19th century, View of St. Peter's Square

Rome, 19th century View of St. Peter's Square Black marble paperweight with micromosaic, 14 x 10 cm The micromosaic as an artistic language, defined in technical rules and in the field of invention, was born in Rome in the last quarter of the eighteenth century. The city is home to the Vatican Mosaic Studio, established in 1727, and boasts an excellence in the art of mosaic matured with the secular enterprise of decorating the Vatican Basilica, started in 1578 and not yet concluded. The cultural context favors the study of antiquity both in terms of compositional rules and in terms of figurative content. Already at the end of the eighteenth century, Piazza di Spagna and the adjacent streets, favorite places for foreign travelers staying in the city, are filled with private studios where small mosaics in spun enamels are made and sold. Even the Vatican Mosaic Studio, traditionally linked to the creation of works with sacred subjects, from 1795 undertook the production of secular subjects, made with the new technique, to enter the flourishing city market. As for the iconography, it follows the taste of the dominant pictorial culture. In the first productive phase, it looks to an iconography inspired by the ancient. The discoveries of Herculaneum and Pompeii, especially the pictorial apparatuses spread through the publication of the eight volumes of the Antiquities of Herculaneum exposed, published between 1757 and 1792, offer models for the representation of a varied and fantastic repertoire. Already from the early years of the nineteenth century, the micromosaic combines a classic-mythological iconography with, on the one hand, the view of Roman ruins and monuments and, on the other hand, a series of themes related to the animal and floral world, scenes of popular life, the landscape. The themes on which the micromosaic insists with coherence are however those that depict Rome with its countryside and, in particular, the Tiburtine landscape. The imperial city and the Christian city offer suggestive panoramas, as in the present case. The mole of the Colosseum and the large invaded area of St. Peter's Square with the basilica that stands out against the sky are translated into dimensions so small as to enter the setting of this paperweight. The realization of a small mosaic began with filling the support with mastic and, subsequently, with a layer of plaster. On the plaster, the subject to be composed was drawn in charcoal. The execution then took place by removing, one after the other, small portions of plaster and inserting into the underlying mastic the tiles suitable for reproducing the part of the cut design. The realization time was linked to the hardening that varied with the thickness and with the dimension of the work to be carried out (months or years). Once seasoned, a very delicate wax finishing work was carried out to close the cracks and then the polishing with flint and lead polishing began. With Ars Antiqua it is possible to defer all amounts up to € 5,000 at ZERO RATE, for a total of 12 INSTALLMENTS. Ex. Tot. € 4,500 = Monthly installment € 375 for 12 months. Ex. Tot. € 3,600 = Monthly installment € 720 for 5 months. For amounts over € 5,000 or for a longer deferral over time (over 12 installments), we can provide a personalized payment. Contact us directly for the best quote. TV LIVE – SUNDAY 17.00 – 21.00 Dig.terr. 126 – Sky 861 - 937 – Streaming on our website www.arsantiquasrl.com and on our social networks Facebook and Youtube