The Art of Mosaic Through the Ages: A Chronology

This chronology, tracing the history of mosaic art, is part of the exhibition Glass and Stone. Chagall in Mosaic, presented at the Marc Chagall National Museum from May 24 to September 22, 2025.

8th century BCE
First pebble mosaics in Gordion, Asia Minor

4th–3rd centuries BCE
Mosaic of Pella (Macedonia, northern Greece)

58 BCE
First wall mosaic in the Theater of Scaurus in Rome

14–37 
First appearance of the word musiuarius, referring to the artist who executed vault mosaics

65–69 
First figurative mosaic appears in the Domus Aurea in Rome

402 
The capital of the Western Roman Empire is transferred to Ravenna

425–450 
Mausoleum of Galla Placidia in Ravenna

500–560 
Basilica of Sant’Apollinare Nuovo in Ravenna

518–527 
Mosaic of the Beth Alpha synagogue in Palestine

526–547 
Basilica of San Vitale in Ravenna

546–549 
Basilica of Sant’Apollinare in Classe in Ravenna

691–692 
Mosaics of the Dome of the Rock in Jerusalem

705–711 
Mosaics of the Umayyad Mosque in Damascus

1071–13th century
St. Mark’s Basilica in Venice and Santa Maria Assunta Cathedral in Torcello

1118 
Mosaics of Hagia Sophia in Constantinople

1130–1140 
Palatine Chapel in Palermo

1240–1250 
Apse mosaics of the San Giovanni Baptistery in Florence

1668 
Founding of the Mosaic Workshop at the Gobelins in Paris

1727 
Official creation of the Reverenda Fabbrica Pontificia of St. Peter's mosaics in Rome

1731 
Invention of artificial smalti (colored glass tesserae) by A. Mattioli in Rome

1804 
Creation of the Imperial Mosaic Manufactory in Paris, led by F. Belloni

1860s
Mosaics of the dome of St. Paul’s Cathedral in London completed by the Venetian firm Salviati and Co.

1867–1875 
Mosaic decoration of the Paris Opera by Gian Domenico Facchina

1888 
Founding of the Orsoni workshop in Venice, producing glass paste for mosaics

1892 
Mosaïque Stella Matutina by Maurice Denis

1900s
Extensive campaigns for consolidation, cleaning, and restoration of Romano-Byzantine mosaics in Ravenna

1900 
Antonio Gaudí, Park Güell in Barcelona

1911 
Gustav Klimt collaborates with Leopold Forstner on the mosaics of the dining room in the Stoclet Palace, Brussels

1924 
Founding of the Mosaic School at the Academy of Fine Arts in Ravenna, directed by Giuseppe Zampiga

1925 
Creation of a glass paste mosaic workshop near Paris by Jules Albertini, a glass artisan from Murano

1930s
Gino Severini begins mosaic decoration of the Church of Saint Peter in Fribourg, with mosaicist Giuseppe Salietti

1946–1950 
First mosaics by Fernand Léger for the church in Assy

1948 
Creation of the Gruppo mosaicisti in Ravenna, led by G. Salietti and founded with Lino Melano, Ines Morigi Berti, Maria Fabbri, Libera Musiani, Romolo Papa, Eda Pratella, Antonio Rocchi, and Renato Signorini, later joined by Sergio Cicognani, Isler Medici, and Zelo Molducci

1948–1951 
Mosaics of the church in Audincourt by Jean Bazaine

1951 
Exhibition of copies of ancient mosaics by the Gruppo mosaicisti at the Museum of French Monuments in Paris, which then became a traveling exhibition

1951 
Creation of the School of Italian Arts in Paris, founded by Aurelio De Felice and directed by Gino Severini. Mosaic was taught by Antonio Rocchi (1951–1953), then by Lino Melano and Luigi Guardigli (1953–1955). Michel Tharin was part of the 1954 class.

1953 
Lino Melano meets Heidi Hoegger, his future wife and collaborator, while teaching at the Geneva School of Fine Arts

1955 
Giuseppe Bovini, director of the National Museum of Ravenna, launches a new exhibition dedicated to modern mosaics created in collaboration with contemporary artists

1958 
Marc Chagall's first mosaic, The Blue Rooster, is presented in this exhibition

1959 
Exhibition shown at the National Museum of Ravenna, then toured across Europe and the United States

1964 
First collaboration between Marc Chagall and Lino Melano