Object Status:
Unlocated
Accession Date:
December 6, 1821
Primary Source Reference:
Peale Museum Accessions Book, Historical Society of Pennsylvania, p. 117
Additional Source Text:
"It is this piece of mosaic that the interior of this church is chiefly inlaid."
The donor is described as "of St. Petersburg."
Notes:
St. Mark's Basilica is the cathedral church of the Roman Catholic Archdiocese of Venice. It is the most famous of the city's churches and one of the best known examples of Italo-Byzantine architecture. The upper levels of the interior are completely covered with bright mosaics covering an area of about 8,000 square meters.
Philadelphian Willilam D. Lewis lived in Russia from 1814 to 1819 representing the interests of his brother's mercantile firm. See Norman E. Saul, "America's First Student of Russian: William David Lewis of Philadelphia," Pennsylvania Magazine of History and Biography, 96, no. 4 (Oct. 1972): 469-479.
