Unique

[Viggen]

Roman mosaic art is often described as illusionistic because the cubes are laid on a two-dimensional, flat surface and the mosaicist has to convert his 'canvas' into a three-dimensional pictorial space. This often requires the use of difficult techniques to depict figures in the round, to create a receding background, or most spectacularly in non-representational floors to generate a trompe l'oeil effect (a receding geometric pattern).

 

A fascinating new discovery from Pomezia, 20km south of Rome, has now taken the art of illusion in Roman mosaics to an unexpected new dimension. This floor was discovered in May in the 3rd-century phase of a villa first built in the 1st century AD at the ancient site of Palazzo Morgano near the Via Ardeatina.

 

full article at Minerva Magazine