S. Paolo fuori le Mura has mosaics on the tribune arch and apse, as well as elsewhere, but those on the triumphal arch alone date from our period. So also the mosaics in the apse of S. Maria Maggiore are later than the date set for our limit. S. Prassede is the only church presenting mosaics of this period on triumphal arch, tribune arch, and apse, and possesses also the highly decorated chapel of S. Zenone. From the above classification it will be seen that the existing Roman mosaics of this period of church mosaic decoration are nearly all in that part of the church toward which the eyes of the congregation would be directed at all great ceremonies; that is, the triumphal and tribune arches and the apse. In one church only, S. Maria Maggiore, have the mosaics on the walls of the nave been preserved. Façade and wall mosaics have, naturally enough, suffered more from time and the rebuilder than those of the apse and interior arches. Chapel mosaic decorations have generally disappeared with the building of newer chapels and the "systematization" of interior and exterior. Some of the smaller churches in all probability had mosaic pictures only on the tribune wall and apse.1 A description of the various mosaic pictures will enable us to classify the subjects depicted in them. I follow the order of the classification given before. 1. S. Pietro in Vincoli.2 The only altar-piece of mosaic from our period is the figure of S. Stefano over the second altar from the entrance door in the left aisle of S. Pietro in Vincoli. The saint is represented about half of life size, and, contrary to the traditions of the painters, as an old and bearded man. The work is dated 680 A.D. and formed part of a votive altar erected in the nave of the church after the disastrous plague of that year. It was removed to its present position in 1576. 1 S. Agnese, for instance. Cf. the notices in the Liber pontificalis under Symmachus (ed. Mommsen, 1898, p. 123), and especially Honorius (ibid. p. 174), who fecit absida eiusdem basilicae ex musibo. 2 Cf. De Rossi, op. cit. tav. xx; Garrucci, Storia dell' arte cristiana, IV, tav. 275. 2. S. Sabina.1 (Fig. 1.) The only mosaic now preserved to us of the original decorations of this church is found on the interior of the rear wall over the famous carved doors of cypress wood. It dates, in all likelihood, from the time of the erection of the church, 425-432 A.D. (De Rossi). The main part of the mosaic is a metrical FIGURE 1. MOSAIC IN THE CHURCH OF S. SABINA, ROME. inscription of seven lines in large letters of gold on a dark blue background. The inscription reads as follows: CVLMEN APOSTOLICVM CVM CAELESTINVS HABERET At either end of the inscription are two full-length female figures, each holding an open book in the left hand and pointing to its pages with the right. Beneath the one on the left is the inscription ECLESIA EX CIRCVMCISIONE, and beneath the other, ECLESIA EX GENTIBVS. It should be noted that these 1 Cf. De Rossi, op. cit. tav. xii; Garrucci, op. cit. IV, tav. 210. figures are at either end of the inscription and subsidiary to it in the eyes of the designer, just as later the same idea of the double origin of the church is expressed by the two cities, Jerusalem and Bethlehem, which invariably occupy a position at the ends of a mosaic. The workmanship of this mosaic is remarkably good. Ciampini (Vet. Monum. I, tab. xlvii) gives, in addition, a design extant in his time, (1690), all trace of which has now vanished. It is De Rossi's opinion that these lost mosaics belonged to the ninth century restoration of the church. It is very unfortunate that the other mosaics of this early and once highly decorated church have been lost. 3. S. Maria Maggiore.1 The walls of the nave and the triumphal arch of this basilica contain mosaics of a date at least as early as the renovation of the church by Pope Sixtus III in 432 A.D. The apse mosaic dates from the thirteenth and the façade mosaic from the twelfth century. If the nave mosaics do not belong to the time of Liberius, founder of the basilica, they are supposed to be imitations of those he caused to be made in 355 A.D. Marked differences in style and execution, as well as architectural considerations, have been urged as a reason for assigning to the mosaics of the nave an earlier date than that known for those of the arch, 432-440 A.D. The walls of the nave, above the architraves, are divided into a series of panels once decorated with mosaics. Only twentyseven of these panels now have mosaics, twelve on the left and fifteen on the right side. Six panels have been destroyed by the building of the Borghese and Sixtine Chapels, and others are filled with modern paintings designed to imitate mosaics. On the left side, beginning at the high altar, we have scenes from the life of Abraham, Isaac, Jacob, and Esau. Eight of the twelve panels have two scenes, an upper and a lower, making twenty in all. The first three panels are occupied with 1 Cf. De Rossi, op. cit. tav. vi-viii; Garrucci, op. cit. IV, tav. 215–222. Abraham's return from his victory over the three kings (Gen. xiv), his parting from Lot, and the visit of the three angels. The next panel containing a mosaic picture represents Isaac blessing Jacob. Five panels tell the fortunes of Jacob during his stay with Laban. The tenth gives the meeting of Jacob and Esau, while the eleventh and twelfth show the purchase of the land at Salem and the scenes resulting from the rape of Dinah. The panels on the right side begin with two picturing the presentation of Moses to Pharaoh's daughter, his training, marriage, and occupation as a shepherd. The three following are gone, but a codex in the Biblioteca Barberini1 gives the designs. They represent Moses' return to Egypt, his demand before Pharaoh for the release of the Israelites, the command to prepare the Paschal lamb and the orders to depart, and the injunction to celebrate the Passover ever after. The sixth, one of the best, represents the passage of the Red Sea; the seventh, the promise of flesh and the coming of the quails; the eighth, Moses drawing water from the rock; in the lower panel, the meeting with the Amalekites; the ninth, the battle with the Amalekites; the tenth, the return of the spies; the eleventh, Moses presenting the Book of Deuteronomy to the Levites; below, the march to the Jordan; while the twelfth gives the passage of the river and the departure of the spies for Jericho; the thirteenth and fourteenth are concerned with the capture of Jericho; while the rest give incidents of Joshua's warfare against Ai and the Amorites. The interpretation of these scenes is not always clear.2 Fifteen of the panels of this side, including those supplied from the Barberini codex, have two divisions. 4. S. Maria Maggiore: TRIUMPHAL ARCH.3 At the summit of this arch stands the inscription XYSTVS EPISCOPVS PLEBI DEI. It is the work of Pope Sixtus III, who 1 Now transferred to the Vatican. 2 I follow that given by Garrucci, op. cit. IV, pp. 17-30. 3 Cf. De Rossi, op. cit. tav. v; Garrucci, op. cit. IV, tav. 211-214. renewed the whole basilica in memory of the famous decision of the Council of. Ephesus in 431. The scenes in the arch lie in four zones or fields, of which the upper one only extends completely across the top of the arch. In the centre of this upper zone is a richly ornamented throne on which stands a jewelled cross with a crown at its foot resting on a black cloth. The whole is surrounded by an aureole. The interpretation of the black cloth has been much disputed. It probably signifies death, while the superimposed cross and crown express triumph over death (De Rossi). At either side of the aureole stand SS. Peter and Paul, and above are the four symbols of the evangelists in the following order from left to right,1 Luke, Matthew, Mark, John. In the same zone at the spectator's left, is depicted the Annunciation, in which Gabriel is accompanied by four other angels, and Zacharias stands before the temple. At the right is figured the meeting of Joseph, Mary, and the infant Jesus with Anna and Simeon before the temple. Originally there was another scene at the right, of which one angel only remains. In the second zone at the. left we have the Visit of the Magi. Jesus is represented seated on a throne, with the Virgin and another female figure seated at either side. At the right is a scene which is variously interpreted either as the dispute with the doctors and the meeting of the parents and son (Garrucci), or as the reception of the holy family in Egypt as described in the apocryphal gospel of Matthew (Konkadoff, De Waal, De Rossi, Kraus). The third zone gives on the left Herod commanding the slaughter of the Innocents and on the right his reception of the Magi; while beneath in the fourth zone are seen the two cities, Jerusalem at the left, and Bethlehem at the right. Originally there were six sheep, representing the faithful flock, under each of these cities. Five are still to be seen on the left side, but none remain on the right. 1 In this paper the terms right and left are always used of objects at the right or left of the spectator. |