2 • 1 SGRAFFITO • MOSAIC 1

Mosaic (Lat. musivum, literally – "devoted to muses") is related to monumental and decorative art and represents the image or tracing made from either homogeneous or materially different elements (stone, smalt, ceramic slabs, glass, bone, etc.). Mosaics are made from shards, which can have either a simple geometrical form or complicated form cut according to a predetermined pattern, and are fixed in a layer of lime, cement, mastic or wax. There are two techniques for mosaic type-setting: "straight line", whereby shards are pressed into the fixing medium dashing on a decorative surface, and "reverse", whereby shards are pasted right face on a technological picture, after which the mosaic set is filled in by a fixing structure. When hardened the mosaic block is separated and installed on a wall, ceiling or floor.

The mosaic flourished in Greece and Rome in antiquity, in Byzantium and Italy during the Middle Ages – from where it spread throughout all of Europe. Today, the mosaic still enjoys great popularity.

On the page the mosaics have been made using a straight line technique from stone and smalt shards.
 

2 • 1 SGRAFFITO • MOSAIC 1