Monumental Byzantine mosaic, executed by hand

Byzantine mosaic is the most durable monumental art form Christendom has ever produced. The compositions in Ravenna, Chora and Hagia Sophia are as luminous today as the day they were laid — because every piece of smalto was cut, tilted and set to catch the light in a very specific way.

At the Aaron Art atelier we continue that tradition with the finest contemporary materials: mass-coloured stone, natural stone and a double-glazed mosaic developed and patented in our own workshops. The figurative work is executed in double-fused glass with hand-painted highlights, combined with classical Venetian smalti in refined, unusual palettes.

The result is a surface that does not age: resistant to humidity, freeze–thaw cycles and thermal shock on the exterior, yet chromatically subtle enough for apses, iconostases and interior domes.

We execute monumental ensembles for apses and domes, iconographic programmes for porches and colonnades, decorative pavements for narthex and nave, and full exterior façades and porticoes. Each surface type calls for a different tessera size, joint density and fixing system, which we specify at project stage.

We work both in the direct method — the mosaic is laid piece by piece onto the final substrate — and the indirect method on fibre mesh, transported and installed on site. The choice depends on access at height, substrate humidity and the site programme.

For ecclesiastical commissions we begin from the iconographic programme agreed with the parish priest and, where relevant, the diocese: the patron feast, local saints, founders, gospel scenes. We produce scaled polychrome sketches, colour maquettes for the principal zones and a 1×1 m sample panel for chromatic approval before production begins.

For public buildings, hotels and private residences we develop the composition from historical references — Ravenna, Monreale, Chora, Kariye — adapted to the contemporary vocabulary of the space at the request of the architect or interior designer.

A mosaic ensemble for a medium apse takes between six and twelve months from approval to installation. Domes and large façades are planned in phases with successive deliveries.

Venetian smalti and our proprietary double-glazed mosaic perform exceptionally well both indoors and outdoors in a continental climate. Substrates are prepared with waterproof render and reinforcing mesh; fixing uses mineral adhesives with controlled deformability, and joints are grouted with freeze–thaw resistant compounds.

We deliver a technical dossier with maintenance specifications. Under normal conditions a correctly executed Byzantine mosaic requires no major intervention for several generations.

The Pantocrator apse, the Holy Trinity dome, a colonnade of military saints, an Annunciation façade and a chapel of gospel scenes — five of the atelier's monumental commissions, executed for churches and public spaces in Romania and abroad. Each has its own portfolio page.