Art in an Early Global World at WAM: A WAM/College of the Holy Cross CollaborationMain MenuAmanda Luyster17d39c1ecea88fb7ff282fe74a410b89478b8327Created by the Worcester Art Museum and the College of the Holy Cross, with the Worcester Public Schools AP Art History class of 2024. Financial support provided by the Medieval Academy of America and "Scholarship in Action" at Holy Cross.
Mosaic in the WAM
12024-03-28T13:30:38-07:00Richard Lent3e723f35a685aebf07b8b602f188f085f3fa0c8f448011Mosaic of a Vine Scroll Border with Peacocks, 526–540 CE, Photographed by Maggie McCrackenplain2024-03-28T13:30:38-07:00Richard Lent3e723f35a685aebf07b8b602f188f085f3fa0c8f
The identity of the artist or artists who made this mosaic remain unknown. Since the mosaic was installed in a private home, the artist was most likely contracted. There may have been just one person working on the floor, but most likely there were multiple artisans under the direction of an onsite administrator. Since floor mosaics are part of the architecture of a building, it is interesting to consider how a mosaicist might be different from other artists. The mosaicist does not work in a separate studio; they work in the final location that the piece will be seen. Advantages to this include having a good idea of the shape of the room and lighting. The artists were adept at creating an image but was also skilled in assembling the multiple layers of material that underlie the actual tesserae (stone cubes). An artist in the early medieval period would most likely have been trained in a workshop to use the style that their workshop head knew. There is evidence that there was a workshop directly in Antioch and that Hellenistic (Greek) styles were taught based on the themes and types of images found regularly there.
Maggie McCracken, Class of 2025, College of the Holy Cross
