Minneapolis Institute of Art

Pair of Italian marble, micromosaic, and gilt-bronze pedestals

Giacomo Raffaelli

Date

1790s

Medium

Marble, gilt bronze, micromosaic

Department

European Art

Institution

Minneapolis Institute of Art

Pedestals can be works of art in their own right. This pair was made by Giacomo Raffaelli, the master of “micromosaic.” As if the ancient technique of mosaic were not complex enough, Raffaelli made tesserae (mosaic tiles) a fraction of the size of ancient examples, so that hundreds and even thousands could fit within a single square inch. Here he depicted burning braziers, candelabra, and vines, a decorative vocabulary that at the time was associated with the Etruscans, pre-Roman inhabitants of Italy. Raffaelli’s workshop made these panels of micromosaic shortly before he was forced to flee Rome by Napoleon’s invading forces. They are among the largest continuous compositions he ever attempted. Europe

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