Hellenistic art
Sosos

The Hellenistic period is equally the time of development of the mosaic as such, particularly with the works of Sosos of Pergamon, active in the 2nd century BC and the only mosaic artist cited by Pliny. His taste for trompe-l'œil (optical illusion) and the effects of the medium are found in several works attributed to him such as the "Unswept Floor" in the Vatican museum, representing the leftovers of a repast (fish bones, bones, empty shells, etc.) and the "Dove Basin" (made of small opus vermiculatum tesserae stones) at the Capitoline Museum, known by means of a reproduction discovered in Hadrian's Villa. In it one sees four doves perched on the edge of a gilt bronze basin filled with water. One of them is watering herself while the others seem to be resting, which creates effects of reflections and shadow perfectly studied by the artist. The "Dove Basin" mosaic panel is an emblema, designed to be the central point of an otherwise plain mosaic floor. The emblema was originally an import from the Hellenistic eastern Mediterranean, where, in cities such as Pergamom, Ephesus and Alexandria, there were artists specializing in mosaics. One of them was Sosos of Pergamon, the most celebrated mosaicist of antiquity who worked in the second century BC.
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