• Width:
  45 Inches
• Height:
  29 Inches

Hundreds of thousands of tiny hand painted ceramic tiles blend together perfectly to form this extremely rare micromosaic depicting a bridge over the Tiber River. St. Peter's Basilica in Vatican City is in the background. Every miniscule tile is painstakingly placed to exacting measures to create this magnificent scene portraying such details as beautiful reflections of the architecture, trees and boat in the river, lush greenery, and stately buildings. Micromosaics have been popular among Italian artisans for centuries and they created these amazing works of art while risking their eyesight, due to the amount of minute details. To find an example such as this, such an incredible level of beauty and quality is extremely rare. Excellent condition.

Circa 1900

Micromosaic: 36" wide x 20" high
Frame: 45" wide x 29" high

The mosaic technique was pioneered by the Greeks and is over 5,000 years old. These works of unprecedented beauty and complexity were considered important art forms among the ancient Greeks and Romans who decorated their homes with massive pieces. Early Christians created these mosaics as well, with some of the most significant examples still in existence in the catacombs beneath St. Peter's Basilica in Rome. By the Renaissance, interest in mosaic art waned in favor of the emerging emphasis on painting and sculpture. The renewed sense of historicism and interest in craft techniques of antiquity during the 19th century led to the re-emergence of the mosaic. It was at this time that the artform was elevated to a new level with the birth of what became known as the micromosaic technique. The term 'micromosaic' was coined by the founder of the Gilbert Collection, Sir Arthur Gilbert, who was an avid collector of the artform. Utilizing the same principles of the larger predecessors, micromosaic allowed for greater depiction of details never before seen due to the vastly smaller size of the ceramic tiles used, but it also demanded an extreme amount of patience and skill to execute. The most notable examples were created in the workshops of the Vatican, finding favor with the surge of affluent tourists making their requisite Grand Tour across Europe. Avid collectors of these incredible works included Napoleon and Josephine, Russian czars and ancestors of the legendary de Medici family.