Teensy MosaicsWealthy young people in the 17th and 18th centuries often embarked on a Grand Tour of Europe, weaving through Paris and Rome by boat and horse-drawn carriage to study architecture and art history. Kind of like your junior year abroad, minus the Limoncello shots. A souvenir of choice for these travelers was a coin-size tile recreation of a notable site they’d seen, such as the Coliseum or the Pantheon. Meticulously assembled by artisans such as those from the Vatican Mosaic Workshop (which is still active today), these micromosaics were easily portable and made from small glass tiles that wouldn’t fade and...

Source: Wall Street Journal April 19, 2019 15:33 UTC