Micromosaic panel depicting a pastoral landscape with a herd based on the painting Bridge in an Italian Landscape by the Dutch artist Adam Pinaker (1622–1673), Georgiy Weckler.
The micromosaic technique, or Roman mosaic, was brought to Russia by Italian masters. The most famous Russian micromosaic master, Georgy Yakovlevich (Georg Ferdinand) Weckler was born in 1800 in Riga. Orphaned early, he was raised in St. Petersburg, and then in Moscow, with distant relatives, where he began to learn the craft from the Italian mosaicist Domenico Moglia (1780-1862).
In 1821, Georgiy Weckler presented for an exhibition at the Academy of Arts a mosaic based on the painting “The Prodigal Son” by Salvator Rosa, which was acquired by Empress Elizaveta Alekseevna, wife of Alexander I. By order of the Emperor, Wekler executed mosaics with views of palaces on Elagin and Kamenny Islands based on lithographs by K. Beggrov , for which in 1822 he was admitted to the Academy of Arts with the title of mosaic master. In 1834-1837, Weckler made a retirement trip to Rome and upon his return, in 1838, was awarded the title of academician for the mosaic “Transfiguration” based on a painting by Raphael. He was also awarded the title of court mosaic master with a salary of 3,000 rubles per year.
A fragment of the panel gives an idea of the delicate and painstaking work of a mosaic artist using the micromosaic technique, where the image is assembled from pieces of thin glass threads – tesserae. In fact, the entire image is made up of the end surface of tesserae measuring less than 1×2 mm.Georgy Yakovlevich Wekler (1800 1861).
From 1838, Weckler taught at the Academy of Arts, and in 1842 he became director of the mosaic department of St. Isaac’s Cathedral, while working on some of the mosaics. In 1849-1852, Wekler made mosaics with views of cities for the tables of the New Hermitage. The largest collection of works by Georgy Yakovlevich Wekler belongs to the State Hermitage. There are mosaic works by Weckler in private collections. The portrait shows the master with a portrait miniature and tools for a mosaic set.
Plaque depicting the house in which Wekler was born, 7.1×5 cm, Georgy Wekler, second quarter of the 19th century, from the collection of the State Hermitage.Micromosaic painting of the interior of a Capuchin church, height 44.5 cm, George Weckler, circa 1825, from the collection of the Victoria and Albert Museum.
Georg Weckler created this micromosaic for Tsar Alexander I based on a popular painting by François Marius Granet (1775-1849). Granet exhibited the original painting at the Paris Salon in 1819 and was so highly acclaimed that he spent the next four years making 16 copies for dignitaries, each slightly different in detail. Among those who ordered copies of the painting were Alexander I, George IV in England, Charles IV in Spain, the Duchess of Berry and Louis XVIII in France. Tsar Alexander I died in 1825 before the mosaic was completed, but his successor Nicholas I was so impressed with the end result that he gave Weckler a large sum of money and a diamond ring. This is the earliest of five Weckler micromosaics in the V&A.
Plaque with the image of two greyhounds, 14.6 x 10 cm, Georgy Wekler, 1853, from the collection of the Victoria and Albert Museum.Golden snuffbox with the image of the Cottage Palace in the Alexandria Park of Peterhof, micromosaic by Georgy Weckler, length 7.7 cm, 1843 1849, from the collection of the Victoria and Albert Museum.Plaque Landscape with Cows, based on a painting by Nicholas Pieters Berchem, 14.4×9.6 cm, Georgy Weckler, 1822, from the collection of the State Hermitage.Plaque Landscape with Cows, 10.4×6.5 cm, Georgy Vekler, second quarter of the 19th century, from the collection of the State Hermitage.Portrait of Alexander I against the background of Borodin, 8.1×5.7 cm, Georgy Vekler, second quarter of the 19th century, from the collection of the State Hermitage.Plaque “Dog with a bone”, 8.2 x 5.7 cm, Georgy Vekler, second quarter of the 19th century, from the collection of the State Hermitage.Plaque Landscape with Bathers, 9.8 x 7.2 cm, Georgy Vekler, 1827, from the collection of the State Hermitage.View of the Cathedral of St. Peter in Rome, 15.3×11.8 cm, Georgy Wekler, 1837, from the collection of the State Hermitage.Plaque View of Elagin Palace, 20.1×13.5 cm, Georgy Vekler, 1822, from the collection of the State Hermitage.Plaque View of the Neva, St. Isaac’s Cathedral and Bridge, 10.8×7.7 cm, Georgy Wekler, second quarter of the 19th century, from the collection of the State Hermitage.Bulldog, 13.2 x 9.5 cm, Georgy Vekler, second quarter of the 19th century, from the collection of the State Hermitage.Plaque View of the Gatchina Palace, 7.9×5.3 cm, Georgy Vekler, second quarter of the 19th century, from the collection of the State Hermitage.Plaque Rooster, 8.7×7.1 cm, Georgy Wekler, 1829, from the collection of the State Hermitage.Black lacquered snuffbox with a round landscape mosaic by Georgy Weckler, 2.3x11x8.5 cm, second quarter of the 19th century, from the collection of the State Hermitage.Plaque Waterfall, 6.4×3.9 cm, Georgy Vekler, second quarter of the 19th century, from the collection of the State Hermitage.Russian Shepherd, 8.3×5.6 cm, Georgy Vekler, second quarter of the 19th century, from the collection of the State Hermitage.Plaque Landscape in Rome, 4.7×3.8 cm, Georgy Wekler, second quarter of the 19th century, from the collection of the State Hermitage.Plaque Poodle on the shore of the Gulf of Finland, 20.1 x 16.4 cm, Georgy Vekler, 1847, from the collection of the State Hermitage.Triumphal Gate, 4.4×3 cm, Georgy Vekler, second quarter of the 19th century, from the collection of the State Hermitage.Plaque Landscape with a house and a bridge, 5.8×4.2 cm, Georgy Vekler, second quarter of the 19th century, from the collection of the State Hermitage.Plaque Dog and Cupid Blindfolded, 4.7×3.8 cm, Georgy Vekler, second quarter of the 19th century, from the collection of the State Hermitage.Paperweight made of white smalt, decorated with a micromosaic panel by Georgy Weckler, 1.9 x 14.4 x 8.3 cm, second quarter of the 19th century, from the collection of the State Hermitage.Paperweight made of black marble, decorated with a micromosaic panel Dancing Peasants by Georgy Weckler, 1.9 x 14.4 x 8.3 cm, circa 1830, from the collection of the State Hermitage.
