Yunxiao Chen
A “Fragmented” Memory
When I saw the wondrously colored windows glistening inside the Sagrada Familia Cathedral, I recalled the wrinkled sticker on the glass door of my grandparents' bathroom. It was more than a decade ago in their old apartment. That was just ordinary decorative paper of which the pattern consists of colorful geometric shapes, inexpensive, and made of very ordinary material. There were little bumps scattered in the middle of the paper. If you pressed and rubbed the curled corner of the paper, it would produce crackling but sort of melodious sounds.
Why do I remember this trivial matter so clearly?
Now let's be professional: the pattern of that paper was mosaic. Young kids are obsessed with things that blaze with color by nature. Although not very ornate due to the slightly dark tones, the paper was still outstanding among a bunch of plain and solid-colored objects surrounding it. Now that I think about it, those colorful pieces on the mosaic paper were as lovely as a pile of candy, and more poetic, a broken rainbow.
Souvenir shops in Spain have lots of mosaic-themed goods
Years have rolled by, and I was in Barcelona, one of the world’s most important centers for mosaic art, when writing this blog.
Short History of Mosaic Art
The term derives from “Mousa” in Greek or ”Muse” in English, which refers to the group of sister goddesses of poetic inspiration, who ruled over the arts and sciences in Greek religion and mythology. Mosaic art is the meticulous creation of patterns that joins inlay such as pebble, shell, tile, and glass together applied to the flooring and wall surfaces of buildings.
It was the Sumerians of Mesopotamia who were the first to be found decorating buildings with mosaics. At that early stage, the mosaics were not “dazzling”— stones, seashells, and ivory are the main components organized by the Mesopotamian artists to adorn the walls of the temple. As a matter of fact, the origin of mosaics might be earlier: people lived in the cave and laid the floor with marble in order to make it more durable, which is still universal today. Just as many other art forms, manufactured for utilitarian and functional purposes at the beginning, but gradually the more aesthetic property generate.
Then ancient Greeks started to adopt pebbles to embed them in the floor (have you ever walked barefoot on cobblestones in a park? You're enjoying massage using Mosaic art that way!). They also developed more complex patterns of mosaics.
Later in the time of the Romans, mosaic art was flourishing, where tesserae (also known as abaculus) which are independent stones cut into small cubes were more widely used to implement the more sophisticated design, because cutting led to a variety of ways of connection for the patterns. Mosaic was a symbol of status since only the powerful rulers and the wealthy could afford to hire craftsmen and buy materials to decorate their homes with mosaics.
As Christianity developed, biblical scenes were the primary focus of European mosaics. From the 4th until the 14th century, mosaics blossomed in Catholic basilicas across Italy. Islamic architecture is also the enthusiast of mosaic. Mosaic art fell out of favor during the Renaissance with the rise of frescoes. Christian-focused mosaics of Byzantine were plated with real gold and silver leaf. Mosaics are also found in North Africa, the Middle East, and Latin America.
With the wisdom and freedom of Modernists, mosaics revived again and continued to progress.
Mosaics in Barcelona’s Architecture
Maybe it is somehow hard to notice that the colorful fruit surrounding the naves of the Sagrada Familia, such as loquats, persimmons, plums, oranges, and pears symbolically represent the good deeds, as well as the bread of Eucharist, are made in the form of Mosaics. So are the four tallest spires that stand for the eight apostles that go up about 400 feet above the ground.
Baskets of Fruits grouped by the time of the year (the left and the middle image images are from the web)
The exterior of the general church buildings is typically undecorated natural stone. For Antoni Gaudi, the Catalan architect who made the Sagrada Familia the pinnacle of his life, employing mosaics in those details reflects his idea of transcending the traditional oppressive image of the Gothic Church.
One constructive uniqueness of the pinnacles that crown the Sagrada Familia is worth noting: the trencadis mosaic of Murano glass. Enameled ceramic pieces are broken into small polygonal fragments that were “applied in a unique mosaic of different tonalities over a lime mortar base”, which allowed the commercially available rectangular pieces to fit into the regular surfaces of his work.
Inside the Sagrada Familia, Gaudi placed the most transparent stained glass at the top, permitting more natural light to stream down from above, illuminating the Mosaic and golden vaults of the nave
Small pieces of glass were first placed at the bottom of the mold to form the formwork surface, and concrete was then filled into the mold. This manufacturing system achieves a smooth surface for the architect's complex geometry and facilitates its location on site.
Mosaic façana Del Carrer Elkano 4 is a residential building adorned with trancadis mosiac, irregularly shaped enamel porcelain. Carlos, a nearby resident, said, "It's actually not very impressive, but when you walk by, look up and see its beautiful pattern, you may feel good."
Mosaic façana Del Carrer Elkano 4 is estimated to be over 120 years
As a flexible art form, mosaics can not only create solemn and magnificent religious murals but also undertake romantic and dreamy fairy tales. In the mid-to-late 19th century, Gaudi designed a mansion based on a fairy tale for the Batlló family.
Mosaics are key to the unique and fanciful appearance of casa Batlló
The sea is set as the theme where the blue water was manifested by blue mosaics. To be honest, some people like me may not appreciate the whole construction for its weirdness, affectation, or mediocrity in a sense, but the mosaic part is still stunning.
Scattered mosaics resembling fish scales
Park Quail, a UNESCO World Heritage site in Barcelona, is considered one of the most beautiful sites in the world for contemporary Mosaic art colored tiles and reclaimed ceramics and is also regarded as the highest achievement of Gaudi in terms of color and composition. Built between 1900 and 1914, the park on Barcelona's El Carmel Hill was designed by Gaudi at the request of his friend and partner Eusebi Guell as part of his plan to build a mountain estate town.
Silvia, a worker in Raima, a well-known stationary store in Barcelona, once studied fine art at school. "For me, the most fantasy of mosaic art is its feature of transition between abstraction and realism."
Two delicate mosaic murals in Hotel Montblanc in Barcelona
Yes. The charm of mosaic lies in its vague and clear beauty. There are many more mosaic decoration to be discovered and explored: just open our aesthetic eyes!
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