Mosaic Warning: You are not logged in. Your IP address will be publicly visible if you make any edits. If you log in or create an account, your edits will be attributed to your username, along with other benefits.Anti-spam check. Do not fill this in! ====Western and Central Europe==== {{multiple image |direction=vertical |width=220 |align=left |image1=st.peters.basilica.tesserae.arp.jpg |caption1=A "painting" made from tesserae in [[St. Peter's Basilica]], [[Vatican State]], Italy |image2=st.peters.basilica.tesserae.closeup.arp.jpg |caption2=Close up of the bottom left corner of the picture above. Click the picture to see the individual [[tessera]]e }} Beyond the [[Alps]] the first important example of mosaic art was the decoration of the [[Palatine Chapel in Aachen]], commissioned by [[Charlemagne]]. It was completely destroyed in a fire in 1650. A rare example of surviving Carolingian mosaics is the [[apse]] [[semi-dome]] decoration of the oratory of [[Germigny-des-Prés]] built in 805–806 by [[Theodulf]], [[bishop of Orléans]], a leading figure of the [[Carolingian Renaissance]]. This unique work of art, rediscovered only in the 19th century, had no followers. Only scant remains prove that mosaics were still used in the Early Middle Ages. The Abbey of Saint-Martial in [[Limoges]], originally an important place of pilgrimage, was totally demolished during the [[French Revolution]] except its crypt which was rediscovered in the 1960s. A mosaic panel was unearthed which was dated to the 9th century. It somewhat incongruously uses cubes of gilded glass and deep green marble, probably taken from antique pavements. This could also be the case with the early 9th century mosaic found under the [[Basilica of Saint-Quentin]] in [[Picardy]], where antique motifs are copied but using only simple colors. The mosaics in the Cathedral of Saint-Jean at [[Lyon]] have been dated to the 11th century because they employ the same non-antique simple colors. More fragments were found on the site of Saint-Croix at [[Poitiers]] which might be from the 6th or 9th century. Later fresco replaced the more labor-intensive technique of mosaic in Western-Europe, although mosaics were sometimes used as decoration on medieval cathedrals. The Royal Basilica of the Hungarian kings in [[Székesfehérvár]] (Alba Regia) had a mosaic decoration in the apse. It was probably a work of Venetian or Ravennese craftsmen, executed in the first decades of the 11th century. The mosaic was almost totally destroyed together with the basilica in the 17th century. The Golden Gate of the [[St. Vitus Cathedral]] in [[Prague]] got its name from the golden 14th-century mosaic of the [[Last Judgement]] above the portal. It was executed by Venetian craftsmen. [[File:Germigny Jplm.jpg|thumb|right|Carolingian mosaic in [[Germigny-des-Prés]]]] The [[Crusaders]] in the [[Holy Land]] also adopted mosaic decoration under local Byzantine influence. During their 12th-century reconstruction of the [[Church of the Holy Sepulchre]] in [[Jerusalem]] they complemented the existing Byzantine mosaics with new ones. Almost nothing of them survived except the "Ascension of Christ" in the Latin Chapel (now confusingly surrounded by many 20th-century mosaics). More substantial fragments were preserved from the 12th-century mosaic decoration of the [[Church of the Nativity]] in [[Bethlehem]]. The mosaics in the nave are arranged in five horizontal bands with the figures of the ancestors of Christ, Councils of the Church and angels. In the apses the Annunciation, the Nativity, Adoration of the Magi and Dormition of the Blessed Virgin can be seen. The program of redecoration of the church was completed in 1169 as a unique collaboration of the Byzantine emperor, the [[king of Jerusalem]] and the Latin Church.<ref>{{cite journal |title= Art and Colonialism: The mosaics of the Church of the Nativity in Bethlehem (1169) and the problem of the ''crusader'' art |author=Lucy-Anne Hunt |journal=Dumbarton Oaks Papers |year=1991 |volume=45 |jstor=1291693 |pages=69–85|doi=10.2307/1291693 }}</ref> In 2003, the remains of a mosaic pavement were discovered under the ruins of the [[Frumuşeni Mosaics|Bizere Monastery]] near the River [[Mureș River|Mureş]] in present-day [[Romania]]. The panels depict real or fantastic animal, floral, solar and geometric representations. Some archeologists supposed that it was the floor of an Orthodox church, built some time between the 10th and 11th century. Other experts claim that it was part of the later Catholic monastery on the site because it shows the signs of strong Italianate influence. The monastery was situated at that time in the territory of the [[Kingdom of Hungary]]. Summary: Please note that all contributions to Christianpedia may be edited, altered, or removed by other contributors. If you do not want your writing to be edited mercilessly, then do not submit it here. You are also promising us that you wrote this yourself, or copied it from a public domain or similar free resource (see Christianpedia:Copyrights for details). Do not submit copyrighted work without permission! Cancel Editing help (opens in new window) Discuss this page