was depicted looking up to the Sky, holding a lyre.

 

 

 

I am a French mosaic artist based in Alabama. 

My Art is about Inspiring People.

 

If you are interested by my work, please contact me by phone at (334) 798 1639 or by email at frederic.lecut@mosaicblues.com

 

You can also subscribe to my NEWSLETTER

Wheels of Fortune

The Wheel of Fortune, symbol of the fickleness of human fortune, has been represented in mosaics since the Roman times. 

 

Pompeii, 1st century AD

When this unique Roman Wheel of Fortune spins,  the rich (symbolised by the purple cloth on the left) becomes poor, and the poor (symbolised by the skin of a goat on the right) rich. 

Life, however, is very precarious, death is lurking at every moment,  suspended by a thread; if it breaks, the soul - symbolized by the butterfly - flies away.

 
  

Siena Duomo, 1372

 

Earliest panel of the Siena Duomo, the Wheel of Fortune was built in 1372. It was restored in the 1860s with many of its marble inlays replaced, worn nearly featureless by centuries of tramping pilgrims and tourists.

 

 

 

Koelner Dom, 1887

In this modern Wheel of Fortune mosaic (quite similar to the previous one) from the Cologne Cathedral (designed in 1885) a young man uses all his strength to spin the wheel of fortune. As the wheel turns, he is first carried upwards by a spoke of the wheel, experiences elation as he gets his heart’s desire, and is then carried downwards again. As the cycle begins again, the man contemplates the hand Fortune has dealt him.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

New York, 20th century

Closer to us 20th century mosaic is located at 59th Street and Lexington Avenue Subway Station in New York. 

 

I am a modern mosaic artist with a deep admiration for ancient Greek, Roman and Byzantine Arts. You can see some of my own mosaics on my site mosaicblues.

 

If you are interested by my work in general  or if you would simply like to drop me a line, please 

contact me by email at frederic.lecut@mosaic.com   

or by phone at (334) 798 1639.  You can also

SUBSCRIBE to my

NEWSLETTER