["[Dialogue between User and Assistant on 2024-01-01 00:00]\n<User>I'd like to share some important information:\nThere are very few existing mosaics from the Komnenian period but this paucity must be due to accidents of survival and gives a misleading impression. The only surviving 12th-century mosaic work in Constantinople is a panel in Hagia Sophia depicting Emperor John II and Empress Eirene with the Theotokos (1122\u201334). The empress with her long braided hair and rosy cheeks is especially capturing. It must be a lifelike portrayal because Eirene was really a redhead as her original Hungarian name, Piroska shows. The adjacent portrait of Emperor Alexios I Komnenos on a pier (from 1122) is similarly personal. The imperial mausoleum of the Komnenos dynasty, the Pantokrator Monastery was certainly decorated with great mosaics but these were later destroyed. The lack of Komnenian mosaics outside the capital is even more apparent. There is only a \"Communion of the Apostles\" in the apse of the cathedral of Serres.\n<Assistant>Perfect. I've stored this information in my memory.", "[Dialogue between User and Assistant on 2024-01-02 00:00]\n<User>The following are some new knowledge:\nA striking technical innovation of the Komnenian period was the production of very precious, miniature mosaic icons. In these icons the small tesserae (with sides of 1 mm or less) were set on wax or resin on a wooden panel. These products of extraordinary craftmanship were intended for private devotion. The Louvre Transfiguration is a very fine example from the late 12th century. The miniature mosaic of Christ in the Museo Nazionale at Florence illustrates the more gentle, humanistic conception of Christ which appeared in the 12th century.\n\nThe Church of the Holy Apostles in Thessaloniki was built in 1310\u201314. Although some vandal systematically removed the gold tesserae of the background it can be seen that the Pantokrator and the prophets in the dome follow the traditional Byzantine pattern. Many details are similar to the Pammakaristos mosaics so it is supposed that the same team of mosaicists worked in both buildings. Another building with a related mosaic decoration is the Theotokos Paregoritissa Church in Arta. The church was established by the Despot of Epirus in 1294\u201396. In the dome is the traditional stern Pantokrator, with prophets and cherubim below.\n\nThe greatest mosaic work of the Palaeologan renaissance in art is the decoration of the Chora Church in Constantinople. Although the mosaics of the naos have not survived except three panels, the decoration of the exonarthex and the esonarthex constitute the most important full-scale mosaic cycle in Constantinople after the Hagia Sophia. They were executed around 1320 by the command of Theodore Metochites. The esonarthex has two fluted domes, specially created to provide the ideal setting for the mosaic images of the ancestors of Christ. The southern one is called the Dome of the Pantokrator while the northern one is the Dome of the Theotokos. The most important panel of the esonarthex depicts Theodore Metochites wearing a huge turban, offering the model of the church to Christ. The walls of both narthexes are decorated with mosaic cycles from the life of the Virgin and the life of Christ. These panels show the influence of the Italian trecento on Byzantine art especially the more natural settings, landscapes, figures.\n\nThe last great period of Roman mosaic art was the 12th\u201313th century when Rome developed its own distinctive artistic style, free from the strict rules of eastern tradition and with a more realistic portrayal of figures in the space. Well-known works of this period are the floral mosaics of the Basilica di San Clemente, the fa\u00e7ade of Santa Maria in Trastevere and San Paolo fuori le Mura. The beautiful apse mosaic of Santa Maria in Trastevere (1140) depicts Christ and Mary sitting next to each other on the heavenly throne, the first example of this iconographic scheme. A similar mosaic, the Coronation of the Virgin, decorates the apse of Santa Maria Maggiore. It is a work of Jacopo Torriti from 1295. The mosaics of Torriti and Jacopo da Camerino in the apse of San Giovanni in Laterano from 1288\u201394 were thoroughly restored in 1884. The apse mosaic of San Crisogono is attributed to Pietro Cavallini, the greatest Roman painter of the 13th century. Six scenes from the life of Mary in Santa Maria in Trastevere were also executed by Cavallini in 1290. These mosaics are praised for their realistic portrayal and attempts of perspective. There is an interesting mosaic medaillon from 1210 above the gate of the church of San Tommaso in Formis showing Christ enthroned between a white and a black slave. The church belonged to the Order of the Trinitarians which was devoted to ransoming Christian slaves.\n<Assistant>Thank you for sharing. I've noted this information.", "[Dialogue between User and Assistant on 2024-01-03 00:00]\n<User>I'd like to tell you about some recent findings:\nThe great Navicella mosaic (1305\u20131313) in the atrium of the Old St. Peter's is attributed to Giotto di Bondone. The giant mosaic, commissioned by Cardinal Jacopo Stefaneschi, was originally situated on the eastern porch of the old basilica and occupied the whole wall above the entrance arcade facing the courtyard. It depicted St. Peter walking on the waters. This extraordinary work was mainly destroyed during the construction of the new St. Peter's in the 17th century. Navicella means \"little ship\" referring to the large boat which dominated the scene, and whose sail, filled by the storm, loomed over the horizon. Such a natural representation of a seascape was known only from ancient works of art.\n\nThe heyday of mosaic making in Sicily was the age of the independent Norman kingdom in the 12th century. The Norman kings adopted the Byzantine tradition of mosaic decoration to enhance the somewhat dubious legality of their rule. Greek masters working in Sicily developed their own style, that shows the influence of Western European and Islamic artistic tendencies. Best examples of Sicilian mosaic art are the Cappella Palatina of Roger II, the Martorana church in Palermo and the cathedrals of Cefal\u00f9 and Monreale.\n\nThe Martorana church (decorated around 1143) looked originally even more Byzantine although important parts were later demolished. The dome mosaic is similar to that of the Cappella Palatina, with Christ enthroned in the middle and four bowed, elongated angels. The Greek inscriptions, decorative patterns, and evangelists in the squinches are obviously executed by the same Greek masters who worked on the Cappella Palatina. The mosaic depicting Roger II of Sicily, dressed in Byzantine imperial robes and receiving the crown by Christ, was originally in the demolished narthex together with another panel, the Theotokos with Georgios of Antiochia, the founder of the church.\n\nThe Monreale mosaics constitute the largest decoration of this kind in Italy, covering 0,75 hectares with at least 100 million glass and stone tesserae. This huge work was executed between 1176 and 1186 by the order of King William II of Sicily. The iconography of the mosaics in the presbytery is similar to Cefalu while the pictures in the nave are almost the same as the narrative scenes in the Cappella Palatina. The Martorana mosaic of Roger II blessed by Christ was repeated with the figure of King William II instead of his predecessor. Another panel shows the king offering the model of the cathedral to the Theotokos.\n\nSouthern Italy was also part of the Norman kingdom but great mosaics did not survive in this area except the fine mosaic pavement of the Otranto Cathedral from 1166, with mosaics tied into a tree of life, mostly still preserved. The scenes depict biblical characters, warrior kings, medieval beasts, allegories of the months and working activity. Only fragments survived from the original mosaic decoration of Amalfi's Norman Cathedral. The mosaic ambos in the churches of Ravello prove that mosaic art was widespread in Southern Italy during the 11th\u201313th centuries.\n\nIn parts of Italy, which were under eastern artistic influences, like Sicily and Venice, mosaic making never went out of fashion in the Middle Ages. The whole interior of the St Mark's Basilica in Venice is clad with elaborate, golden mosaics. The oldest scenes were executed by Greek masters in the late 11th century but the majority of the mosaics are works of local artists from the 12th\u201313th centuries. The decoration of the church was finished only in the 16th century. One hundred and ten scenes of mosaics in the atrium of St Mark's were based directly on the miniatures of the Cotton Genesis, a Byzantine manuscript that was brought to Venice after the sack of Constantinople (1204). The mosaics were executed in the 1220s.\n\nOther important Venetian mosaics can be found in the Cathedral of Santa Maria Assunta in Torcello from the 12th century, and in the Basilical of Santi Maria e Donato in Murano with a restored apse mosaic from the 12th century and a beautiful mosaic pavement (1140). The apse of the San Cipriano Church in Murano was decorated with an impressive golden mosaic from the early 13th century showing Christ enthroned with Mary, St John and the two patron saints, Cipriano and Cipriana. When the church was demolished in the 19th century, the mosaic was bought by Frederick William IV of Prussia. It was reassembled in the Friedenskirche of Potsdam in the 1840s.\n<Assistant>I've processed this information and will remember it.", "[Dialogue between User and Assistant on 2024-01-04 00:00]\n<User>I'd like to tell you about some recent findings:\nThe Abbot of Monte Cassino, Desiderius sent envoys to Constantinople some time after 1066 to hire expert Byzantine mosaicists for the decoration of the rebuilt abbey church. According to chronicler Leo of Ostia the Greek artists decorated the apse, the arch and the vestibule of the basilica. Their work was admired by contemporaries but was totally destroyed in later centuries except two fragments depicting greyhounds (now in the Monte Cassino Museum). \"The abbot in his wisdom decided that great number of young monks in the monastery should be thoroughly initiated in these arts\" \u2013 says the chronicler about the role of the Greeks in the revival of mosaic art in medieval Italy.\n\nSometimes not only church interiors but fa\u00e7ades were also decorated with mosaics in Italy like in the case of the St Mark's Basilica in Venice (mainly from the 17th\u201319th centuries, but the oldest one from 1270\u201375, \"The burial of St Mark in the first basilica\"), the Cathedral of Orvieto (golden Gothic mosaics from the 14th century, many times redone) and the Basilica di San Frediano in Lucca (huge, striking golden mosaic representing the Ascension of Christ with the apostles below, designed by Berlinghiero Berlinghieri in the 13th century). The Cathedral of Spoleto is also decorated on the upper fa\u00e7ade with a huge mosaic portraying the Blessing Christ (signed by one Solsternus from 1207).\n\nOnly scant remains prove that mosaics were still used in the Early Middle Ages. The Abbey of Saint-Martial in Limoges, originally an important place of pilgrimage, was totally demolished during the French Revolution except its crypt which was rediscovered in the 1960s. A mosaic panel was unearthed which was dated to the 9th century. It somewhat incongruously uses cubes of gilded glass and deep green marble, probably taken from antique pavements. This could also be the case with the early 9th century mosaic found under the Basilica of Saint-Quentin in Picardy, where antique motifs are copied but using only simple colors. The mosaics in the Cathedral of Saint-Jean at Lyon have been dated to the 11th century because they employ the same non-antique simple colors. More fragments were found on the site of Saint-Croix at Poitiers which might be from the 6th or 9th century.\n\nLater fresco replaced the more labor-intensive technique of mosaic in Western-Europe, although mosaics were sometimes used as decoration on medieval cathedrals. The Royal Basilica of the Hungarian kings in Sz\u00e9kesfeh\u00e9rv\u00e1r (Alba Regia) had a mosaic decoration in the apse. It was probably a work of Venetian or Ravennese craftsmen, executed in the first decades of the 11th century. The mosaic was almost totally destroyed together with the basilica in the 17th century. The Golden Gate of the St. Vitus Cathedral in Prague got its name from the golden 14th-century mosaic of the Last Judgement above the portal. It was executed by Venetian craftsmen.\n\nThe Crusaders in the Holy Land also adopted mosaic decoration under local Byzantine influence. During their 12th-century reconstruction of the Church of the Holy Sepulchre in Jerusalem they complemented the existing Byzantine mosaics with new ones. Almost nothing of them survived except the \"Ascension of Christ\" in the Latin Chapel (now confusingly surrounded by many 20th-century mosaics). More substantial fragments were preserved from the 12th-century mosaic decoration of the Church of the Nativity in Bethlehem. The mosaics in the nave are arranged in five horizontal bands with the figures of the ancestors of Christ, Councils of the Church and angels. In the apses the Annunciation, the Nativity, Adoration of the Magi and Dormition of the Blessed Virgin can be seen. The program of redecoration of the church was completed in 1169 as a unique collaboration of the Byzantine emperor, the king of Jerusalem and the Latin Church.\n\nIn 2003, the remains of a mosaic pavement were discovered under the ruins of the Bizere Monastery near the River Mure\u015f in present-day Romania. The panels depict real or fantastic animal, floral, solar and geometric representations. Some archeologists supposed that it was the floor of an Orthodox church, built some time between the 10th and 11th century. Other experts claim that it was part of the later Catholic monastery on the site because it shows the signs of strong Italianate influence. The monastery was situated that time in the territory of the Kingdom of Hungary.\n\nThe mosaics of St. Peter's often show lively Baroque compositions based on designs or canvases from like Ciro Ferri, Guido Reni, Domenichino, Carlo Maratta, and many others. Raphael is represented by a mosaic replica of this last painting, the Transfiguration. Many different artists contributed to the 17th- and 18th-century mosaics in St. Peter's, including Giovanni Battista Calandra, Fabio Cristofari (died 1689), and Pietro Paolo Cristofari (died 1743). Works of the Fabbrica were often used as papal gifts.\n\nThe single most important piece of Byzantine Christian mosaic art in the East is the Madaba Map, made between 542 and 570 as the floor of the church of Saint George at Madaba, Jordan. It was rediscovered in 1894. The Madaba Map is the oldest surviving cartographic depiction of the Holy Land. It depicts an area from Lebanon in the north to the Nile Delta in the south, and from the Mediterranean Sea in the west to the Eastern Desert. The largest and most detailed element of the topographic depiction is Jerusalem, at the center of the map. The map is enriched with many naturalistic features, like animals, fishing boats, bridges and palm trees\n\nImportant Justinian era mosaics decorated the Saint Catherine's Monastery on Mount Sinai in Egypt. Generally wall mosaics have not survived in the region because of the destruction of buildings but the St. Catherine's Monastery is exceptional. On the upper wall Moses is shown in two panels on a landscape background. In the apse we can see the Transfiguration of Jesus on a golden background. The apse is surrounded with bands containing medallions of apostles and prophets, and two contemporary figure, \"Abbot Longinos\" and \"John the Deacon\". The mosaic was probably created in 565/6.\n<Assistant>Got it. I will remember them.", "[Dialogue between User and Assistant on 2024-01-05 00:00]\n<User>There are some important details I learned:\nJerusalem with its many holy places probably had the highest concentration of mosaic-covered churches but very few of them survived the subsequent waves of destructions. The present remains do not do justice to the original richness of the city. The most important is the so-called \"Armenian Mosaic\" which was discovered in 1894 on the Street of the Prophets near Damascus Gate. It depicts a vine with many branches and grape clusters, which springs from a vase. Populating the vine's branches are peacocks, ducks, storks, pigeons, an eagle, a partridge, and a parrot in a cage. The inscription reads: \"For the memory and salvation of all those Armenians whose name the Lord knows.\" Beneath a corner of the mosaic is a small, natural cave which contained human bones dating to the 5th or 6th centuries. The symbolism of the mosaic and the presence of the burial cave indicates that the room was used as a mortuary chapel.\n\nAn exceptionally well preserved, carpet-like mosaic floor was uncovered in 1949 in Bethany, the early Byzantine church of the Lazarium which was built between 333 and 390. Because of its purely geometrical pattern, the church floor is to be grouped with other mosaics of the time in Palestine and neighboring areas, especially the Constantinian mosaics in the central nave at Bethlehem. A second church was built above the older one during the 6th century with another more simple geometric mosaic floor.\n\nThe monastic communities of the Judean Desert also decorated their monasteries with mosaic floors. The Monastery of Martyrius was founded in the end of the 5th century and it was re-discovered in 1982\u201385. The most important work of art here is the intact geometric mosaic floor of the refectory although the severely damaged church floor was similarly rich. The mosaics in the church of the nearby Monastery of Euthymius are of later date (discovered in 1930). They were laid down in the Umayyad era, after a devastating earthquake in 659. Two six pointed stars and a red chalice are the most important surviving features.\n\nMosaic art also flourished in Christian Petra where three Byzantine churches were discovered. The most important one was uncovered in 1990. It is known that the walls were also covered with golden glass mosaics but only the floor panels survived as usual. The mosaic of the seasons in the southern aisle is from this first building period from the middle of the 5th century. In the first half of the 6th century the mosaics of the northern aisle and the eastern end of the southern aisle were installed. They depict native as well as exotic or mythological animals, and personifications of the Seasons, Ocean, Earth and Wisdom.\n\nThe mosaics of the Church of St Stephen in ancient Kastron Mefaa (now Umm ar-Rasas) were made in 785 (discovered after 1986). The perfectly preserved mosaic floor is the largest one in Jordan. On the central panel hunting and fishing scenes are depicted while another panel illustrates the most important cities of the region. The frame of the mosaic is especially decorative. Six mosaic masters signed the work: Staurachios from Esbus, Euremios, Elias, Constantinus, Germanus and Abdela. It overlays another, damaged, mosaic floor of the earlier (587) \"Church of Bishop Sergius.\" Another four churches were excavated nearby with traces of mosaic decoration.\n\nThe craft has also been popular in early medieval Rus, inherited as part of the Byzantine tradition. Yaroslav, the Grand Prince of the Kievan Rus' built a large cathedral in his capital, Kiev. The model of the church was the Hagia Sophia in Constantinople, and it was also called Saint Sophia Cathedral. It was built mainly by Byzantine master craftsmen, sent by Constantine Monomachos, between 1037 and 1046. Naturally the more important surfaces in the interior were decorated with golden mosaics. In the dome we can see the traditional stern Pantokrator supported by angels. Between the 12 windows of the drum were apostles and the four evangelists on the pendentives. The apse is dominated by an orant Theotokos with a Deesis in three medallions above. Below is a Communion of the Apostles.\n\nThe apse mosaic of the Gelati Monastery is a rare example of mosaic use in Georgia. Began by king David IV and completed by his son Demetrius I of Georgia, the fragmentary panel depicts Theotokos flanked by two archangels. The use of mosaic in Gelati attests to some Byzantine influence in the country and was a demonstration of the imperial ambition of the Bagrationids. The mosaic covered church could compete in magnificence with the churches of Constantinople. Gelati is one of few mosaic creations which survived in Georgia but fragments prove that the early churches of Pitsunda and Tsromi were also decorated with mosaic as well as other, lesser known sites. The destroyed 6th century mosaic floors in the Pitsunda Cathedral have been inspired by Roman prototypes. In Tsromi the tesserae are still visible on the walls of the 7th-century church but only faint lines hint at the original scheme. Its central figure was Christ standing and displaying a scroll with Georgian text.\n\nThe remains of a 6th-century synagogue have been uncovered in Sepphoris, which was an important centre of Jewish culture between the 3rd\u20137th centuries and a multicultural town inhabited by Jews, Christians and pagans. The mosaic reflects an interesting fusion of Jewish and pagan beliefs. In the center of the floor the zodiac wheel was depicted. Helios sits in the middle, in his sun chariot, and each zodiac is matched with a Jewish month. Along the sides of the mosaic are strips depicting Biblical scenes, such as the binding of Isaac, as well as traditional rituals, including a burnt sacrifice and the offering of fruits and grains.\n\nThe synagogue in Eshtemoa (As-Samu) was built around the 4th century. The mosaic floor is decorated with only floral and geometric patterns. The synagogue in Khirbet Susiya (excavated in 1971\u201372, founded in the end of the 4th century) has three mosaic panels, the eastern one depicting a Torah shrine, two menorahs, a lulav and an etrog with columns, deer and rams. The central panel is geometric while the western one is seriously damaged but it has been suggested that it depicted Daniel in the lion\u2019s den. The Roman synagogue in Ein Gedi was remodeled in the Byzantine era and a more elaborate mosaic floor was laid down above the older white panels. The usual geometric design was enriched with birds in the center. It includes the names of the signs of the zodiac and important figures from the Jewish past but not their images suggesting that it served a rather conservative community.\n<Assistant>Received. I'll store this information.", "[Dialogue between User and Assistant on 2024-01-06 00:00]\n<User>Let me update you with some new information:\nThe ban on figurative depiction was not taken so seriously by the Jews living in Byzantine Gaza. In 1966 remains of a synagogue were found in the ancient harbour area. Its mosaic floor depicts King David as Orpheus, identified by his name in Hebrew letters. Near him were lion cubs, a giraffe and a snake listening to him playing a lyre. A further portion of the floor was divided by medallions formed by vine leaves, each of which contains an animal: a lioness suckling her cub, a giraffe, peacocks, panthers, bears, a zebra and so on. The floor was paved in 508/509. It is very similar to that of the synagogue at Maon (Menois) and the Christian church at Shellal, suggesting that the same artist most probably worked at all three places.\n\nA 5th-century building in Huldah may be a Samaritan synagogue. Its mosaic floor contains typical Jewish symbols (menorah, lulav, etrog) but the inscriptions are Greek. Another Samaritan synagogue with a mosaic floor was located in Bet She'an (excavated in 1960). The floor had only decorative motifs and an aedicule (shrine) with cultic symbols. The ban on human or animal images was more strictly observed by the Samaritans than their Jewish neighbours in the same town (see above). The mosaic was laid by the same masters who made the floor of the Beit Alfa synagogue. One of the inscriptions was written in Samaritan script.\n\nIslamic architecture used mosaic technique to decorate religious buildings and palaces after the Muslim conquests of the eastern provinces of the Byzantine Empire. In Syria and Egypt the Arabs were influenced by the great tradition of Roman and Early Christian mosaic art. During the Umayyad Dynasty mosaic making remained a flourishing art form in Islamic culture and it is continued in the art of zellige and azulejo in various parts of the Arab world, although tile was to become the main Islamic form of wall decoration.\n\nThe most important early Islamic mosaic work is the decoration of the Umayyad Mosque in Damascus, then capital of the Arab Caliphate. The mosque was built between 706 and 715. The caliph obtained 200 skilled workers from the Byzantine Emperor to decorate the building. This is evidenced by the partly Byzantine style of the decoration. The mosaics of the inner courtyard depict Paradise with beautiful trees, flowers and small hill towns and villages in the background. The mosaics include no human figures, which makes them different from the otherwise similar contemporary Byzantine works. The biggest continuous section survives under the western arcade of the courtyard, called the \"Barada Panel\" after the river Barada. It is thought that the mosque used to have the largest gold mosaic in the world, at over 4 m2. In 1893 a fire damaged the mosque extensively, and many mosaics were lost, although some have been restored since.\n<Assistant>Got it. I will remember them.", "[Dialogue between User and Assistant on 2024-01-07 00:00]\n<User>Let me provide you with some new details:\nNon-religious Umayyad mosaic works were mainly floor panels which decorated the palaces of the caliphs and other high-ranking officials. They were closely modeled after the mosaics of the Roman country villas, once common in the Eastern Mediterranean. The most superb example can be found in the bath house of Hisham's Palace, Palestine which was made around 744. The main panel depicts a large tree and underneath it a lion attacking a deer (right side) and two deers peacefully grazing (left side). The panel probably represents good and bad governance. Mosaics with classical geometric motifs survived in the bath area of the 8th-century Umayyad palace complex in Anjar, Lebanon. The luxurious desert residence of Al-Walid II in Qasr al-Hallabat (in present-day Jordan) was also decorated with floor mosaics that show a high level of technical skill. The best preserved panel at Hallabat is divided by a Tree of Life flanked by \"good\" animals on one side and \"bad\" animals on the other. Among the Hallabat representations are vine scrolls, grapes, pomegranates, oryx, wolves, hares, a leopard, pairs of partridges, fish, bulls, ostriches, rabbits, rams, goats, lions and a snake. At Qastal, near Amman, excavations in 2000 uncovered the earliest known Umayyad mosaics in present-day Jordan, dating probably from the caliphate of Abd al-Malik ibn Marwan (685\u2013705). They cover much of the floor of a finely decorated building that probably served as the palace of a local governor. The Qastal mosaics depict geometrical patterns, trees, animals, fruits and rosettes. Except for the open courtyard, entrance and staircases, the floors of the entire palace were covered in mosaics.\n<Assistant>Thanks for the information. I've saved it.", "[Dialogue between User and Assistant on 2024-01-08 00:00]\n<User>I want to tell you about some new discoveries:\nSome of the best examples of later Islamic mosaics were produced in Moorish Spain. The golden mosaics in the mihrab and the central dome of the Great Mosque in Corduba have a decidedly Byzantine character. They were made between 965 and 970 by local craftsmen, supervised by a master mosaicist from Constantinople, who was sent by the Byzantine Emperor to the Umayyad Caliph of Spain. The decoration is composed of colorful floral arabesques and wide bands of Arab calligraphy. The mosaics were purported to evoke the glamour of the Great Mosque in Damascus, which was lost for the Umayyad family.\n<Assistant>Received. I'll store this information.", "[Dialogue between User and Assistant on 2024-01-09 00:00]\n<User>There are some important details I learned:\nNoted 19th-century mosaics include those by Edward Burne-Jones at St Pauls within the Walls in Rome. Another modern mosaic of note is the world's largest mosaic installation located at the Cathedral Basilica of St. Louis, located in St. Louis, Missouri. A modern example of mosaic is the Museum of Natural History station of the New York City Subway (there are many such works of art scattered throughout the New York City subway system, though many IND stations are usually designed with bland mosaics.) Another example of mosaics in ordinary surroundings is the use of locally themed mosaics in some restrooms in the rest areas along some Texas interstate highways.\n\nIn styles that owe as much to videogame pixel art and popculture as to traditional mosaic, street art has seen a novel reinvention and expansion of mosaic artwork. The most prominent artist working with mosaics in street art is the French Invader. He has done almost all his work in two very distinct mosaic styles, the first of which are small \"traditional\" tile mosaics of 8 bit video game character, installed in cities across the globe, and the second of which are a style he refers to as \"Rubikcubism\", which uses a kind of dual layer mosaic via grids of scrambled Rubik's Cubes. Although he is the most prominent, other street and urban artists do work in Mosaic styles as well.\n<Assistant>Thanks for letting me know. I'll keep track of this.", "[Dialogue between User and Assistant on 2024-01-10 00:00]\n<User>Let me provide you with some new details:\nPortuguese pavement (in Portuguese, Cal\u00e7ada Portuguesa) is a kind of two-tone stone mosaic paving created in Portugal, and common throughout the Lusosphere. Most commonly taking the form of geometric patterns from the simple to the complex, it also is used to create complex pictorial mosaics in styles ranging from iconography to classicism and even modern design. In Portuguese-speaking countries, many cities have a large amount of their sidewalks and even, though far more occasionally, streets done in this mosaic form. Lisbon in particular maintains almost all walkways in this style.\n\nThe indirect method of applying tesserae is often used for very large projects, projects with repetitive elements or for areas needing site specific shapes. Tiles are applied face-down to a backing paper using an adhesive, and later transferred onto walls, floors or craft projects. This method is most useful for extremely large projects as it gives the maker time to rework areas, allows the cementing of the tiles to the backing panel to be carried out quickly in one operation and helps ensure that the front surfaces of the mosaic tiles and mosaic pieces are flat and in the same plane on the front, even when using tiles and pieces of differing thicknesses. Mosaic murals, benches and tabletops are some of the items usually made using the indirect method, as it results in a smoother and more even surface.\n\nThe double indirect method can be used when it is important to see the work during the creation process as it will appear when completed. The tesserae are placed face-up on a medium (often adhesive-backed paper, sticky plastic or soft lime or putty) as it will appear when installed. When the mosaic is complete, a similar medium is placed atop it. The piece is then turned over, the original underlying material is carefully removed, and the piece is installed as in the indirect method described above. In comparison to the indirect method, this is a complex system to use and requires great skill on the part of the operator, to avoid damaging the work. Its greatest advantage lies in the possibility of the operator directly controlling the final result of the work, which is important e.g. when the human figure is involved. This method was created in 1989 by Maurizio Placuzzi and registered for industrial use (patent n. 0000222556) under the name of his company, Sicis International Srl, now Sicis The Art Mosaic Factory Srl.\n\nA tile mosaic is a digital image made up of individual tiles, arranged in a non-overlapping fashion, e.g. to make a static image on a shower room or bathing pool floor, by breaking the image down into square pixels formed from ceramic tiles (a typical size is 1 in \u00d7 1 in (25 mm \u00d7 25 mm), as for example, on the floor of the University of Toronto pool, though sometimes larger tiles such as 2 in \u00d7 2 in (51 mm \u00d7 51 mm) are used). These digital images are coarse in resolution and often simply express text, such as the depth of the pool in various places, but some such digital images are used to show a sunset or other beach theme.\n\nWith high cost of labor in developed countries, production automation has become increasingly popular. Rather than being assembled by hand, mosaics designed using computer aided design (CAD) software can be assembled by a robot. Production can be greater than 10 times faster with higher accuracy. But these \"computer\" mosaics have a different look than hand-made \"artisanal\" mosaics. With robotic production, colored tiles are loaded into buffers, and then the robot picks and places tiles individually according to a command file from the design software.\n\nThe original Latin word \"universitas\" refers in general to \"a number of persons associated into one body, a society, company, community, guild, corporation, etc.\" At the time of the emergence of urban town life and medieval guilds, specialised \"associations of students and teachers with collective legal rights usually guaranteed by charters issued by princes, prelates, or the towns in which they were located\" came to be denominated by this general term. Like other guilds, they were self-regulating and determined the qualifications of their members.\n\nAn important idea in the definition of a university is the notion of academic freedom. The first documentary evidence of this comes from early in the life of the first university. The University of Bologna adopted an academic charter, the Constitutio Habita, in 1158 or 1155, which guaranteed the right of a traveling scholar to unhindered passage in the interests of education. Today this is claimed as the origin of \"academic freedom\". This is now widely recognised internationally - on 18 September 1988, 430 university rectors signed the Magna Charta Universitatum, marking the 900th anniversary of Bologna's foundation. The number of universities signing the Magna Charta Universitatum continues to grow, drawing from all parts of the world.\n\nEuropean higher education took place for hundreds of years in Christian cathedral schools or monastic schools (scholae monasticae), in which monks and nuns taught classes; evidence of these immediate forerunners of the later university at many places dates back to the 6th century. The earliest universities were developed under the aegis of the Latin Church by papal bull as studia generalia and perhaps from cathedral schools. It is possible, however, that the development of cathedral schools into universities was quite rare, with the University of Paris being an exception. Later they were also founded by Kings (University of Naples Federico II, Charles University in Prague, Jagiellonian University in Krak\u00f3w) or municipal administrations (University of Cologne, University of Erfurt). In the early medieval period, most new universities were founded from pre-existing schools, usually when these schools were deemed to have become primarily sites of higher education. Many historians state that universities and cathedral schools were a continuation of the interest in learning promoted by monasteries.\n\nAll over Europe rulers and city governments began to create universities to satisfy a European thirst for knowledge, and the belief that society would benefit from the scholarly expertise generated from these institutions. Princes and leaders of city governments perceived the potential benefits of having a scholarly expertise develop with the ability to address difficult problems and achieve desired ends. The emergence of humanism was essential to this understanding of the possible utility of universities as well as the revival of interest in knowledge gained from ancient Greek texts.\n<Assistant>I've processed this information and will remember it."]
[{"question": "What type of governments were involved in creating universities?", "answer": "city governments"}, {"question": "When were the mosaics at Torriti and Jacopo fully restored?", "answer": "in 1884"}, {"question": "What has recently seen an expansion of mosaic artwork?", "answer": "street art"}, {"question": "How many mosaic panels from naos have survived?", "answer": "three"}, {"question": "The mosaics in the Great Mosque in Corduba have what kind of style?", "answer": "Byzantine"}, {"question": "What was the art of the Fabbrica usually used for?", "answer": "papal gifts"}, {"question": "The Cathedral of Spoleto is signed by who?", "answer": "Solsternus"}, {"question": "Why have wall mosaics generally not survived in the region?", "answer": "the destruction of buildings"}, {"question": "In terms of academics what is a core requirement of a university?", "answer": "academic freedom"}, {"question": "What is the central figure doing in the mosaic found in 1966?", "answer": "playing a lyre"}, {"question": "Why are there so few surviving mosaics from the Komnenian period?", "answer": "accidents of survival"}, {"question": "The mosaic at the Byzantine church of the Lazarium most closely resembles mosaics from which area?", "answer": "Palestine"}, {"question": "What was the intended purpose of the miniature mosaic icons?", "answer": "private devotion"}, {"question": "The mosaic found at Sepphoris display a mix of Jewish and which beliefs?", "answer": "pagan"}, {"question": "What proves mosaics were used in the early middle ages?", "answer": "scant remains"}, {"question": "Where is the Theotokos Paregoritissa Church located?", "answer": "Arta"}, {"question": "The majority of the mosaics in Venice were created by who?", "answer": "local artists"}, {"question": "What was the name of the church Yaroslav commissioned?", "answer": "Saint Sophia Cathedral"}, {"question": "The synagogue located in Bet She'an had what kind of symbols depicted in its mosaic?", "answer": "cultic"}, {"question": "How much faster is automated creation over handmade?", "answer": "10 times faster"}, {"question": "The panels of naos are only capped in importance by which other location?", "answer": "the Hagia Sophia"}, {"question": "Who is displayed getting crowned by christ in the Monreale mosaics?", "answer": "King William II"}, {"question": "The panels from naos show what influence on Byzantine art.", "answer": "Italian trecento"}, {"question": "Who started construction on the Gelati Monastery?", "answer": "king David IV"}, {"question": "The indirect method also helped for projects with what kinds of areas?", "answer": "repetitive"}, {"question": "Where is the church of Saint George?", "answer": "Madaba, Jordan"}, {"question": "What is the most common pattern for Portuguese pavement?", "answer": "geometric"}, {"question": "What is the style called of putting tessere on a backing paper?", "answer": "the indirect method"}, {"question": "What other cityscape is done with Portuguese pavement?", "answer": "streets"}, {"question": "Where did Yaroslav build his Cathedral?", "answer": "Kiev"}, {"question": "The scenes depicted on the mosaics were both native and what kind of mythological animals?", "answer": "exotic"}, {"question": "What was found under the Basilica of Saint-Quentin?", "answer": "9th century mosaic"}, {"question": "Who adopted the Byzantine mosaic tradition?", "answer": "Norman kings"}, {"question": "What is usually the purpose of a tile mosaic in pools?", "answer": "express text"}, {"question": "What year were the mosaic pavements installed at the Otranto Cathedral?", "answer": "1166"}, {"question": "Who removed the gold tesserae in the background of the mosaic at the Church of the Holy Apostles?", "answer": "some vandal"}, {"question": "Where would the Byzantine church of the Lazarium be located today?", "answer": "Bethany"}, {"question": "Who does the facade at the Santa Maria church depict?", "answer": "Christ and Mary"}, {"question": "How many artists signed the frame of the mosaic at the Church of St Stephen?", "answer": "Six"}, {"question": "What do the images at synagogue in Khirbet Susiya suggest about the communities views?", "answer": "rather conservative"}, {"question": "Which church in Venice is decorated with elaborate golden mosaics?", "answer": "St Mark's Basilica"}, {"question": "Where is the Abbey of Saint-Martial?", "answer": "Limoges"}, {"question": "Who is receiving a crown from christ in the mosaic originally in the narthex?", "answer": "Roger II"}, {"question": "What animal was on the only surviving mosaics created by the greeks at the rebuilt abbey?", "answer": "greyhounds"}, {"question": "What church is said to be responsible for the formation of universities?", "answer": "Latin Church"}, {"question": "What year was the medallion above the gate of the church of San Tommaso?", "answer": "1210"}, {"question": "Who did the navicella mosaic depict walking on water?", "answer": "St. Peter"}, {"question": "when were mosaic pavements uncovered at the Bizere Monastery?", "answer": "2003"}, {"question": "The mosaic floor in the Church of St Stephen is the largest in what country?", "answer": "Jordan"}, {"question": "What type of mosaics were present in the church discovered in 1990?", "answer": "only the floor panels"}, {"question": "Portuguese pavement is known by what other name?", "answer": "Cal\u00e7ada Portuguesa"}, {"question": "Any mosaic having secular designs were likely what?", "answer": "floor panels"}, {"question": "What was used as a model for the church Yaroslav commissioned?", "answer": "the Hagia Sophia"}, {"question": "When were the mosaics in the Church of St Stephen re-discovered?", "answer": "1986"}, {"question": "In Byzantine Gaza, Jews were relaxed on what ban?", "answer": "figurative depiction"}, {"question": "How many panels are in the synagogue in Khirbet Susiya?", "answer": "three"}, {"question": "Where in the Monastery of Martyrius is the most important mosaic work?", "answer": "the refectory"}, {"question": "At least how many tesserae are used in the the Monreale mosaics?", "answer": "100 million"}, {"question": "How big were the tesserae in the Komnenian period miniature mosaic icons?", "answer": "1 mm or less"}, {"question": "What patterns are present on the mosaic at the synagogue in Eshtemoa?", "answer": "only floral and geometric"}, {"question": "the Cathedral of Orvieto has a mosaic facade, done first in which century?", "answer": "the 14th"}, {"question": "Where is Saint Catherine's Monastery located?", "answer": "Mount Sinai in Egypt"}, {"question": "The French invader coined his own style of mosaic named what?", "answer": "Rubikcubism"}, {"question": "Who created the Last judgement mosaic in the St. Vitus Cathedral?", "answer": "Venetian craftsmen"}, {"question": "What were the tesserae usually set in for miniature mosaic icons?", "answer": "wax or resin"}, {"question": "In what kingdom was the Bizere Monastery located?", "answer": "Hungary"}, {"question": "The Byzantine emperor, the king of Jerusalem and the Latin Church came together in what year to redecorate the Church of the Holy Sepulchre?", "answer": "1169"}, {"question": "What besides benches and tabletops was usually created using the indirect method?", "answer": "murals"}, {"question": "What century was the oldest known mosaic at the church discovered in 1990?", "answer": "the 5th"}, {"question": "What is the most important mosaic piece built by Byzantine Christians?", "answer": "the Madaba Map"}, {"question": "When was the most important Byzantine church re-discovered?", "answer": "in 1990"}, {"question": "What along texas interstate Highways contains everyday examples of mosaics?", "answer": "the rest areas"}, {"question": "Where are some of the best examples of islamic mosaic work found?", "answer": "Moorish Spain"}, {"question": "Who invented the double indirect method?", "answer": "Maurizio Placuzzi"}, {"question": "What was the room under the Armenian Mosaic used for?", "answer": "mortuary chapel"}, {"question": "When was the Madaba Map rediscovered?", "answer": "1894"}, {"question": "What century was the majority of the Navicella mosaic destroyed?", "answer": "the 17th"}, {"question": "What does the mosaic at Huldah contain?", "answer": "typical Jewish symbols"}, {"question": "Who sent the master mosaicist to Spain?", "answer": "the Byzantine Emperor"}, {"question": "Where is the Cathedral of Santa Maria Assunta?", "answer": "Torcello"}, {"question": "What were the floor panels of the caliphs and high ranking officials modeled after?", "answer": "Roman country villas"}, {"question": "Which city had the highest percentage of mosaic covered churches?", "answer": "Jerusalem"}, {"question": "When was the Armenian Mosaic re-discovered?", "answer": "1894"}, {"question": "What survives from the mosaics of Amalfi's Norman Cathedral?", "answer": "Only fragments"}, {"question": "A church was built on top of the Byzantine church of the Lazarium in waht century?", "answer": "the 6th"}, {"question": "What is the Royal Basilica of the Hungarian kings also known as?", "answer": "Alba Regia"}, {"question": "Where is the Basilica of Santi Maria e Donato located?", "answer": "Murano"}, {"question": "What outlook developed the creation of the university system?", "answer": "humanism"}, {"question": "How many Christian churches have been found in the Christian Petra?", "answer": "three"}, {"question": "What year did Pietro Paolo Cristofari die?", "answer": "1743"}, {"question": "What would later become the main Islamic form of wall decoration?", "answer": "tile"}, {"question": "When were the mosaics in the Church of St Stephen created?", "answer": "in 785"}, {"question": "What language are the inscriptions on the mosaic at Huldah?", "answer": "Greek"}, {"question": "Where was the Armenian Mosaic found in Jerusalem?", "answer": "near Damascus Gate"}, {"question": "What common element do mosaic panels from the 11th century have?", "answer": "simple colors"}, {"question": "Who created the mosaics in the Great Mosque in Corduba?", "answer": "local craftsmen"}, {"question": "After what time did the Abbot of Monte Cassino send for Byzantine mosaicists?", "answer": "1066"}, {"question": "What would replace the labor intensive technique of mosaic?", "answer": "fresco"}, {"question": "What deity does the 12th century mosaic in the Hagia Sophia depict?", "answer": "the Theotokos"}, {"question": "A 5th-century building in Huldah is believed to be what?", "answer": "a Samaritan synagogue"}]