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Art & Art History vocabulary · Materials & Techniques

Mosaic

Meaning in art & art history, with examples

/moʊˈzeɪɪk/nounCommon term

In art & art history, mosaic means: A picture or pattern made by setting small pieces of coloured stone, glass or ceramic, called tesserae, into plaster or mortar.

In Turkish: mozaik

How it is used

Roman floor mosaics and Byzantine wall mosaics with gold glass are major topics in the art of Anatolia, from Zeugma to Hagia Sophia and the Chora Church. Mosaics are laid, set or restored, and ‘mosaic floor’ appears often in excavation reports.

Example sentences

  1. The Gypsy Girl mosaic from Zeugma has become the symbol of the museum in Gaziantep.

  2. Byzantine mosaic artists used gold glass tesserae to make the walls shine in candlelight.

Common collocations

  • floor mosaic
  • Byzantine mosaic
  • Roman mosaic
  • glass mosaic
  • mosaic panel
  • frescoA way of painting walls or ceilings with water-based pigments on fresh, wet lime plaster, so the colours become part of the wall as it dries; also a painting made like this.
  • restorationWork done to repair a damaged or decayed artwork or building and bring it closer to its original appearance, for example by cleaning it or filling in missing areas.
  • conservationThe professional care of artworks and objects to slow down damage and keep them stable for the future, through scientific study, careful treatment and control of light, humidity and temperature.
  • motifA shape, image or theme that is repeated in one work or across many works, such as a flower in a textile pattern or a symbol that keeps returning in an artist's paintings.

More terms: Materials & Techniques

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