{{short description|19th-century Italian mosaic artist}} {{Infobox person | name = Giandomenico Facchina | image = Perrichon-Facchina.jpg | alt = | caption = Giandomenico Facchina, by<br />{{ill|Georges-Léon-Alfred Perrichon|fr}} (c.1884) | birth_name = | birth_date = 13 October 1826 | birth_place = Sequals, Friuli-Venezia Giulia, Italy | death_date = 26 April 1903 | death_place = Paris | other_names = | known_for = | occupation = Mosaic artist }} '''Giandomenico Facchina''' (1826–1903) was an Italian mosaic artist known for pioneering a technique to prefab mosaics on flexible cardboard for easier and cost-effective installation. He worked extensively in Italy and France, contributing to notable architectural projects such as the Opéra Garnier in Paris.<ref name=FriuliMosaicSchool/>
==Biography== Giandomenico Facchina was born in 1826 in Sequals, today in the province of Pordenone in the Friuli Venezia Giulia region, at that time part of the Lombard-Venetian Kingdom.<ref name=FriuliMosaicSchool/> He was trained in Trieste and Venice. He first worked on the restoration of ancient mosaics, including the St Mark's Basilica in Venice. In the 1850s he traveled to France, first to Montpellier, where he was called to work on the restoration of old floors.<ref name=FriuliMosaicSchool/> He filed a patent for a method of extracting ancient mosaic pavements at the National Institute of Industrial Property in 1858, reusing a technique already practiced by Venetian mosaic experts. He also used a derivative of this technique, which allows a prefabricated mosaic to be made in the workshop, facilitating production of the mosaic. In this technique, the mosaic tiles are pre-assembled and glued onto a flexible cardboard; the wall to hold the mosaic is then covered with fresh mortar and mosaic installed at once, reducing the working time on site and allowing a considerable reduction of production costs.<ref name=FriuliMosaicSchool/> This technique was used very successfully at the Exposition Universelle (1855) in Paris and spread rapidly. It allowed Facchina to get many orders. At Paris, he decorated, among others, the new opera house built by Charles Garnier.<ref name=FriuliMosaicSchool/> Until his death in 1903, Giandomenico Facchina divided his time between his studios in Venice and Paris.<ref name=FriuliMosaicSchool/>
==Main works== {{multiple image | width = 185 | footer = | image1 = Palais Garnier - mosaïques extérieures 02.jpg | alt1 = | caption1 = Exterior mosaic at the Opéra Garnier | image2 = Bibliotheque Sainte-Barbe 2010-06-16 n24.jpg | alt2 = | caption2 = Detail of a mosaic in the refectory of the Bibliothèque Sainte-Barbe | image3 = Siège CNEP Europe.jpg | alt3 = | caption3 = ''Europa''; façade at the Comptoir National d'Escompte de Paris }} {{cols}} *Opéra Garnier *Musée Galliera *Musée Grévin *Carnavalet Museum *Petit Palais *Printemps Haussmann *Le Bon Marché *Galerie Vivienne *Comptoir national d'escompte de Paris *Lycée Louis-le-Grand *Lycée Chaptal *Collège Sainte-Barbe (now the Bibliothèque Sainte-Barbe) *Théâtre Antoine {{colend}}
==References== ===Citations=== <references>
<ref name=FriuliMosaicSchool>{{cite web|accessdate=19 August 2025 |url=https://scuolamosaicistifriuli.it/giandomenico-facchina-un-italiano-a-pere-lachaise/ |title=Giandomenico Facchina: An Italian at Père Lachaise |publisher=Friuli Mosaic School|language=Italian}}</ref>
</references>
===Sources===
*[https://www.dizionariobiograficodeifriulani.it/facchina-gian-domenico/ Biography] by Gianni Colledani @ the Dizionario Biografico dei Friulani
==External links== {{commons category-inline|Giandomenico Facchina}}
*[https://scuolamosaicistifriuli.it/en/giandomenico-facchina-an-italian-in-pere-lachaise/ "Giandomenico Facchina: an Italian in Père Lachaise"] @ the Scuola Mosaicisti del Friuli
{{Authority control}} {{DEFAULTSORT:Facchina, Giandomenico}} Category:19th-century Italian male artists Category:1826 births Category:1903 deaths Category:Italian mosaic artists Category:People from the Province of Pordenone Category:20th-century Italian male artists