A fleeting glimpse of heaven Gold tesserae, Byzantine mosaic and the experience of divine light
Eleanor Jolliffe
“Either light was born here, or captured here it reigns free; it is the law, from which source the current glory of heaven excels… to beautify small things, so that although confined in space, they surpass the large. Nothing is small to Christ. He, whose temples exist within the human heart, well occupies confining building.”1 Bishop Peter II – inscription in Archbishop’s Chapel in Ravenna This paper considers the use and experience, both physical and spiritual, of glass tesserae, specifically gold tesserae; and their use in Byzantine ecclesiastical mosaics as a representation of divine light. In considering this, this paper considers their significance in Byzantine thinking and the way in which the tiles were constructed; before introducing their role in the sacred experience crafted within the churches. The differences perceived in a modern viewing of the mosaics, and the question of whether tesserae still hold the same meaning and significance in the present day is then considered.
Figure 1 Christ depicted in the Mausoleum of the Julii, Rome; Wikipedia
1
Terry, “‘To Beautify Small Things’ Minutiae and Majesty in the Mosaics of Parentium.”
‘Eternal paintings’ “Color is a source of great anxiety for modern artists and thinkers. It is a topic that has frustrated and inspired many of history’s greatest minds… who have learned that no system or code can ever sufficiently account for its effects”2. This thought may be from a modern author but it is clearly one that was understood and embraced by the mosaic artists of the Byzantine Empire, who used colour and light to sculpt an experience of the divine. Ecclesiastical interiors in Late Antiquity were carefully structured aesthetic and spiritual experiences3, for the act of viewing religious art was considered “sacred and paralleled a spiritual journey”4. As such the decoration of sacred spaces had the power to define and construct a viewer’s relationship with God5. Mosaic was developed in this environment, “not simply for aesthetic enjoyment or conspicuous display …but as the vehicle of a Christian iconography of light”6. Jesus refers to Himself as “the light of the world”7(John 8:12); 1 John 1 states that “God is light”8; and the believer is called to “walk in the light” (1 John 1, Isiah 2:5, Psalm 89:15). In this context of incandescent deity mosaic becomes the perfect vehicle “by which the metaphysical idea of divine illumination might be transmitted”9. Mosaics also served the purpose of representing the eternal nature of God. Their incorruptibility combined with their light‐reflecting nature made them “metaphors of eternity, charged with the power to lead the mind away from the material world to the immaterial realm”10. Narrative scenes of the Old and New Testaments could be “rendered in a medium which might alter or fade away [paint]” 11. However, “the eschatological message or the very epiphany of the Divine… deserved to be figured in an ‘eternal’ material”12. Indeed the fifteenth century painter Ghirlandaio “referred to mosaics as ‘Paintings for eternity’”13. Gold tesserae found their place at the heart of this sacred metaphor from inherited tradition that gold (and red) were the colours of divine light14. Gold inserted into the
2
Riley, Color Codes. Schibille, “A Quest for Wisdom: The 6th Century Mosaics of Hagia Sophia and Late Antique Aesthetics.” 4 Ibid. 5 Ibid. 6 Gage, Colour and Culture. 7 The Holy Bible (English Standard Version). 8 Ibid. 9 Bolgia, “New Light on the ‘Bright Ages’ Experiments with Mosaics and Light in Medieval Rome.” 10 Ibid. 11 Ibid. 12 Ibid. 13 Bustacchini, “Gold in Mosaic Art and Technique.” 14 Gage, Colour and Culture. 3
pattern of the mosaic expressed “the Christian metaphor of the vanquishing of the veil, which allowed light to replace darkness”15. Initially this precious gilded material was used sparingly‐ the “precious focus of the most heaven‐like precinct of the temple” 16‐ but as it became more commonplace metallic tesserae were lavished across surfaces “like a bath of Ambre Solaire” 17in displays of wealth that became, “simply another field of conspicuous display.”18 It might be argued that in the lavishness of these fields of gold the strength of divine metaphor began to be lost. In the dazzling lavishness of the display Christ as He was depicted might be almost commonplace compared to the golden glory of His tiled context.
Figure 2 Image: Church of Santa Prassede, Rome; E Jolliffe
15
Bolgia, “New Light on the ‘Bright Ages’ Experiments with Mosaics and Light in Medieval Rome.” 16 Gage, Colour and Culture. 17 Ibid. 18 Ibid.
Manufacturing tesserae Whilst mosaic had been popular as a floor finish19 the metallic tesserae focussed on in this paper were a break with traditional methods. As the mosaics edged closer to heaven the techniques were modified with the “specific object of exploiting the effects of light.”20 This shift can be traced to the early third century, specifically to the gold halo of the Risen Christ in the vault mosaic of the mausoleum of the Julii under St Peter’s in Rome”21. There are few written sources that describe the manufacturing process of gold tesserae22. The Theodosian Code is one of the few, mentioning glass‐ makers and mosaicists in its list of those practitioners of the arts exempt from public services23 Whilst this would suggest a high social value placed upon glass craft work, this lack of interest in the process seems to be typical of Byzantine author’s attitudes to most forms of Byzantine craft work24. However, examination of gilded tesserae shows that they were created by enclosing gold between two layers of glass: the support glass and a thin second layer called a cartellina25. The manufacturing process must have varied slightly across the Byzantine Empire but most sources agree on the broad technique: “metallic tesserae were made by overlaying a plate of transparent (usually pale green) glass perhaps 6mm. thick with the gold or silver leaf and then coating this with a thin (1mm.) layer of clear glass. This was then heated until the elements fused”26. Later descriptions vary this technique slightly, creating the cartellina by means of powdered or molten glass27 ‐ a modification to the process that prevented the three elements splitting after manufacture28. Analysis of glass tesserae at the Daphne Monastery shows “signs of pouring the glass onto a rough and perhaps levelled surface during preparation of the glass”29. This would seem to support descriptions of the ‘muff’ technique which “involved moulten glass being blown and then shaped on a mavering slab (the flat slab on which moulten glass is rolled). It was then re‐heated, formed into cylindrical shapes, cut lengthways, and opened up into sheets of glass. In the annealing chamber, these were heated very slowly and allowed to flatten under their own weight, with the aid 19
Ibid. Ibid. 21 Ibid. 22 Loukopoulou and Moropoulou, “Notes on the Morphology of the Gold Glass Tesserae from Daphni Monastery.” 23 James, Light and Colour in Byzantine Art. 24 Ibid. 25 Loukopoulou and Moropoulou, “Notes on the Morphology of the Gold Glass Tesserae from Daphni Monastery.” 26 James, Light and Colour in Byzantine Art. 27 Bustacchini, “Gold in Mosaic Art and Technique.” 28 Ibid. 29 Loukopoulou and Moropoulou, “Notes on the Morphology of the Gold Glass Tesserae from Daphni Monastery.” 20
of a smoothing block”30. Curved edges of tesserae found in mosaics would suggest that these flattening sheets were not confined by moulds, leaving irregular shaped tiles to be cut from the edges31.
Creating colour Byzantine glass was Soda lime glass, and usually had a greenish‐blue hue, due to the iron present in the sand32. In some cases this has been counteracted with red painted backing panels33, to increase the richness of the golden colour, and there is even evidence at the Kanye Camii that the “moulten glass for the manufacture of gold tesserae was apparently poured on a surface covered with a red substance”34. However, despite the varied methods and the undulations produced in the glass the resulting tesserae were ideal for producing colour effects because the unevenness of the glass “created variations in tone and enabled gold to be created on very large areas”35. Mosaics by their very nature mean that when colour is applied it is an inherent part of the architecture. The colour becomes part of the structure of the building rather than a mere surface finish. Byzantine mosaicists worked in collaboration with the designers and builders of the spaces to fully exploit the qualities and characteristics of the material. Gold mosaic highlights were used to “indicate proximity to the focus of the building”36; as the technique for mosaics on walls and vaults developed “a deliberately irregular surface was created, giving especially in the case of gold, a soft, fluid effect”; and the natural (and artificial) illumination of the mosaics seemed to have been carefully planned to sculpt the effects of the divine light created37. Colour effects were further manipulated in the case of the Church of Santa Prassede in Rome “the windows were fitted out with thick stucco transennae… The tiny triangular and arched openings of these screens were filled in with transparent yellowish and crystalline slabs of selenite spatica which presumably filtered the light giving it an iridescent and warmer effect”38. In light, in colour, in surface texture, and in adjacent materiality the master craftsmen responsible sculpted their materials such that mosaics and architecture 30
James, Light and Colour in Byzantine Art. Ibid. 32 Bolgia, “New Light on the ‘Bright Ages’ Experiments with Mosaics and Light in Medieval Rome.” 33 Gage, Colour and Culture. 34 James, Light and Colour in Byzantine Art. 35 Bustacchini, “Gold in Mosaic Art and Technique.” 36 Gage, Colour and Culture. 37 Bolgia, “New Light on the ‘Bright Ages’ Experiments with Mosaics and Light in Medieval Rome.” 38 Ibid. 31
collaborated “constructing a sacred order encompassing heaven and earth, at once an epic of redemption and a proclamation of episcopal authority”39. The mosaicists did not solely rely on their collaboration with other trades though, developing and re‐developing techniques that played with and emphasised the inherent quality of their glittering materials. Metallic cubes were raked downward at an angle “so as to reflect light down to the spectator below”40; gold tesserae were set on their sides to create an amber effect41; and other colours were introduced as a single tile to break the monotony42 and therefore enhance the glory of golden fields. The Byzantines conceived their art as “painting with light”43. Mosaic art is subservient to the shape of the building and “light striking the mosaic acts as a dynamic force, a force which has to be carefully and deliberately employed by the mosaicist to create the desired effect”44. The ability of the mosaics to reflect light within themselves allowed the mosaicist to place tesserae “each igniting the next in a process that once began did indeed reign free.”45 When observed in‐situ the “ability of the mosaics to harness multiple qualities of light allowed them to assume the power to generate light”46. The mysterious seemingly source‐less light that reflects around the mosaics almost makes manifest the presence of God‐ as if the very light of heaven shimmers through the golden tiles.
Figure 3 Image: Archbishop’s Chapel, Ravenna; John Donaghy
39
Terry, “‘To Beautify Small Things’ Minutiae and Majesty in the Mosaics of Parentium.” Gage, Colour and Culture. 41 James, Light and Colour in Byzantine Art. 42 Gage, Colour and Culture. 43 James, Light and Colour in Byzantine Art. 44 Ibid. 45 Terry, “‘To Beautify Small Things’ Minutiae and Majesty in the Mosaics of Parentium.” 46 Ibid. 40
A fleeting glimpse of heaven “It was as if one has entered heaven itself with no one barring the way from any side, and was illuminated by the beauty in all forms shining all around like so many stars, so is one utterly amazed”47 Palace Chapel, Church of the Virgin of Pharos, Pholius
We have already established that in the Early Christian or Byzantine churches the viewing of mosaics was considered to be a spiritual, rather than a purely aesthetic, experience; but there are suggestions that even their perception of colour was different. Byzantine colour words have been shown to be “imprecise in their relation to hues, emphasising rather the qualities of brightness and glitter”48. As such light can be considered a crucial element in the understanding and experiencing of these mosaics. The power and emotive nature of the light within sacred interiors can be clearly read from contemporary writings: Procopius (500‐565 AD) spoke of the Hagia Sophia ““You might say that the interior space is not illuminated by the sun from the outside, but that the radiance is generated within”49; Nicholas Mesaretes spoke of the now‐destroyed Church of the Holy Apostles in Constantinople in the 12th Century: “The space in the air supports a cloud of light and in the midst of this bears Jesus, made more brilliant than the sun, as though generated like another light from His Father’s light, which as though with a cloud is joined to the nature of man”50; and the Church of the Holy Sepulchre in Jerusalem was spoken of in the early 4th century as “like a great sea, extended over the entire basilica in a continuous intertwining, and, being entirely overlaid with radiant gold, made the whole church gleam with flashes of light”51. However, the light these authors saw is most likely alien to modern eyes. Byzantine church rituals were often played out by candle light, and conducted nocturnally52 increasing the drama of the effect. Gage cautions modern viewers reminding us that “For eyes used primarily to natural light‐ oil lamps and candles being the only forms of ‘artificial’ light‐ the reflecting and refracting effect of the mosaic surface must have had a much more powerful, even intoxicating effect.”53 The flickering light of these candles and lamps across a harmony of irregular surface and shimmering mosaic might have made the mosaics seem even less substantial
47
Gage, Colour and Culture. James, Light and Colour in Byzantine Art. 49 Gage, Colour and Culture. 50 Ibid. 51 Ibid. 52 Ibid. 53 Bolgia, “New Light on the ‘Bright Ages’ Experiments with Mosaics and Light in Medieval Rome.” 48
than they seem to us today, under electric light54; “certainly more porous, more gentle and more alive”55. The most intoxicating area of the church, where gold tesserae were most heavily utilised was usually the apse: the area that would house the altar‐ from which Communion is served. During the celebration of the Eucharist, the candlelight glinting and reflecting across golden tesserae, the musky smoke of incense, the touch of cold stone or warm wood on fingers and knees, the chanting of priests and the taste of the wafer, must have combined into a transcendent experience of the Divine that encompassed all the senses. The book of Revelation in the New Testament speaks of the heavenly city, the New Jerusalem: “having the glory of God, its radiance like a most rare jewel… And the city has no need of sun or moon to shine on it, for the glory of God gives it light, and its lamp is the Lamb [Jesus]”56. To believing Byzantine eyes churches filled with shimmering golden and jewel‐like mosaics such as the Hagia Sophia that “appeared to be ‘not illuminated from without by the sun, but the radiance comes into being within it”57 must have offered a lifting of the veil between this world and the next, a fleeting glimpse of heaven itself.
Figure 4 Image: Church of Santa Maria in Travestevere, Rome; vindfeld
54
Gage, Colour and Culture. Ibid. 56 The Holy Bible (English Standard Version). 57 Schibille, “A Quest for Wisdom: The 6th Century Mosaics of Hagia Sophia and Late Antique Aesthetics.” 55
A world of pure light It is debateable whether this experience could ever be fully appreciated today. Windows have been blocked up58, lighting altered and brightened to the uniform intensity allowed by electric lighting and the cultural framework and appreciation of colour and symbol have shifted. In addition many of the modern visitors viewing these mosaics do not share the religious beliefs of the mosaicists, rendering the spiritual experience they were created for largely null and void. Despite this, delight and wonder is still to be found in these ‘eternal paintings’. Bustacchini was ‘transported’ by the gilded interior of the Archbishop’s Chapel at Ravenna “into a world of pure light in which all material considerations fade away”59. Dale Kinney also writes movingly of his experience of Santa Maria in Trastevere: “Even at noon it is dull, nearly colourless except for the gold, which glimmers fitfully, creating a textured atmosphere around the figures. Its visual quiescence is disrupted when a tourist drops some coins into a light box, and suddenly the apse explodes in colour: turquoise, cobalt, sapphire, green, red, white, and gleaming gold… The visual experience was thrilling and completely anachronistic. No one before the twentieth century could have seen the apse in the brilliant totality of electric light”60. Personally I have been slightly hypnotised by the luminescent hold of the golden mosaics since a study trip to Rome in 2010. The dark, cool churches served as a strong contrast from the hot, crowded streets‐ the mosaics quietly glimmering through the gloom unperturbed by the world that had changed around them, confidently whispering their message straight to the soul. It would be easy‐ and perhaps more immediately logical‐ to examine the power of the golden tesserae and its shimmering context purely in scientific terms. One might consider the way light reflects and refracts to create the perception of divine, source‐ less light, or to minutely analyse the individual components that make up these tiles to search for their allure. To my mind to do this alone would be to miss the point entirely. From the day they were created they have been crafted and honed into a material that embodies an image of divine light. The allure of the golden mosaics is the intangible nature of the created light‐ its ability to be just beyond the full comprehension of the viewer. In the depths of a dark domed chapel with seemingly no external source of light‐ natural or artificial‐ golden pinpricks will gleam momentarily and the brief chance that it is the very light of Heaven that has fluttered before your eyes becomes, for a moment, not entirely impossible. 58
Gage, Colour and Culture. Bustacchini, “Gold in Mosaic Art and Technique.” 60 Bolgia, “New Light on the ‘Bright Ages’ Experiments with Mosaics and Light in Medieval Rome.” 59
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