The art of small stones

Mosaic art was brought to life by the practical, and over time it has become a symbol of luxury. He borrowed his means of expression from his older co-works: the Greek used the colors and planar thinking of mural painting, the compositional elements of textile art, but he also drew from vase painting.

At first, round pebbles were used to make mosaics. Such figurative gravel compositions are already in the pot. they also survive from the 4th century BC. This technique was replaced by the opus tessellatum, the most popular form of antique mosaic for a long time, made of colored, cube-shaped stones. Its origin is disputed, but it was probably experimented independently by the Greeks and the Phoenicians. In addition to this function, visual storytelling has also become increasingly important: the 1-2 mm grain ‘opus vermiculatum’ has developed, where the grout is often painted for a uniform effect.

Hellenic mosaics are characterized by a central composition. Moving towards the middle, the mosaic became more and more meticulous, often in the central field of view an opus vermiculatum, which was incorporated in its entirety into the cladding. These were called logos. We know many of these from Alexandria, the city was a citadel of mosaic art for centuries. The treasure trove of motifs of the age was characterized by the variety of plant and geometric decorative elements and the pursuit of three-dimensional effects. At the same time, another minimalist trend was emerging, from which the black-and-white mosaic typical of early imperial Italy originated.

work. Incidentally, the halls of Aquincum's governor's palace, built on today's Shipyard Island, are also covered in this way. The mosaic can be gradient, metal, glass, porcelain, the possibilities are endless. The technique of cutting mosaics has also evolved a lot, but not enough: today it is cut with a worn diamond disc or mosaic cutting pliers instead of breaking and there are mosaic design programs, we still lacked a tool that is economical, efficient and shortens many processes. Since we missed it, we created it quickly. With Neomosaic, there are no more unnecessarily purchased tiles, dirt or design flaws! You guess what, and we'll tell you exactly how many tiles we need, cut and lay!