Page:Catholic Encyclopedia, volume 10.djvu/646

 MOSAICS

588

MOSAICS

Monte Cassino with mosaics, he brought artists and workmen from Constantinople in 1066 for that pur- pose. These mosaics are lost or decayed, but it is not unlikely that the artists so engaged, designed and worked on the wall paintings of Sant' Angelo-irt- formis, a subsidiary church of the monastery near

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From apse of Cathedral of CefalCl, Sicily

Capua. These most interesting paintings are still in a fair state of preservation. It is prdbable that this action of Desiderius had a far-reaching influence in importing fresh energy, especially when he came to occupy the papal chair. The schools of Paulus Laurent ius and Rainerius were founded, which were ultimately influenced by the Cosmos, and all the work of this character was at one time erroneously called coxmali work. The generation of these schools is of considerable interest in the history of mosaic, and is given by Mr. A. L. Frothingham, in the "American Journal of Archaeology", I, 182. The main features of the decorative mosaic of the Roman School were derived from southern Italy, indirectly from Byzantium, in the eleventh century. The mo- saics of the twelfth century are remarkable both for their number and the development of design in Christian art. A new period was inaugurated in Rome under Innocent II. In Italy, in Greece, in Arabia, as well as in Germany and France, important examples are preserved. In Rome, S. Maria in Trastevere (where the design and execution of the mosaic in the apse is extremely grand), S. Crisogono, S. Maria, and S. Francesca Romana were also so decorated.

The Roman artists exerted great influence in Umbria, and the Abruzzi, including the Marches. These men were at times both architects, mural painters, and mosaic workers. From the Roman cen- tre their work went west to considerable distances. Other great works in Italy of this period are in the cathedral of Torccllo, in the chapel of St. Zeno, and in the ap.se of St. Mark's at V'enice, 1159; in the Pala- tine chapel, in S. Maria Martorana or S. Maria dell' Ammiraglio in Palermo, in other Sicilian churches both of Monreale and of Cefalu [Fig. 10] ( 1140)— in the Palatine chapel Arab workmen assisting the Greeks both in the design and execution. The Mohamme- dans themselves, notwithstanding the order of the prophet, had occa.sionally figure design in the mosaic of their mosques; that of Abd-el-Melik at .Jerusalem has figures of prophets in the porch, and on the walls inside an Injerru) and a Mohammedan Paradiso. The mosaic ornamentation in the mosques of Seville, Cordova, and Granada are well known to travellers. In Greece there still remain most interesting mosaics of the churches of Daphne, and of St. Luke of Stiris in Phocis [Fig. 11]. In Syria, there remain the cele- brated series of mosaics in the church of the Nativity,

Bethlehem; those in the Church of the Holy Sepul- chre, and the Mosque of Omar. The mosaics of this period in the churches of Mount Athos are all lost excepting a few figures at Vatopedi. In France, Abbot Siigcr had mosaics executed for the church of Saint Denis, and there are records of such work at L\niis and Troyes.

The great period of Christian mosaic was probably in the thirteenth century. Rome, Florence, Pisa, Venice, Parenzo, and Spoleto still possess great works of this era, and the names of Cimabue, Giotto, P. Cavallini, Gaddo Gaddi, Jacobus Torriti, Tafi, Apol- Idiiio, and others are connected with the craft. Tor- riti did important work in St. Mary Major's and St. .John Lateran's; Pictro Cavallini designed the subjects under the apse of S. Maria in Trastevere; important mosaics were done in St. Peter's, St. Clement's, and other churches. In 1298 the great (Jiotio was called to Rome to design the "navicella" for the Porch of S Peter's; that now in nidi is a res- toration. In Florence the mosaics of the baptistery commenced in 122,5 by .lacobus, a Franciscan, were continued at the end of the century by .\ndrea Tafi, fJacldo (iaddi, Apollonio. and afterwards by Agnolo Gaddi. Gaddo tiaddi also did the beautiful "Ma- donna" at Santa Maria del Fiore, and the "majesty" at San Miniato is also attributed to him, but it is so much restored that it is difficult to pass judgment upon it. At the end of the century (1298-1301) there was executed the celebrated "majesty" in the apse of the cathedral at Pisa, This has generally been attributed to Cimabue and the side figures to Vicino. To this opinion Venturi adheres with strong evidence (Storia dell' Arte Italiana, V, 239-240). Gerspach, however, will not have Cimabue amongst the mo.saicists (I>a M(is,iii|iic, 127)- .\t Civita Cas-

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From roof of .Sun Vilale, Uavtuua, Italy

tellana there is considerable work by the Cosmati, who possessed a school of architects, artists, and mosai- eists. They not only did mosaic pictures or subjects, but enriched the altars, pulpits, columns, pavements, and other portions of the architecture with geometri- cal mosaic patterns.

The earliest Christian mosaics in England are of this century, when the beautiful pavement placed be-