Following up on my last posting, which was on the exterior of the Snell Arcade, is this scene from the inside. It's a mosaic of Venice's Santa Maria della Salute, and measures approximately five feet wide. It's surrounded by a very Mediterranean tile border.
The amazing thing about this mosaic (shown here in its entirety) is that at some point it was covered over with plaster board, and then forgotten for decades. It was rediscovered during renovations, and was a big, happy surprise.
I often marvel at things that are uncovered during a renovation! Who would cover this up? Actually in one of my current projects, we uncovered a window, in pristine condition, in the exact location we were going to add one! LOL A lucky find and saved the client's some money!
ReplyDeleteI also am amazed at what people cover up in renovation, only to come to life many years after the fact. I guess a lot of the time people are influenced by what is 'in' at the time.
ReplyDeleteThanks, Stefan and David. I guess one way to look at it is that in those times, treasures that are covered also get preserved for a later generation that will fully appreciate them.
ReplyDeleteIt is difficult to imagine that such a fine work of art would be covered up. Surprising they didn't rip it out altogether....
ReplyDeleteIsn't it wonderful that it is thematically linked to the architecture of the building? Talk about attention to exquisite detail. I admire the technique of such mosaic, how depth, shadow, light, and fine detail (the fine lines of the boat masts) must be suggested or approximated within the limitations of working with pieces of glass, marble and ceramics. Of course the artisan couldn't have been anything but Italian....
Will you treat us to more details? I'm just thinking about how uncommon this 20th century Venetian architectural style is, making it very unique and special. Really good to know about. Thank you.
Thanks, Terry. I'll work on getting you more detail.
ReplyDeletesimply beautiful the color palette- who could resist? It is remarkable the composition that comes to life from bits. The surrounding border is perfection-that alone. I think that somehow its being masked was its salvation-as you say.
ReplyDelete