The Art of Mosaic

Mosaic is an art form in which small pieces of colored glass, brick, pottery, or stone are set into mortar to form a picture. These pieces are called tesserae. To cover a floor, a craftsman would need fifteen million tesserae.

Mosaics were used to decorate the floors in homes and public buildings. A particularly impressive display of mosaic floors can be found in the Bath of Caracalla, a public bath in Rome. Public bath houses were common because only the wealthy could afford private bathrooms. The Romans spread mosaic art throughout the Empire.

Roman towns had many sculptures of gods and goddesses, emperors and politicians on display. Families kept sculptures of their ancestors in the home. Buildings and commemorative monuments were adorned with carvings depicting historical events or symbolic stories.

Portrait busts were in such great demand that they were mass produced by art students. Portraiture was important in Roman sculpture. Roman sculptures often combined a Roman portrait head with a copy of a Greek statue of a god.