Transcript Alexander Mosaic - AC Classical Studies

Alexander Mosaic
Alexander Mosaic
Date:
Dimensions:
Technique:
Location:
late 2nd c. B.C.
3.42 m. high x 5.92 m. wide (incl. frame)
Mosaic
House of the Faun (exedra in the first peristyle)
Alexander Mosaic
To give you an idea of the size…a tourist poses in front of the mosaics in Naples.
Size of the
tesserae
Alexander Mosaic
Alexander - Macdeonian commander, left; Darius – Persian King - to the right
Battle of Issus (333BC) or Gaugamela (331BC)
Alexander Mosaic
Alexander youthful – but not young.
Holds a spear with which he has
skewered a Persian soldier
To the left, mostly corrupted, are
Macedonian soldiers wearing helmets.
Alexander Mosaic
Wounded soldier speared by
Alexander writhes in agony
Darius stretches a hand in a
futile gesture to him…a link
between Alexander and Darius
Alexander without helmet hair
appears to flow in the breeze
Alexander Mosaic
Alexander is wide-eyed in the heat
of battle
Note the head of Medusa as an
apotropaic symbol on his cuirass
(coriaceus).
Alexander Mosaic
Darius, wearing a Persian cap, stretches out his hand to his wounded defender, while
his charioteer whips the horses to flee toward the right.
Around him are his Persian soldiers
who mill in confusion in the
background, their faces filled with
fear and determination.
Alexander Mosaic
One Persian, however, to the right of the
dying defender of Darius, is intent upon
Alexander, and holds his sword in his
hand, ready to attack. .
Alexander Mosaic
Reflection
of soldiers
face in
shield
Alexander Mosaic
Mood of terror and defeat
•The horse of the Persian defender of Darius collapses beneath him while he writhes in
agony on Alexander's spear.
•Below Darius in his chariot, a Persian soldier, staring in horror at this scene, attempts
to hold a rearing horse. The hindquarters of this horse project into the middle ground of
the picture, giving it a sense of depth.
•To the right, a soldier is being crushed under the wheels of Darius' chariot. His face is
reflected in the shield which he holds.
•Further to the right appear the terrified horses of the chariot team, trampling upon
another unfortunate Persian.
Note also the discarded
weapons (lances, spears,
swords etc) indicating
the battle at an end and
one side victorious.
Alexander Mosaic
Alexander Mosaic
Composition
Tree divides the scene – cf Trojan Horse. Cannot know about what would have featured on the
left
Alexander Mosaic
Composition
The composition of the mosaic is dominated by diagonals.
•The centre is dominated by the intersecting diagonals of the Persian speared by Alexander and
the Persian restraining the rearing horse.
•Two other sets of intersecting diagonals are provided by the figures of Darius and his charioteer
•and by Alexander and the wounded Persian.
•The lances in the background of the picture also carry on the diagonal motif.
Alexander Mosaic
Composition
The setting of the battle is very stylized. In the background appears a tree with bare twisted limbs
whose diagonals continue the unifying compositional motif of the mosaic. The tree also serves as
a formal vertical counterweight to the Persian king and his charioteer, who rise above the battle
fray. In the foreground are discarded weapons and rocks, which serve to define the space between
the viewer and the battle scene.
Alexander Mosaic
Possibly based on an earlier Greek painting. The mosaic is more 3-d than is usual.
•highlighting
•shading
•shadowing
•foreshortening
•¾ view
•overlapping
•recessive
diagonals
•shallow depth of
field
Find examples
from this scene.
Alexander Mosaic
Limitation to colours of white, yellow, red and black
– the “four colour” technique favoured by 5th and 4th century BC painters.
Alexander Mosaic
Possibly based on an earlier Greek painting. The mosaic is more 3-d than is usual.
A lack of interest in landscape - with the exception of a pathetic tree
in the background, is more in line with Greek iconography and its
focus on man in the universe, rather than the natural world,