MILLENARY ART

The cut mosaic technique has ancient origins dating back to the Assyrian-Babylonian era. The first mosaicwas born with more practical than aesthetic intents, they were used to cover and protect the walls or floors in beaten earth, finally it developed then with the Romans and later with the Byzantines and has come down to our days using the same tools and the same materials which are essentially marbles and enamels. A mosaic composition is the result of the combination of tesserae (generally quadrangular cubes of glass or stone) of various colors, obtained by cutting using tools such as the”hammer” and the “tagliolo” attached to a wooden block while for apply them using tweezers. The most modern techniques we know today for the realization of a cut mosaic are two the “indirect” and “direct”techniques. In the indirect technique, the cut tiles are glued backwards on a paper support which can be a photocopy or a negative cast of the chosen subject that we want to represent. Then the mosaic is turned upside down and applied with a mixture of glue and cement, in a wooden container. Finally, the mosaic is tied and stuccoed between the tiles. In the direct technique, however, the already cut and measured tesserae are inserted in a wooden box on a stucco base.  

COURSE

The course, lasting 24 hours (8 lessons), involves the construction of a square that summarizes and, therefore, allows you to learn the basics of the cut mosaic.  

The mosaicist teacher

Maria Teresa Vacchini was born in Vatican City, where she learned the first notions of the art of mosaic, following courses taught by Maestro Vincenzo Renzi at “Study of the Vatican Mosaic”. Subsequently, she specialized in minute mosaic, choosing subjects belonging to the Roman tradition of the eighteenth and nineteenth centuries. As a painter and mosaicist, she has taken part in multiple exhibitions. Currently his works are cited in several foreign magazines and exhibited all over the world.