PT  - JOURNAL ARTICLE
AU  - Kracík Štorkánová, Magdalena
AU  - Vicherková, Veronika
AU  - Bauerová, Pavla
AU  - Hemelík, Martin
AU  - Rohanová, Dana
TI  - The Cosmic and Earthly Message of Sauro Ballardini's Mosaics : Rescue and restoration of the mosaic "Man Conquering New Horizons of the Universe" and searching for new perspectives for historical mosaics in the Czech Republic
DP  - 2022 Jun 15
TA  - Staletá Praha
PG  - 76--115
VI  - 38
IP  - 1
AID - 10.56112/sp.2022.1.04
IS  - 02316056
AB  - The article reviews the life and work of the Italian mosaicist Sauro Ballardini (1925-2010), who from the early 1960s to 1981 worked at the Prague Academy of Fine Arts as a teacher and devoted himself to monumental mosaics. His opus musivum remains an integral part of the history of this art technique in Bohemia, as well as remarkable conjunction of contemporary requirements placed on public art commissions and the personal contribution of an artist of Italian origin and training. The authors present a range of Ballardini's mosaics preserved in the Czech Republic and deal in more detail with the author's largest glass realization in the country, the mosaic called Man Conquering New Horizons of the Universe (1980) in the Central Telecommunication Building in Žižkov. The circumstances of its creation are described, as well as the fate of the work in recent years, endangered by the planned demolition of the building. Thanks to a private initiative by supporters of Opus musivum, the mosaic was transferred in 2019 with the prospect of future re-exhibition. The salvaged work underwent restoration in 2019-2021. The article thus also includes a brief description of the restoration processes, and summarises the results of the material analysis of glass tesserae, grout, and underlying concrete slabs.