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Mosaic panels - the splendor of creative impulse

We do not know for certain who first created amazing and beautiful paintings from mosaics. But we should be grateful to the talented creator from ancient times, who, from thousands of tiny fragments, was able to create a mosaic panel - a man-made masterpiece, highly revered to this day.

Today, such images for wall or floor cladding are made from different materials: glass, marble, travertine, etc. Each material used is attractive and practical in its own way. Quite unusual mosaic panels are made from colorful stained glass with a variety of halftones, which allows you to create paintings with the same pattern, but with different tints of shades.

Mosaic painting: decor from time immemorial to the present day

Various cladding elements are made from colored mosaics: banners, panels, friezes, borders, etc. A marvelous panel from is a wonderful wall composition of a decorative nature, made of small glass chips on polymer matrices, from which a certain pattern, design, ornament, photograph is formed, even text.

Making a mosaic panel begins with selecting and digitizing an image, after which a diagram of the future painting is created using computer programs. The color scheme and selection of mosaic elements of the required size are carefully considered. Typically, mosaic panels are laid out from chips of the correct shape (squares, rhombuses) or from fragments obtained by crushing or cutting a monolith. Small pieces are used to more accurately convey subtle, delicate details, elegant, smooth color transitions, allowing for the visual integrity of the mosaic image.

A modern manufacturer offers mosaic panels in different stylistic solutions, which makes the material truly universal, allowing you to bring any idea to life: from paintings by great painters to photos of your beloved dog. A professionally created sketch and a correctly selected range of shades make it possible to obtain not only delightful mosaic paintings, but also to make panels from such finishing material with the exact detail of a photograph.

By using relatively large pieces of mosaic elements when laying, the effect of artist’s brush strokes is created. An original glass mosaic panel will definitely become the “highlight” of the interior, without requiring a long distance in order to appreciate all the charm and beauty of a real work of art.

Buy a mosaic panel - get individuality and harmony

Unique mosaic paintings are used to decorate the outside of a building or to decorate the interior surfaces of a room. A variety of drawings, posters, and photographs decorate the facades of offices, banks, cafes, bars, restaurants, and night clubs.

Needlework- a great way to spend time usefully, calm your nerves and improve your home. For example, direct your energy to creating a mosaic.

Mosaic- this is the art of decorative direction, which consists of arranging, laying out and fixing a product on a smooth, clean surface. Mosaics have been known to people since ancient times. It was once used to decorate palaces and temples - for example, the world-famous mosaics of the Hagia Sophia in Constantinople were made using this technique. Traditional mosaic materials are used - natural stone, smalt, ceramics and metal.

With the advent of new materials, mosaics have become available even for ordinary handicrafts at home. It can be made from anything, including from scrap materials. Such products are always look very expensive and elegant. Your work will be appreciated by your family and friends. In addition, it is a very exciting process to create with your own hands! Be patient and perseverant, and you will definitely succeed real masterpieces!

You, of course, can purchase a ready-made mosaic in specialized stores - its assembly will be accessible even to novice craftswomen, but the one you create with your own hands will be unique And unique. A DIY mosaic panel will always fit into the interior of your home or apartment. You can decorate walls, floors, paths near the house, create a frame for a picture, or highlight an interior element. Mosaic has also found its place in beadwork - one of the techniques is called mosaic beadwork.

The process of making a mosaic with your own hands is quite an exciting activity.

1. The most banal way to make ceramic mosaic. Break the finished tile with a hammer, having first wrapped it in cloth. You can purchase broken tiles or scrap tiles at any hardware store for mere pennies or for free. That's all, our basis for creating a mosaic is ready. Mosaics made from broken dishes and ceramics combine very well, creating an amazing composition.
2. Manufacturing mosaic canvas made of plaster or alabaster. This is a rather long and painstaking process, but the result is worth it. You can choose any color yourself and make the required number of mosaic pieces. To prepare the mixture, you need to combine plaster, glue and water. Pour onto a rubber mat with cells. Spread with a spatula around the entire perimeter. Wait 24 hours until the mixture hardens and is ready for use.
3. Eggshell mosaic canvas. It is most suitable for the decoupage technique and creating jars, for cereals, for example. You need to peel the eggshell from the inner film and chop it into arbitrary pieces. Products decorated in this way look very unusual. You can make a truly unusual mosaic with your own hands from eggshells.

Mirror mosaic. It can be made from broken mirror or mirror tiles. You need to split it very carefully so as not to damage the backing layer. Making mosaic panels requires great care, especially when working with glass.

Mosaic canvas made of wood. With the help of such a mosaic you can create an unusual decoration for any room. You can make it from wood shavings (this is a budget option) or from solid hardwood. Instead of wood, you can use coconut shell. It has an interesting texture and relief, similar to wood.

Gallery: mosaic panel (25 photos)

It has been familiar to us since the times of Ancient Greece and Rome.

Attention! The surface for the panel must be perfectly clean and as smooth as possible.

Mosaic panels can decorate the interior of any room, walls, building facade, playground, pool.

• Roman;
• ceramic;
• Venetian;
• Moroccan.

On the Internet you can find many layout techniques and mosaic samples. The most popular is matrix mosaic. In this technique, the drawing is divided into separate segments, and the shades into cubes. This implementation allows you to most accurately convey complex artistic ideas. To create a matrix mosaic panel, parts in the form of regular volumetric polygons are used.

Alexander Kulev,

art critic

Mosaic panel

Before talking about the types of mosaic panels, it is necessary to understand what is meant by the words panel and mosaic, the meaning of which is intuitively clear, but in fact some explanation is required.

On the origin of the concept of “mosaic panel”

Meaning of the word panel comes from the French "panneau", which in turn goes back to the Latin "pannus" - a piece of cloth. The word panel usually means a work of a decorative nature, intended to permanently fill any sections of the wall (wall panel) or ceiling. Its varieties include: bas-relief, carved or stucco composition. Thus, the main feature of the panel is its immovability and a certain monumentality, and, as follows from the Latin meaning of the word, its resemblance to a piece of fabric, that is, insertion on the wall.

Word mosaic comes from the French “mosaïque”, as well as the Italian “mosaico”, which in turn goes back to the Latin (opus) musivum - a work dedicated to the muses. Mosaic is a decorative and applied art (relating to a type of art that has a dual function: aesthetic pleasure and utilitarian, practical) and monumental (having a large format and associated with architecture or interior design). Mosaic is quite diverse in the use of materials: it can be colored stones fixed to the surface, smalt, ceramic tiles or other materials.

Thus mosaic panel is a large panel interspersed with pieces of multi-colored materials that form a semantic design or pattern and perform an aesthetic or utilitarian function.

Sometimes mosaic is understood as a collection of heterogeneous elements that form a whole, individually nothing of themselves, but when taken together they create something special and whole.

The history of mosaics

The history of the appearance of mosaics dates back to the fourth millennium BC, approximately to its second half, the time of the development of the Sumerian state. If we trace further (but only hypothetically), then, most likely, mosaics arose from children's play, the development of the ability of primitive man to combine various materials and lay out from them an image, initially, very simple, from homogeneous objects. But later, with the development of intelligence, they acquired a more complex form, from achromatic (executed in one color scheme) to polychrome (multicolor). Primarily, mosaic had a utilitarian function - the function of protecting the surfaces being coated from atmospheric or other adverse influences. With the development of various materials, the improvement of their polishing techniques, the development of glass making, as well as the development of glass coloring techniques, it became more and more complicated.

In this article dedicated to mosaic panels, we will only touch on questionstechniques for working with mosaics,Let's look at its main types andpartly, evolution and modern works.

The evolution of the technique of creating mosaic panels

The mosaic technique is complicated by arranging dissimilar elements into a single whole, in order to lay out a picture from individual small elements and in a certain color scheme, great skill is required.

The emergence of mosaics

At the initial stage of the development of mosaics (as we assume), dissimilar elements were not fixed with each other, that is, it was more of a children's game, or one of the ways of understanding the world. To arrange dissimilar elements into a single whole, it is necessary to develop combinatorial thinking and certain, fairly highly developed skills in processing materials, therefore the initial examples of mosaics that have survived to this day are primitive in nature.

Among the Sumerians, mosaics were made from the most accessible material for them - baked clay sticks, which were also fixed on a clay solution, from which a geometric ornament was formed. Column framing using this method is known from the city of Ur. What function these mosaics performed can only be assumed, perhaps utilitarian - protecting the base of the columns from weathering, but rather purely aesthetic, associated with the function of a kind of amulet in the use of geometric patterns. With the increasing sophistication of technology, mosaic floors, richly inlaid boxes (“Standart of Ur”), and furniture appear.

One way or another, this is only the background to the emergence of mosaic panels. The early stages of the development of this ancient art include pebble mosaic patterns dating back to the 8th century BC from Assyria.

Mosaic panel in antiquity

Gradually the technique became more complicated and was already found in fairly developed forms in antiquity. Initially in antiquity, raw pebbles were used, then the technique of polishing stone, processing it, and only later - colored glass was mastered, which made it possible to create not only the most beautiful, but also realistic mosaic panels.

Compiling a mosaic is an extremely complex and painstaking work; to get to know it better, you need to understand what materials can be used to create it.

Glass and smalt

One of the main materials is glass, which allows you to create the finest color transitions, play with the flow and play of light inside the mosaic panels. In addition, glass is resistant to moisture, aggressive liquids and environments, and temperature changes. Panels made using glass mosaics reliably protect the surface of the walls and give aesthetic pleasure. Glass mosaics are currently available in various forms: these can be plates, round or teardrop-shaped elements. Glass allows you to vary not only the structure, but also the degree of coloring, that is, the ability to work with halftones and pure colors, as well as have varying degrees of dullness or transparency. Glass mosaic panels are widely used in decorating both interiors (bathrooms, swimming pools) and exteriors (panels on building facades or courtyards).

The next, most famous material is smalt - colored opaque glass, usually square in shape with slightly beveled corners and a slightly textured inner surface and polished outer surface. Smalts can be gilded, have various inclusions, they allow you to add various effects to the overall design and often replace glass, because due to its transparency, an all-glass mosaic panel will be very bright, glass is very sensitive to its location in the interior or exterior.

Smalt manufacturing technology for creating mosaic panels

Having described glass and smalts, I would like to particularly focus on the description of the process of manufacturing various color shades, which are so important for creating works of art. The colorful palette of smalts includes more than 10,000 different shades, and this variety is achieved by using a little more than 10 dyes, among which are: iron, manganese, copper, nickel, cobalt, uranium, gold, silver, lead antimony acid; Later, chromium began to be used, and in our time - selenium and cadmium sulfide. Most of these elements manifest their qualities during oxidation, that is, interaction with oxygen. Metals are characterized by different degrees of oxidation depending on the interaction with the amount of oxygen, for example, copper, depending on the degree of oxidation, gives blue and red colors, iron - yellow and blue. It is quite difficult to achieve the degree of oxidation during the cooking process; for this it is necessary to provide either an excess or a lack of oxygen, therefore various oxidizing agents (potassium or sodium nitrate) and reducing agents (coal, tartar, stone, aluminum and others) are used. The color of glass in some cases strongly depends on the combinations with which the dye is found, for example, sulfur colors the glass blue, and in the presence of cadmium, which itself does not give color, yellow. The color of glass is greatly influenced by its composition.

The heat treatment of glass after the melting process is of great importance for coloring. For example, copper, dissolving in glass, does not give any color on its own; the glass remains transparent, but when heated to temperatures close to the melting of glass, it gives a pinkish tint, which, with increasing heating, turns into a thick red color. If you continue to heat the glass, the bright red tint will change to brownish brown with copper crystals interspersed in its depths with a parallel change in transparency, that is, it will become cloudy. This principle is widely used to create the effect of artificial aventurine. The same process is followed to produce chrome aventurine, which has a green color.

Colloidal glass dyes can be precious metals such as gold and silver, the first gives a crimson-red color to the glass, and the second yellow, which are also used in the production of especially valuable tableware.

A special group of smalts, highly valued by the Romans and smelted by Lomonosov, includes: varnishes, scorcetes and purpurines. They are colored with copper, which is in low oxidation states and have shades of yellow-orange, brown-red and wax tones. Their production is difficult, since they require not only cooking, but also subsequent heat treatment. Coloring glass is a great art and requires not only great skill, but also a special sense of paint, since minor changes produce variations in color.

After describing the color scheme, it is necessary to dwell on the glass melting process. First, it is necessary to say about some features of smalt production: firstly, it is not large, since the need for the production of the necessary materials can be satisfied by a small workshop. Secondly, each shade of smalt requires its own composition and is therefore brewed in separate containers and in small quantities. Structurally, smalt furnaces are technically simple devices: the relatively low temperature of glass melting makes it possible not to contain complex devices for pumping up additional temperature; maintaining the thermal regime also does not require special precision, so there is no need for expensive and complex automatic devices for adjusting and maintaining the required temperatures. In the workshop for the production of smalt, in addition to the cooking furnace, there are also auxiliary devices intended for annealing glass, color adjustment, and firing crucibles. Despite the primitiveness of the devices, the work of cooking smalt is a process that requires great skill and art, and the ability to feel materials. The cooked smalt is poured directly from crucibles or using a metal spoon onto a cast iron baking sheet, where it hardens into individual tiles, which are then sent to the oven for annealing.

Making gold smalt. Cantarelle production technology

A special group of smalts is represented by gilded smalts, which became widespread in the art of the Byzantine Empire. Increased requirements for strength in mosaic painting do not allow the use of traditional methods of gilding the surface, in which a thin layer of gold is fixed to the surface by firing. When using this method, the gilding quickly wears off. Therefore, a more reliable method is used, which became widespread in antiquity: placing thin gold foil between two layers of glass. Many people are familiar with books with thin sheets of gold foil - gold leaf. Gold is an extremely ductile material, so making gold foil from it is not very difficult. These golden leaves are less than the thickness of a human hair, and to be more precise, at least 0.0001 meters. The process of making gold smalts is as follows: sheets of no more than 1 mm are blown from glass. thick, which are then cut into small plates, on which a piece of gold foil is placed. The plates prepared in this way are introduced into the furnace, where, at a temperature that softens the glass, a new layer of glass, also about a millimeter thick, is poured on top of the gold foil. This process is completed by pressing and subsequent firing in a special oven. To make gold smalts, two conditions are necessary: ​​the glass should not be refractory, otherwise the gold will start to burn, and also both layers of glass, between which the foil is located, must have the same composition.

Silver smalts are used somewhat less frequently than gold ones. They are made in a similar way, only the layer of silver foil must be a little thicker. There are known methods of counterfeiting silver smalt to look like gold, when a sheet of silver foil is covered with tinted orange glass. Nowadays, a method has also been developed for producing cheaper gold smalt, based on the same method in which aluminum plating is applied instead of silver.

Mosaic panel made of marble and other types of stone

Natural stone, for example, marble, onyx, travertine, granite, is especially popular, but difficult to work with for making mosaics. The pattern laid out of stone is unique; it allows you to create gradations of unusual and natural colors, use halftones, and also does not have the shine and pretentiousness of glass. In panels made of stone, depending on the skill of the artist, you can convey almost any plot and use realism. It should also be noted that stone is a “living” material with its own structure, and this is taken into account when creating a mosaic; You cannot mechanically assemble a stone mosaic; you need to feel where one or another element can be placed so as not to disturb the image. In essence, the stone dictates the rules for creating images. The structure and color of the stone are unique, so some samples are left untreated, others are carefully polished to reveal the natural texture of the stone (like the texture of wood), some stones can be artificially aged. A special type of mosaic is made from fragments of porcelain stoneware, which has increased strength; such cladding is often used in exteriors.

Ceramic mosaic and panels

Ceramic mosaics, which are individual square-shaped tiles with a glazed outer and rough inner surface, have become especially popular in our time. Such tiles are often used not only by mosaic artists, but also by non-professionals at home, laying out the pattern on kitchen splashbacks or including them in the decor of bathrooms. Various types of such tiles are easy to spot in any store that sells ceramic tiles.

A special type of mosaic creation includes mosaic panels made from fragments of ceramic tiles or small-format ceramic tiles. This type goes back to ancient baked clay examples, only it is glazed and more varied. With a certain skill, you can lay out quite beautiful mosaic panels from ceramics, however, ceramic tiles, which have different shades and colors, can rarely be used to create complex examples of mosaic panels, since they have a single color and do not have such a natural texture as stone or the finest color undertones, like glass.

All of the listed materials are quite traditional, but manufacturers nowadays are developing more and more new solutions for mosaics. For example, Italian company "Sicis" developed a metal mosaic, Moreover, if the traditional shape is a square, then the developers introduced new forms, such as a rhombus or a triangle. A similar mosaic can be used to create truly unusual effects, however, she is quite independent, It’s just very, very difficult to stylize the interior with such mosaic panels.

New types of modern mosaics and experiments with mosaic panels

Experiments on the creation of various types of mosaics continue constantly; very bold and original finds include mosaics made of precious metals, such as, for example, mosaics with gold foil of the highest standard placed inside or mosaics with the addition of real aquamarine or interspersed with copper oxide; mosaics are also being developed , having a special light output, flickering under different types of lighting. It should be noted that the process of creating these types of panels is very labor-intensive and they are usually very expensive. Naturally, one cannot imagine a panel made only of gold tiles or with a combination of cheap ceramic mosaics and expensive ones.

Masters have to find a middle ground in this process. Creating mosaic panels is primarily a creative process, Moreover, it is very labor-intensive, a sense of proportion and the ability to see one’s work as a whole. It is not enough for a master to be able to create a work, he must see where it will be located, fit it into space, because only in space or in the environment mosaic panels are revealed in full, which are inextricably linked with the interior or exterior, only in this close relationship is it fully comprehended their aesthetic function, relegating the utilitarian one to the background.

Since the materials used to create mosaics have been considered, we can turn to the types of techniques; of course, it is impossible to fully consider this issue, just as the creative process cannot be explained in words, but listing the main types with a description is possible, but first you need to describe how craftsmen work with ready-made mosaic tiles received from workshops for their production.

The process of creating a mosaic image

Mosaics come to the workshop in several forms: they can be large tiles, 15-20 cm in size, 1-2 cm thick, or in the form of rectangular or elongated trunks. It is not suitable for direct use; the tiles must be given the desired shape in accordance with the chosen design idea. Large bars are sawn into small ones and they are often given a pointed shape at the bottom of the cube, and also for a more dense joint of the tiles, they are ground.

One of the simplest types related to mosaic imitation - background mosaic. It is made from ordinary large-sized tiles, on which, in turn, cuts are made along the surface, creating an imitation of a mosaic pattern, while preserving the texture and pattern of the tile itself.

Mixes, or mixing technique– individual small tiles are laid out on the surface haphazardly, which creates a pattern born of the spontaneity of the arrangement of the tiles.

Actually mosaic panels, representing a pattern of many individual small tiles that form an integrity when viewed at some distance.

Technique for setting mosaic panels. Direct and reverse dialing methods

There are several techniques for setting mosaic panels. In ancient times, tiles were laid directly on the wall on a previously prepared surface, on which notches were applied, and the tiles were laid on lime mortar. Later, craftsmen abandoned laying tiles in this way, since it required great skill and was labor-intensive. In this installation, the slightest mistake would cause problems in reproducing the design, since the very perception of a mosaic panel requires viewing it from a certain distance, as well as the ability to correctly combine various materials and color combinations. Craftsmen began to use the method of setting tiles in special boxes or on the surfaces of marble slabs with an area of ​​1-2 square meters; this made it possible, in a convenient position in the workshop, to apply the design in more detail in accordance with the developed drawing and avoid unnecessary errors and inaccuracies in the work. Upon completion of the set, individual fragments were removed along with the slab on which they were fixed and embedded in the wall, the resulting seams were carefully sealed and decorated with tiles selected in color and tone, continuing the line of the drawing, thus creating integrity from individually set fragments.

There are two main ways to set mosaic panels (direct and reverse). With the direct method, the master lays out the cubes face up, while he can see the results of his work, and, stepping back a certain distance, correct the existing shortcomings of the drawing. Technically, this method looks something like this: the box is filled to the full depth with gypsum mortar, then paper with the future pattern applied to it is applied to the surface, after which a small area is marked and the plaster is cut out to the very bottom of the box, the resulting hole is filled with a powdery substance or special mastic . The master inserts tiles into the prepared layer, which has a looseness, in accordance with the pattern; they are firmly fixed there, but at the same time can be easily removed. When processing of the first fragment is completed, the second fragment is cut out, then the third, and so on until the very end. When the entire surface is filled with the design, paper is glued to the front side, the box is turned over, the powder mixture or mastic is removed and the bottom part is filled with an adhesive solution. There is an option when the tiles are laid directly on the adhesive or cement mixture.

The reverse method of setting is often used, in which tracing paper with a pattern is placed on the bottom of the box (or caisson), while the craftsman, guided by the translucent lines through the tracing paper, lays the tiles face down, after installation is completed, the box is filled with prepared cement mortar, after hardening, he understands. This method is considered faster, but it has one significant drawback: the master cannot see what he is doing when laying out the pattern.

In such a brief review it is impossible to fully consider the intricacies of using materials or techniques for making mosaic panels, however, it is possible to describe descriptively the basics of working in a fairly complex technique.

Polishing the surface of a mosaic panel. Technology and materials

Concluding the description of the mosaic manufacturing technology, I would like to mention the polishing of finished mosaic panels, that is, the final processing of the finished surface upon completion of the work. Grinding and polishing of mosaics is carried out as necessary. Various abrasive materials are used: metal, felt materials, chemical liquids such as tin oxide. Small mosaic paintings, not yet mounted into the surface, are polished on rotary machines, which are tables rotating in a horizontal plane. Large mosaic paintings are polished primarily by hand using the necessary abrasives. It should be noted that polishing is not always required.

Let's look at cases in which polishing is required and in which cases it is not. If a mosaic panel is part of the architecture and is monumental in size and is thought of as an object viewed from a distance, it is not customary to polish it; on the contrary, it is customary to leave a special roughness or place the tiles in uneven rows, without trying to seal the seams between them. This is due to the peculiarities of human visual perception, when the contours of individual small objects located at a distance merge. As an example in fine art, we can cite the movement of pointillism. In large panels, polishing the surfaces and the absence of seams between the tiles would not make any sense. In cases where the mosaic acts as a painting or is intended to be viewed from a short distance, polishing is necessary, especially in cases where it is necessary to convey subtle color and tonal transitions. When working with glass, the lack of polishing is a sign of high skill, since the glass itself has a glossy texture and it is not advisable to resort to additional processing methods; it is more advantageous to arrange the fragments of the picture so that they themselves form an integrity.

An artistic mosaic panel is a great way to complement and make your interior unique. If you decide to decorate your home with paintings, order forged products and stained glass, the mosaic will become the center of the composition, completing the decoration.

The scope of application of artistic mosaic panels is almost limitless. The mosaic patterns are of extraordinary beauty as if they came out of the pages of an oriental fairy tale. The combination of different textures - gold leaf, smalt, aventurine mosaic attracts the eye, changing its color depending on the lighting, making the interior magical and mysterious...

A mosaic panel will suit any interior and style. A mosaic painting is very durable, and its value only increases over time.

History of mosaic.

Mosaic art dates from II half. IV millennium BC and originates directly from the construction of palaces and temples of the Sumerian civilization located in Mesopotamia. It was made from baked sticks (“zigzags”), which were created from clay and had a conical shape. Their length ranged from eight to ten centimeters, and their diameter was 1.8. Laying was carried out using a clay mortar. The picture was formed at the ends of the cones, usually painted red, black and white. Often used in the form of a diamond or triangle pattern.

A striking example of inlay of the early period, which received during antiquity opus sectile , which later developed into the Florentine mosaic technique, cite an artifact called the “Standard of Ur,” 2600-2400 BC.

In the eighth century BC. there were techniques using pebbles that were not treated. It was one of the main steps in the development of mosaic as an art. During its peak, the Romans called it " opus barbaricum " When excavations took place, floors created from pebbles in the form of an ornament were discovered at Altyn Tepe, located in eastern Anatolia and the Arslan Tash Palace, in Assyria. But the Gordion mosaics located in Antolia are considered an impressive monument of mosaic art of this period.

Antiquity

Their first works were created in Corinth on the basis of unprocessed pebbles and date back to V V. BC. The image was made as a contour in the form of people, various creatures of the mythological and real world. The decorations had a geometric or floral pattern, which was done in white on a black background. The style is close to red-figure vase painting. Similar specimens IV V. BC. also found in places such as Olynthos, Sicyon, and Eretria. However, the most realistic ones were created in the Pella mosaics, dating back to IV century BC.

The peak of mosaic development during antiquity occurred during the Hellenistic era. Then they began to use chipped stones and affordable colored glass. This made it possible to achieve realism in the work, as well as use a variety of colors. One of the most ancient monuments where pinning or tessellation was used are mosaics in Morgantina (Sicily), dated III century BC.

During the times of Ancient Rome, mosaic art was used to decorate the floors and walls of villas, palaces and baths. It was created in the form of small cubes, which were made of strong glass ─ smalts. Small stones and pebbles were also often used.

Pompeii, the Battle of Isaeus mosaic was created from 1.5 million pieces that were assembled into an image. A technique called " opus vermiculatum ": the pieces were assembled in the form of winding lines, placing one piece on top of another.

Early Christianity and Byzantium.

The period of the Byzantine Empire is considered the greatest peak in the development of mosaics. During this era, mosaics became more sophisticated, using small modules and stones. The masonry was made delicate, and the background most often appeared in gold.

Medieval Eurasia.

Rococo era

The mosaic was created from shellfish shells caught in the sea. Most often used to decorate rooms. In Europe, beaded mosaics have reached popularity. The beads were carefully laid out on wax applied to paper or cardboard. Bead embroidery patterns in the form of crosses were used. However, unfortunately, few such specimens have survived.

In Germany, the van Zelow manufactory (1750-1770) made mosaics from beads. In the future, the method was lost. They decorated the flat part of the furniture, such as the tabletop. Bottles, various figurines in the form of birds, etc. were also decorated. Most of them can be found in German museums. However, one is in the Arkhangelsk Museum-Reserve.

Islam

Mosaics were often used to decorate the palace of the heads of the East. For example, the Palace of the Sheki Khans became one of the best works of architecture from the Middle Ages in Azerbaijan. It is one of the most valuable architectural monuments of the eighteenth century. Date of construction ─ 1762. Author ─ Guseikhan. The palace was part of a complex of buildings and was the residence of the Sheki khans. It has a structure of two floors: the facade is made with frames that were in the form of bars and rose, and a set of shebeke (small glasses of different colors). The image has many colors with a colorful addition in the form of paintings on the walls of the architectural monument.

II half. XVIII V. achieved enormous development of pictorial art in the Sheki Khanate. It is closely related to the implementation of construction and architecture. All buildings of significance were decorated with wall paintings, which was an extremely popular technique. This is confirmed by examples of paintings located in the Palace of the Sheki Khans, which have survived to this day and have not lost their artistry. The painting had many themes: hunting, battles, floral or geometric patterns, based on the motifs of “Khamsa” (Five) by Nizami Ganjavi. Palace or peasant life and much more were also depicted. The most commonly used colors were blue, red, gold or yellow. The ceiling lamp of the hall is encrypted with the name of the painter Abbas Quli. It is worth noting that the palace underwent restoration, and therefore you can see paintings made by masters at different periods of time.

Mosaic of France

One of the most popular mosaics in France is Emo de Briard. The company, which produced Briard porcelain beads, and in the future mosaics, opened in 1837. A huge number of works based on Briard mosaics were created. For example, the popular artist Eugene Grasset, who was one of the influential figures of Art Nouveau, used it in his creations. This mosaic is still made today. She is one of the few who remained completely under French production

Russian mosaic

During the Russian period, mosaics began to be used after the spread of Christianity. However, it did not become popular because it was an expensive imported product. It was delivered from Constantinople (Byzantium had a monopoly on the sale of smalt).

In Kyiv, in the St. Sophia Cathedral, the world's largest ensemble of original mosaics and frescoes has been preserved. They date from the first half of the eleventh century.

St. Michael's Golden-Domed Monastery.

Modern times and Russian mosaics

Lomonosov decided to revive mosaic art. Subsequently, no one continued his idea and mosaic art was forgotten again.

In the 1840s. decided to translate the picturesque icons of St. Isaac's Cathedral in the form of a mosaic. Due to the high humidity of St. Petersburg, which was founded on a swamp, the frescoes fell off before the painting was completed. If the paint was preserved, it immediately turned black and faded, which was facilitated by censers, candles, lamps, etc. The Russian government has decided to send graduates of the Imperial Academy of Arts to study in Rome to learn from the masters working at the Mosaic Studio located in the Vatican. Glass technologists were invited from Rome to St. Petersburg, who began producing smalt.

In 1851, the students returned home, where an organization for the production of smalt by Italian technologists was created. This year is considered the founding of the Mosaic Workshop.

The workshop was created for the mosaics of St. Isaac's Cathedral (the period was 66 years, but they were never completed due to the revolution), it accepted many orders. For example, for the Cathedral of the Savior on Spilled Blood, located in St. Petersburg, the Savior on the Waters, ornamental mosaics of the Cathedral of Christ the Savior in Moscow, for portraits of the royal family or individual orders.

The workshop used the “direct method” of typesetting, which allows achieving realism in painting. However, it was extremely expensive not only in time, but also in cost.

The Academy sought to find a solution to this problem. In 1888, she sent employees such as A.A. Frolov, to Venice, where A. Salviati created and applied a different, more economical technique of mosaic art. He laid it out as a mirror image with the front part on a base that was temporary. Subsequently, it was transported to the stowage site. This technique was called “reverse” or “Venetian”.

Since the Academy did not want to adopt this experience, Frolov opened his own studio, which later became successful under the leadership of his brother and gave rise to the development of Soviet mosaic art.

Today, autochthonous art is developing. For example, a mosaic of the Huichol tribe. It is rare, as the material is beads. It can also be laid with the holes facing up.

Laying techniques

During direct casting, pieces of mosaic art are pressed into a base, which is often soil. With the reverse technique, on the contrary, they are collected on a temporary basis, and then transferred to a primed plane.

Laying: the method is similar to laying tile material. Glue and grout are used for seams. All this can be bought at a hardware store.

The base is checked for strength, its shortcomings in the form of cracks, cavities, oil stains, etc. are identified. It must be strong and dry, have a smooth surface, cleaned of various agents that reduce the adhesion of mosaic elements to the surface. Also, it should not be dusty, dirty, covered in cement laitance, paint residues, etc. If necessary, the surface must be cleaned mechanically by sandblasting. Upon visual inspection, the base must be smooth, free from sagging, pits, scratches, dry and primed.

Laying on paper

First, prepare the surface and apply glue, making an even distribution over the entire area. It is better to use with latex glue base. The mosaic is carefully glued to the opposite side of the paper. The distance between the pieces should be even, without using excess pressure. After this, fastening occurs with the help of light blows from the platform, which have a rubber base.

After a day, the paper is removed, moistening it for better lag. Clean the surface of residual glue and paper, and then grout the joints using a float made of rubber. It is best to use grout from a mosaic manufacturer. After this, the mosaic is cleaned and the surface is polished.

Laying on a mesh base.

Unlike paper, here the mosaic is glued face up. After the glue has dried, you can immediately grout the seams.

Materials

Different materials can be used (stone, smalt, ceramics or metal, porcelain stoneware has recently been included). However, smalt still has the greatest popularity for creating a classic element of architecture, primarily the interior. Materials such as glass and ceramics are also common. They are durable, affordable and come in a variety of colors, are easy to work with and come in a wide range of shapes and sizes. Stone is used most often when creating a floor composition, and to expand the expressiveness of a mosaic work, metal is used. Porcelain stoneware is used for facade work: sidewalks, park paths, floors in public buildings, etc.

Due to the functionality of this material, as well as its resistance to environmental influences and various influences, it has become widespread in the creation of many structures with severe operating conditions. This could be gardening areas, water features, when creating a fireplace or stove, etc.

Mosaic based on smalt or other glass has not only become widespread in many architectural works: panels, frescoes, etc. It can also be used as an independent applied direction of decorative art for compositions of ornaments or other concepts. It has great artistic potential due to the creation of simple decorative patterns that can be patterned in any composition

At MOZAICO you can order the production of mosaic panels. We are the only manufacturer of polymer mosaic in Russia. Our production capabilities allow us to create high-quality digital images of any complexity. Paintings, family photographs, designer prints or masterpieces of world art - we can quickly produce all this to order.

What are the advantages of polymer mosaic panels?

• This is a spectacular decorative solution that will transform any space.
• In the production of mosaic panels, a special protective coating is used.
• High wear resistance and durability make mosaic very practical.
• It can be used at temperatures from -60 to +120 °C.
• Resistance to ultraviolet rays ensures color preservation.
• The production of mosaic panels is carried out in accordance with existing standards and norms, which is confirmed by the presence of sanitary and hygienic certificates.

Mosaic production technology

Features of the production of mosaic tiles depend on what materials are used in the process. Ceramic mosaics are made from clay, quartz sand, feldspar and a variety of pigments. All ingredients are mixed and laid out in forms. After this, they are pressed, glazed and fired in special ovens. The manufacturing process of ceramic mosaic tiles is fully automated.

Porcelain tile mosaic is made from a sheet of porcelain tile. It is cut into small pieces with a waterjet tool. Glass mosaic sheets are made from sheet glass. It is durable and wear-resistant. First, such glass is painted with special heat-resistant paints, and then cut into the required formats. Before firing, they are collected on special substrates. In the oven, glass mosaic pieces are processed at a temperature of 900 °C. As a result, the paint is baked into the glass, and the corners of the products are melted.

The final stages of the production of any mosaic are gluing the finished shards onto the base and laying them on a special mesh or paper base soaked in an adhesive solution. Once the sheet is completely dry, it is ready to use.