Greek traditions of mosaic work were inherited by the Hellenic communities of southern Italy and Sicily, and also entered Italy through the Adriatic ports. Although few mosaicists’ names are preserved in floors, it is significant that Greek artist names predominate, suggesting ‘signed’ that the craft remained largely in their hands. The or black and white tradition dominated Italian floor mosaics for the first monochrome three centuries AD. These opus tessellatum floors consisted of a white background relieved by simple patterns in black. They were strictly two-dimensional with basic geometric patterns the human form does not appear until c.150AD. However, concurrently with this black-and – tradition, there were also (multicoloured) floors in opus tessellatum, but polychrome these did not become firmly established in Italy until after 300AD. The subject-matter of Roman mosaics was dominated by the same themes as their wall-paintings Greek mythology; religious rituals; landscapes; hunting-scenes; scenes from the circus, theatre, – amphitheatre; portraits; still-life.
Greek traditions of mosaic work were inherited by the Hellenic communities of southern Italy and Sicily, and also entered Italy through the Adriatic ports. Although few mosaicists’ names are preserved in ‘signed’ floors, it is significant that Greek artist names predominate, suggesting that the craft remained largely in their hands. The monochrome or black and white tradition dominated Italian floor mosaics for the first three centuries AD. These opus tessellatum floors consisted of a white background relieved by simple patterns in black. They were strictly two-dimensional with basic geometric patterns – the human form does not appear until c.150AD. However, concurrently with this black-and tradition, there were also polychrome (multicoloured) floors in opus tessellatum, but these did not become firmly established in Italy until after 300AD. The subject-matter of Roman mosaics was dominated by the same themes as their wall-paintings – Greek mythology; religious rituals; landscapes; hunting-scenes; scenes from the circus, theatre, amphitheatre; portraits; still-life.
10.%20Mosaics.docx