The most important mosaic of the latter century in St. Mark's is that which decorates the fa*¡ade, the subject being "The Dedication of the Church".

From the remains of the original mosaics which have not been remodelled by the restorers of later times, it has been seen that the work of the above centuries at St. Mark's kept to the spirit and traditions of the Byzantine school. The work of restoration, however, has been so great in modern times that nearly all the mosaics belonging to a date prior to the sixteenth century have been executed afresh, so it can hardly be said there are any perfect or genuine Byzantine mosaics left.

Fig. 290. Geometric Mosaic, Church of Ara Cœli, Rome.

Those of the sixteenth century in St. Mark's are more like paintings in their general effect than monumental works for the decoration of the fabric. Pictorial effect and an appeal to the emotional faculties were aimed at by the artists and governing body of the church, rather than simplicity or a feeling for the decorative fitness of the material. The painters Titian, Pordenone, Tintoret, Paul Veronese, and the sculptor and architect Sansovino made designs for the mosaics, and their cartoons were interpreted by mosaicists, the principal of whom were Vicenzo and Domenico Bianchini, the brothers Zuccati, Bozza, Rizzo, Ga*°tano, etc.

In this century, at Rome, in the cupola of the Chigi Chapel in S. Maria del Popolo, a celebrated mosaic was executed by the Venetian mosaicist Luigi da Pace, from a design by the great painter Raphael. It bears the date 1516, and has for its subject the Creation of the World. The Almighty is represented surrounded by seraphim, and in eight compartments are mythological figures representing the planets. Angel figures of great beauty are seated on the signs of the Zodiac, which occupy the lower parts of the mosaic.

During the seventeenth and eighteenth centuries the principal mosaics executed in Italy were those which decorate the Church of St. Peter's at Rome. In these periods the Pontifical fabrique or studio for the production of the smalto and for the execution of the mosaics was in a state of activity. The fabrique had various locations in the vicinity of the church from the time of its establishment in 1528, and was finally set up in the Vatican in 1825 by Leo XIII. The most important period in the history of the Pontifical ateliers was during the early half of the eighteenth century, when it was under the direction of Pierre-Paul Cristofari, who was assisted in the production of the variously coloured material by the chemist Mattioli-

The mosaics which cover the cupolas, the altars of the various chapels, the pendentines, tympani, and other spaces, have been executed by mosaicists who were not the designers of the subjects.

This was the general practice in the Renaissance periods. One noteworthy exception to this rule may be noticed in the work of the artist Muziano de Brescia, who executed the mosaics of the Gregorian Chapel at St. Peter's from his own designs, for which work he received the commission from Pope Gregory XIII. (1572-1585). Muziano was an imitator of Michelangelo, and is best known by his work in mosaic. As a rule the mosaics of St. Peter's, like all those of the Renaissance period, are not to be compared for dignity and repose with those of the early Christian era, nor did they fulfil the true aim of monumental wall decoration, but sought rather to imitate as closely as possible the finish of oil or fresco painting. The "Transfiguration" after Raphael is not a success as a mosaic. It is believed to have been executed by Cristofari from a drawing enlarged from the original by Stefano Pozzi (1708-1768).

In the great cupola the mosaic has for its subject "The Eternal Father," surrounded by cherubims. In other compartments are angels in adoration, cherubims, Jesus, Mary, John the Baptist, Paul, the twelve Apostles and their attributes. These mosaics are from designs by the Chevalier d'Arpin (1560-1640), and rank among the best works of their kind in St. Peter's.

In the present century there has been some noted revivals of mosaic decoration in France and in England.

During the first thirty years of this century a royal manufactory was set up in Paris under the superintendence of Belloni, an Italian artist who came from the Pontifical atelier of Rome. Mosaic work of all kinds was executed at this studio, such as miniatures, pictures, and pietra-dura, or Florentine mosaic, for the encrusted decoration of furniture, as well as important works for pavements, which were designed in the classical style of the period. The principal work of Belloni is the pavement of the "Salle MelpomÅ ne" in the Louvre. It is a composition divided into five compartments, each having figure subjects, and has an extremely rich border of frets, foliage, and rosettes.

Some fine mosaics of a more recent date are the decorations of the foyer and other parts of the Grand Opera House in Paris, executed from the designs of M. Charles Garnier, the architect of the building, M. de Curzon, and others, by the mosaicists Salviati and Facchina of Venice.

The new cathedrals at Marseilles and Lyons have been recently decorated with mosaics more or less in the style of the Ravenna work of the fifth century, but the principal part of these works consists of ornamental compositions, such as doves with olive-branches, monograms, stars, and borders of romanesque ornament. Some still more recent work is the decoration of the apse of the Pantheon in Paris, from the designs of M. E. Hebert and the late M. Galland, who furnished the ornamental designs.