Lorenzo Cassio was active during the second half of the 19th century in Rome. He was one of the principal mosaicists working for the Vatican Mosaic Workshop during this period and enjoyed great acclaim for his skill and ecclectic range of subjects.
The present fine micromosaic is a copy of Guido Reni's celebrated fresco of Dawn, known as his Aurora. The fresco, datable to the first seven months of 1614, was commissioned by Cardinal Scipione Borghese for his garden loggia in the grounds of his palace on the Quirinal Hill. The colourful subject records the passage of Apollo's chariot preceded by the goddess Aurora, with the dancing Horae encircling the sun god. Reni's fresco was immensely popular and was extensively engraved and copied. Cassio has here skilfully translated the painting into the three dimensional medium of mosaic, and thus created a portable and precious work of art.