The notion of mosaicism is not part of the dictionary of the Royal Spanish Academy ( RAE ). However, the concept is frequently used to refer to the technique applied when creating mosaics .
It can be said, therefore, that mosaicism is the development of mosaics . The term covers the preparation of the works and the knowledge and skills necessary to carry them out.
It should be remembered that a mosaic is an artistic work produced from the combination of numerous fragments of stones or glass , known as tesserae . The person dedicated to mosaicism, in this way, uses some type of binder to join the tiles and shape their composition.
The origins of mosaicism are remote. In Europe , this type of art began to become popular at the end of the 5th century BC , when it was carried out with small pebbles or river pebbles . Important mosaics were made in both Ancient Greece and the Roman Empire .
Hellenic mosaicism , for example, had its rise after the death of Alexander the Great and before the advance of the Roman Empire . The city with the greatest activity in the creation of mosaics was Alexandria , where mosaicism was showcased in several palaces.
The Romans took the Greek tradition and forged their own mosaicism. In fact, most Roman villas had their mosaics, mainly using cubic tiles of ceramic, stone or glass. Beyond the materials, the artists resorted to different techniques to compose their mosaics.
In the Roman Empire, a multitude of mosaics were shaped, which became essential elements of their decorations. Today some of those have been preserved. Specifically, among the most spectacular in Spain are those that have remained in Mérida, those of the ruins of Ampurias and those of the ruins of Itálica in Santiponce (Seville). However, those preserved in the so-called Hall of Mosaics in the Alcázar of the Christian Monarchs in Córdoba are especially striking.
In addition to all of the above, we cannot ignore that from the 4th century until the Renaissance more or less, there were many churches and basilicas in Italy that were decorated inside or outside with mosaics. This is something that can be found, for example, in Santa Maria Maggiore in Rome.
In the same way, Islamic art also relies heavily on the use of mosaics as decoration. In their case, these are characterized because they have a variety of colors, with different types of geometric shapes and because they were placed both indoors and outdoors.
Likewise, even in art deco, at the beginning of the 20th century, mosaics were also widely used. One of the figures who used them the most and who characterized his work by them was the Catalan architect Antoni Gaudí (1852 – 1926). A good example of this is the salamander fountain that exists in the famous Park Güell in Barcelona.