Alexander Mosaic
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Alexander Mosaic
A floor mosaic (c. 100bc, Archaeological Mus., Naples), discovered in the House of the Faun in Pompeii, depicting Alexander the Great defeating Darius III, the king of Persia, at the Battle of Issus (333bc). It is impressive in size (more than 5 m (16 ft) wide), spectacular and dynamic in composition, and one of the finest mosaics to survive (albeit substantially damaged) from the ancient world. Pliny praises a painting of the subject by Philoxenos of Eretria, and the mosaic is probably modelled on this lost original, dating from about two centuries earlier. Curiously, Darius rather than Alexander is the dominant figure in the composition.
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Alexander Mosaic
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| Artist | Mosaicist unknown (copy of image by Aristides or Philoxenos of Eretria) 1 year=c.100 BC |
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| Type | mosaic |
| Dimensions | 582 cm × 313 cm (19ft in × 10ft 3 in in) |
| Location | Found at House of the Faun, Pompeii, displayed at Naples National Archaeological Museum |
The Alexander Mosaic, dating from circa 100 BC, is a famous Roman floor mosaic originally from the House of the Faun in Pompeii. It depicts a battle between the armies of Alexander the Great and Darius III of Persia and measures 5.82 x 3.13m (19 ft x 10 ft 3in). The original is preserved in the Naples National Archaeological Museum.
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Contents
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Subject
Battle
The mosaic illustrates a battle in which Alexander faced and attempted to capture or kill Darius. Alexander defeated him at the Battle of Issus and two years later at the Battle of Gaugamela. The work is traditionally believed to show the Battle of Issus.
The mosaic is held to be a copy of either a painting by Aristides, or of a lost late 4th century BC fresco by the painter Philoxenos of Eretria. The latter is mentioned by Pliny the Elder (XXXV, 110) as a commission for the Macedonian king Cassander.[1]
Alexander and Darius
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Despite being partially ruined, the two main figures are easy to recognize.
- The portrait of Alexander is one of his most famous. Alexander's breastplate depicts Medusa, the famous Gorgon, and his wavy hair is typical of royal portraiture as established in Greek art of the fourth century B.C. He is portrayed sweeping into battle at the left, on his famous horse, Bucephalos, and focusing his gaze on the Persian leader.
- Darius is shown in a chariot. He seems to be desperately commanding his frightened charioteer to flee the battle, while stretching out his hand either as a mute gesture to Alexander, or possibly after throwing a javelin. He has a worried expression on his face. The charioteer is whipping the horses as he tries to escape.
The Persian soldiers behind him have expressions of determination and consternation.
Other features
Darius's brother Oxyathres is also portrayed, sacrificing himself to save the King.
Radical foreshortening - as in the central horse, seen from behind - and the use of shading to convey a sense of mass and volume enhance the naturalistic effect of the scene. Repeated diagonal spears, clashing metal, and the crowding of men and horses evoke the din of battle. At the same time, action is arrested by dramatic details such as the fallen horse and the Persian soldier in the foreground who watches his own death throes reflected in a shield.
History of the mosaic
Production
The mosaic is made of about one and a half million tiny colored tiles called tesserae, arranged in gradual curves called opus vermiculatum, (literally, "worm work," because they seem to replicate the slow motion of a crawling worm). The mosaic is an unusually detailed work for a private residence and was probably commissioned by a wealthy person or family. Another theory states that it might have been an originally Hellenic mosaic that was looted from Greece and carried off to Rome. Italian archaeologist Fausto Levi supports the first theory.
Modern history
The mosaic was rediscovered on October 24 in Pompeii, 1831 and in the September 1843 moved to Naples, where it is currently preserved on a wall (not as floor as it was found) in the Museo Archeologico Nazionale.
Modern copy
In 2003 the International Center for the Study and Teaching of Mosaic (CISIM) in Ravenna, Italy, proposed to create a copy of the mosaic. When they had received approval, the mosaic master Severo Bignami and his eight-person team took a large photograph of the mosaic, made a tracing of the image with a dark marker and created a negative impression of the mosaic.
The team composed the mosaic in sections in 44 clay frames, trying to preserve the pieces of the mosaic in the exact positions they are in the original mosaic. They had to keep the plates wet all the time. Then they pressed a tissue on the clay to create an image of the outlines of the mosaic in the clay.
The team recreated the mosaic with about 2 million pieces of various marble types. When they had placed all the pieces, they covered the result with a layer of glue and gauze and pulled it out of the clay. They placed each section on synthetic concrete and then united the sections with the compound of glasswool and plastic.
The project took 22 months and a cost equivalent to US$216,000. The copy was installed in the House of the Faun in 2005.
References
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Wikimedia Commons has media related to: Alexander Mosaic |
- Marco Merola - Alexander Piece by Piece (Archaeology magazine January/February 2006)
- Reconstructed and completed Alexander mosaic
- ^ Kleiner, Fred S. (2008). Gardner's Art Through the Ages: A Global History. Cengage Learning. p. 142. ISBN 0-495-11549-5.
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