The Alexander Mosaic, also known as the Battle of Issus Mosaic, is a Roman floor mosaic originally from the House of the Faun in Pompeii, Italy.
It is typically dated between and 100 BC and depicts a battle between the armies of Alexander the Great and Darius III of Persia. This work of art is a combination of different artistic traditions such as Italic, Hellenistic, and Roman. The mosaic is considered Roman based on the broader context of its time and location in relation to the later Roman Republic.
Subject
The mosaic represents a battle in which Alexander of Macedonia charges the Persian king Darius III, the commander-in-chief of the Persian army. Alexander fought Darius III in a series of battles over control of the Persian Empire. Alexander defeated Darius at the Battle of Issus and again two years later at the Battle of Gaugamela. The work is traditionally believed to show the Battle of Issus.
The battle scene depicts more than 50 men. It stands out among ancient works of art because it represents a large group of soldiers, depicts each figure with meticulous attention to detail, expertly captures the expressions that appear on the warriors' faces, and uses muted colors. He is shown with a lot of curly soft-textured hair. Alexander's gaze is trained on Darius.
Darius III is reaching out to the dying soldier, while another soldier tries to get the king's chariot out of the battle scene. At this precise moment, Darius is making the order, because the Persian spears are still pointed in the direction of the Macedonians, and the king is riding in a chariot being wheeled around. rather than opus signinum or other forms of stone chips put in mortar.
The color scale of Roman mosaics are extremely rich in gradation. The process of gathering materials for mosaics was a complex undertaking since the color scale was based solely on the pieces of marble that could be found in nature. Following the style of many other Hellenistic artists, the entire mosaic is composed of reds, yellows, black, and white. The mosaic is an unusually detailed work for a private residence and was likely commissioned by a wealthy person or family. There is evidence that the mosaic was imported from the East, as there are places where some details are distorted and changed. Some scholars argue that this is evidence that the mosaic was created in pieces and reassembled in Pompeii.
The fact that this scene was made to be viewed in the house of a Roman civilian reveals that Alexander the Great was more than just a heroic image to the Romans. Because Roman leaders followed after Alexander's image, Roman civilians also aspired to emulate the power he represented. Since the mosaic was arranged on the floor where the patron could receive guests, it was the first decorative object a visitor would see upon entering that room. Modern research indicates that there may have been multiple columns removed from the colonnade to improve lighting and viewing of the mosaic.
Similar to Greek paintings, the mosaic of Alexander the Great lacks rich iconography toward the top, which, on a vertical surface, would have been considerably higher above the viewer's line of sight and garnered less creative attention. This is one way in which the two forms of art are comparable to one another. As a bonus, the mosaic displays the realism and naturalism typical of Greek portrayals of humans, especially regarding facial expression, emotional tone, and anatomical structure.
Modern history
The Alexander Mosaic was preserved due to the volcanic ash that collected over the mosaic during the eruption of Mount Vesuvius in the city of Pompeii in AD 79. This Roman artwork was found inlaid into the ground of the House of the Faun between two open peristyles. The mosaic was used to decorate the floor of a second tablinum or exedra (an open room or area that contains seating that is used for conversing). The House of the Faun was a large estate comprising one whole block in Pompeii; this is an area of approximately 3,000 square meters.
As a significant artwork and piece of history, the scene of the mosaic remained in the social and cultural sphere. The mosaic was rediscovered in 1831 in Pompeii, Italy, and was later transported to Naples in September 1843. The Alexander Mosaic is now displayed on a wall and preserved in Naples. Until recently it has been on display at the Museo Archeologico Nazionale, although currently its site is covered with a facsimile banner as the mosaic is being restored in an adjacent room. In 1956, the Alexander Mosaic was featured on the ₯1,000 banknote.
Modern copy
In 2003, the International Center for the Study and Teaching of Mosaic (CISIM) in Ravenna, Italy, proposed creating a copy of the mosaic. After CISIM received approval for the project, the mosaic master Severo Bignami and his eight-person team took a large photograph of the mosaic, made a tracing of the image with a dark marker and created a negative impression of it.
The team composed the mosaic in sections in 44 clay frames, trying to preserve the pieces of the mosaic in the exact positions they are in the original mosaic. In 2018, a photogrammetric model was created of the mosaic, revealing flaws and cracks invisible to the human eye.
In January 2021 the National Archaeological Museum of Naples began a major restoration project to attempt to conserve the mosaic. In the initial assessment of the mosaic, multiple issues were discovered, including detached tesserae, cracks, bulges, and surface depressions. Adolf Hoffmann argues that the House of the Faun was constructed in two principal phases.
Eight pictorial mosaics were laid in the House of the Faun as part of a major renovation program of the early first century BC. Many of them have iconography resembling themes found in Ptolemaic Egypt. For example, one triptych mosaic features a Nilotic landscape with Egyptian animals, fish emblemas, an emblema depicting a cat attacking a bird, and emblemas of other animals also found in Ptolemaic art.