Learn the Geometry of Cosmatesque Ornaments - Free Online Introductory Lessons from a Teacher Living in Rome

Here is a free resource provided by Magdalena Ganestam, to learn how to draw geometric patterns in the classic style of Roman pavement mosaics known as Cosmatesque. Magdalena was born in Warsaw, Poland, and at the age of 12 moved to England; she now lives in Rome and is basing her designs on those she sees around her on the floors of churches in her adoptive city. Magdalena studied sacred geometry as the main focus of her M.A. at the King’s Foundation School of Traditional Arts in London. To learn more about these classes, go to her website, magdalenaganestam.com, or to her Instagram page, @magdalenaganestam.

I encourage people to take a look at this. It is a rare chance to learn this art rigorously at no cost. Magdalena is hoping to develop a following and start charging for tutorials and classes for advanced study. I would like to see her able to do this. 

Cosmatesque floor in Santa Maria in Cosmedin, Rome. Image by Manfred Heyde via Wikimedia Commons, CC BY-SA 3.0

Cosmatesque decoration is an Italian tradition of opus sectile - cut work - in which pieces of colored marble are cut to shape and pieced together. It is similar to but distinct from what is traditionally called mosaic, which use many even-sized coloured pieces of glass or ceramic called tesserae to construct images and patterns. It is named for the Cosmati family which, over three generations in Rome, established the tradition in the 14th century, and the vast majority of these designs are in Rome and the surrounding area. You can read more about Cosmatesque decoration here. Below: the design work in process.