COSMATE la5s-mii'tils. A family of Roman medieval artists, named popularly the Cosmati, from Cosmos. a prominent member. It was founded about A.D. 1140, by Laurentius, con tinued by his son Jacobus, his grandson, Cos mas, and a considerable number of other descendants until about 1330, when it dis persed with the departure of the popes for Avignon and the fall of Rome as an artistic centre. The specialty of this school was the use of rieh 111050 ie inlay in geo metric patterns in architecture and church in teriors and furniture; a style often called Cosmati work. But it was not confined to this family, being a style common to all the other family groups of artists of mediaeval Rome and its neighborhood, such as the families of Paulus and Vassallectus. The beautiful cloisters of Saint John Lateran and Saint Paul's iu Rome are the most familiar of their large works. The choir-seats at San Lorenzo, the tabernacles at. Santa Cecilia and Saint Paul's, the pulpits at the Aracceli, the tombs at the Minerva and Santa Maria Maggiore, the pasehal candlestick at Santa Cecilia, the pavements of these and many other Roman churches, show the versatility and universal use of this style. But most of the
finest works are scattered throughout the prov ince, at Civita Castellana, Co•neto, Alatri, An agni, Alba, Ferentino. Terraeina, and other cities. The architectural as well as the decora tive work was executed by these artists. That the style was Roman is shown by the inscription of 1229 in the charming cloister of Sasso•ivo in umbria, where the artist calls it Roman work. However. there were two other contemporary Italian schools which produced similar work: that of Campania, with centres at Salerno, Sessa, and Gaeta ; and that of Sicily, in the churches of Palermo, Monreale, Cefah), and others.
Consult : Boito, rchitett•Cosm a trsca (Milan) ; Frothingham. "Notes on Roman Artists of the Middle Ages" (in early volumes of American Journal of .1 rchaology). G. Clausse has recently published a very full account of this Roman school; see his "Les Cosmati." in Row de Part el,rttjcn, vol. xlvi. (1S97) ; Les marbriers remains (Paris, 1597).