AN ITALIAN MICROMOSAIC PLAQUE

This remarkable micromosaic depicts the crossing directly beneath the dome of St. Peter's Basilica in Vatican City. The focus point is the large Baroque sculpted bronze canopy, or baldachin, by Gian Lorenzo Bernini, beneath which is the high altar of the basilica. In the Gilbert Collection compare similar micromosaic scenes of the interior of St. Peter’s by Biagio Barzotti and Augusto Moglia (J. Hanisee Gabriel, The Gilbert Collection - Micromosaics, London, 2000, No. 61, p. 120 & No. 67, p. 126).