luigi taddei's mosaic "the discovery of the remains st. mark" 1871
DESCRIPTION
An exceptional mosaic was made for a competition sponsored in 1864 by the Venice Academy of Fine Arts, perhaps in connection with the 1864 First Glass Exposition in Venice, in a challenge to see if a non-Venetian could make a mosaic of equal or better quality than a Venetian, and the subject chosen for the competition was the prominent mosaic over the archway of St. Marks. Luigi Taddei won the competition, a professorship in the Academy of Fine Arts in Venice and a knighthood.