Original subtitles

[Music]

[Music]

you

[Music]

mosaics an art form present a

civilization Zenith and present after

its collapse strong in some ways fragile

and others used to portray gods

[Music]

reinforce patriotism honor the dead and

[Music]

decorate bathrooms its ancient and also

new

[Music]

the first Western mosaics date from

around 3300 BC and are found in auric

now in southern Iraq

[Music]

made from clay cones embedded in mud

they decorate the columns in a palace

the standard of ore found south of

Baghdad is made out of shell lapis

lazuli limestone vitamin is used as glue

it's on wood

it's 3000 BC they figure it's 9 inches

tall and 20 inches long there's two

panels they portray peace and war by 800

BC colored pebbles were starting to be

used as pavement the Greeks raised this

pebble technique to an art form making

precise geometric patterns and detailed

scenes of people and animals

[Music]

Rome adopted the Hellenistic art form

and send it throughout the Roman Empire

[Music]

they used it to honor their heroes and

portray the domestic scenes as this one

at the Roman villa

Castle lay in central Sicily Roman

floors would frequently have a center

design called an emblem otta

this is a very complex piece of art and

it would have an outline of a frame

around it the comic musicians in Pompeii

are an excellent example of this a

master artist would complete this piece

while apprentices would work on the

geometric patterns and borders around

the outside

[Music]

gladiators were another popular theme

here found in the Libyan town of flight

[Music]

pompeii and herculaneum had their share

of figurative mosaics preserved for us

thanks to the volcano Vesuvius

[Music]

the famous floor found in the house of a

fawn in Pompeii is believed to be a

mosaic copy of a Greek painting the

mosaic dates from the 1st century BC and

it portrays a battle of Alexander and

the Persian King Darius in 331 BC

historians date that there were

paintings made of this and that copies

were circulated around the Empire this

piece they think was moved from another

place and put in Pompeii

[Music]

mosaics and the Bardo Museum of Tunis

attest to the tradition in northern

Africa here Virgil is inspired by the

muses as he is writing the Aeneid his

beautiful baptismal font portrays the

divine work of salvation a large mosaic

shows ulysses tied to the mast resisting

the song of the sirens in March of 2015

the Bardo was attacked by two terrorists

they killed 20 people mostly tourists

before being killed themselves black and

white mosaics found in Ostia the Seaport

for Rome were made for a lively

middle-class merchant population the

mosaics are extensive they cover the

plazas the walkways and the bathhouse

floors

the Vatican holds many beloved works

such as this untidy floor and these

wonderful fish

Rome carried mosaics to their far-flung

provinces including this beautiful floor

in London

and to see God in the British Museum

another treasure from the Roman

occupation as Christianity replaced the

Roman state religion mosaics were made

for walls the Byzantine churches in

Italy Sicily and Turkey found that

mosaics would decorate uneven surfaces

in cramped spaces with dazzling

efficiency these mosaics often used gold

and silver as well as glass the metals

were encased in a clear glass and set at

random angles so flickering candlelight

would seem to glow Sicily has four

outstanding examples of christ

pantocrator' the true pinnacle of mosaic

art

[Music]

after the fall of Rome the new Byzantine

capital built the glorious aya sofya

[Music]

kept mosaic floors in the roman palace

[Music]

[Applause]

and decorated delicate Chaura church

with Christian images

[Music]

Ravenna Italy the fifth-century capital

of the Western Roman Empire as some of

the finest Byzantine mosaics the big

three san vitale san Apollinaire nuovo

and the mausoleum of Galla Placidia are

famous for their artistry san vitale

built in 546 AD as a wonderful frieze of

the empress theodora and her retinue and

Justinian the Emperor of the East the

Tesori is made in uniform size and

square in shape sawn Apollinaire nuovo

built in 760 ad poster procession of 20

virgins and the Magi on their way to the

Holy Virgin and then a procession on the

other side of 26 martyrs led by Saint

Martin to the throne of Christ

[Music]

Jews during Roman and Byzantine periods

included mosaics in their synagogues one

in Jericho excavated in 1936 has images

of the Ark of the Covenant a menorah a

shofar and a Lowell of a Roman synagogue

in ein gedi also has a Byzantine era

mosaic floor is la mac-- architecture

used mosaic techniques to decorate

religious buildings and palaces after

the conquest of the eastern

provinces of the Byzantine Empire the

Dome of the rock built in Jerusalem in

688 was decorated inside and out with

glass mosaic rich floral motifs follow

the Byzantine tradition non-religious

mosaics decorated the palaces of the

caliphs and other high-ranking officials

this is a Palestine bathhouse in hisham

palace

in 965 Moorish Spain produced the

central dome of the Great Mosque of

Cordoba with its glittering Nihad

[Music]

mosaics in the Islamic world gave way to

tile and carved plaster as seen in the

Alhambra of Granada

[Music]

medieval mosaic work continued in

Venice's Saint Mark's Cathedral

the Vatican and Rome

[Applause]

and the baptistry in Florence

in the 16th century a Roman mosaic

school was established by the Vatican to

complete the decoration of the newly

built seat Peter's Basilica

instead of painted frescoes in that

great Church Pope Clement the 8th wanted

mosaics because there are brighter

they reflect more light they last longer

and can be decorated with jewels to

heighten the majesty but in the

Renaissance artists seem to turn from

mosaics to painting so it's going to

take a 300 year jump from the

Renaissance to the 19th century Art

Nouveau movement before mosaic returned

to prominence transforming walls and

floors with color Catalan artist

Antoni gaudí used mosaics for air vents

in his apartment building casa milà and

medallions inspires for his now majestic

sagrada familia parque guell near

gaudi's home has a serpentine bench a

favorite stop for many barcelona

visitors paris boasts many a

turn-of-the-century mosaic the grand and

Petit Palais built for the exposition of

1903 are awash with fine examples of

mosaic art

[Music]

you

[Music]

the Madelaine church just blocks from

the plastic on accord predates them it

was the meeting place during the French

Revolution

[Music]

the tomb of chemist Louis Pasteur was

modeled after the mausoleum of Galla

Placidia in Ravenna pastor's wife

directed that all the animals

benefitting from his work be pro trade

around his crypt

[Music]

so the mosaic tradition handed down

through history now has a new resurgence

new materials new ideas new creators we

get to watch enjoy and even participate

[Music]

you