Ravenna mosaics from classical antiquity
The exhibition is realized in cooperation of the Archaeological Museum in Zagreb, the Italian Cultural Institute in Croatia and the City of Ravenna.
The exhibition is open from 15th February until 5th April 2005
The exhibition displays copies of the original mosaics from Classical Antiquity, made at the beginning of the 1950s upon the incentive of Prof. Giuseppe Bovini, with the aim of promoting Ravenna and its invaluable mosaics. The originals are today still kept in various monumental complexes of Ravenna, dispersed inside various ecclesiastical edifices (full 7 of those are under the protection of UNESCO, a unique case in world terms), where they are often difficult to observe, at a distance and in half-dark. Here, however, they can be observed as exhibits, from a short distance and with better illumination.
The production of copies was taken care of by a group of craftsmen skilled in mosaics (Gruppo Mozaicisti) from the Academy of Fine Arts, who, loyal to the tradition, with great care preserve this type of handcraft, the specific artistic form from the period of Classical Antiquity. The entire collection was made following a very complex and to the utmost point rigorous methodology, guaranteeing a thorough fidelity to the original pieces.
The procedure was as follows: onto the original was first attached a transparency foil, on which all pieces of the mosaic were precisely outlined. Then samples of all colours and their numerous shades are taken, so that the necessary mixture of glass could be commissioned from the glass manufactures in Venice and Murano. From this mixture, through patient manual cutting, the small mosaic tiles were obtained. The mosaic was made by applying the so-called indirect method. It was assembled on a temporary bed of lime, onto which the drawing from the foil was pressed: upon the completion of that task it was necessary to separate the mosaic from the temporary bed, to clean it and place it in its mount.
The collection consists of copies of the mosaics from the mausoleum of Galla Placidia, the basilicas of San Apollinare Nuovo and San Apollinare in Classe, the Neonian Baptistery (Battistero Neoniano) and the Arian Baptistery (Battistero degli Ariani) and from the Archbishop's chapel.