Byzantine Mosaic Art

330–1453

Gold and blue on a cosmic scale. Byzantine mosaics defined the visual language of Christianity for a millennium — the gold of heaven against the blue of divinity.

Glass tesserae (small cubes) set at slight angles in wet plaster. Gold tesserae are made by sandwiching gold leaf between glass layers. The angled setting means the surface catches light from multiple directions.

1 artist6 colors

Ravenna Master Mosaicists

425–565

Byzantine-Italian

The anonymous master craftsmen who created the mosaics of San Vitale, Sant'Apollinare, and the Mausoleum of Galla Placidia — the greatest surviving examples of Byzantine mosaic art.

Ravenna mosaics use tesserae set at deliberate angles — no two adjacent pieces are on the same plane. This creates a surface that shimmers as the viewer moves.

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Pigments: Gold leaf · Cobalt blue

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