The Robes of Justitia
Eight sections, each approximately: 25 × 13.5 ft. (762 × 411.5 cm)
Fine Arts Collection
U.S. General Services Administration
Alyson Shotz designed this immense mosaic for the domed ceiling of the courthouse entry rotunda. The mosaic was fabricated in sections at the studio of Mosaika Art & Design in Montréal and then shipped to Nashville.
The mosaic’s illusionistic, three-dimensional imagery was inspired by the classical drapery that is depicted in mosaics, marble sculptures, frescoes, and oil paintings throughout history.
According to Shotz:
"Justitia was the personification of justice in ancient Roman art. In this mosaic installation, the folds of her robes appear to billow around the dome’s central oculus, as if blown by the wind, and are a metaphor for the protection of justice that surrounds us and the work of the law that shapes our society.
"The mosaic material, comprising many millions of separate pieces of glass that form an overall image, is a metaphor for one of the most important concepts behind American democracy, as expressed by the Latin motto E Pluribus Unum: From Many, One."
