Mosaic roundels on the barrel vaults of the Cappella Arcivescovile of Ravenna (northern Italy), with portrait busts of twelve apostles and twelve martyrs (six female, six male); created 494/520.
E05950
Images and objects - Wall paintings and mosaics
Mosaic in the Capella Arcivescovile, Ravenna
Images within medallions of the head-and-shoulders of apostles and martyrs, without haloes and set against blue backgrounds. The male saints all wear a white tunic and a white cloak (himation or pallium) draped over one or both shoulders; the women wear elaborate court dress, with the single exception of Felicitas, who is shown in plain black clothing. This presumably reflects the fact that in life she was a slave; she is, however, not differentiated in this way in the roughly contemporary representations of her in Sant'Apollinare Nuovo and at Poreč.
The images are presented on the barrel vaults that constitute the four crossings of this small cruciform chapel, in a single row of six saints at the entrance to each crossing. The image of each saint is labelled, and they are as follows (here listed in each vault from bottom left to bottom right):
Northeast (Apostles)
IOHA NNIS (*John, the Apostle and Evangelist, S00042)
IACO BVS (*James, the Apostle, son of Alpaeus, S01801, or the son of Zebedee, S00108)
PAV LVS (*Paul, the Apostle, S00008)
Beardless Christ
PET RVS (*Peter the Apostle, S00036)
AND REAS (*Andrew, the Apostle, S00288)
FILIP PVS (*Philip, the Apostle, S00109)
Southeast (Male Martyrs)
CHRYS ANTHVS (*Chrysanthus, husband of Daria and martyr of Rome, S00306)
CHRYS OCONVS (*Chrysogonus, martyr of Aquileia venerated in Rome, S00911)
CASSI ANVS (*Cassianus, teacher and martyr of Imola, S00309)
(Christogram)
POLYCA RPVS (*Polycarp, bishop and martyr of Smyrna, S00004)
COS MAS (*Cosmas/Kosmas, brother of Damianos, physician martyr of Syria, S00385)
DAM IANVS (*Damianos, brother of Kosmas, physician martyr of Syria, S00385)
Southwest (Apostles)
SIMONCA NANEVS (*Simon Kananaios, the Zealot, Apostle of Christ, S00835)
TAD DAEVS (*Jude Thaddeus, Apostle, one of the Twelve, S00792)
IACO BVS (*James, the Apostle, son of Alpaeus, S01801, or the son of Zebedee, S00108)
(Beardless Christ)
THO MAS (*Thomas, the Apostle, S00199)
MAT THEVS (*Matthew, the Apostle and Evangelist, S00791)
BARTH OLOMEVS (*Bartholomew, the Apostle, S00256)
Northwest (Female Martyrs)
CECI LIA (*Caecilia, virgin and martyr of Rome, S00146)
EVGE NIA (*Eugenia, martyr of Rome, S00401)
EVFI MIA (*Euphemia, martyr of Chalcedon, S00017)
(Christogram)
DA RIA (*Daria, wife of Chrysanthus and martyr of Rome, S00306)
PERPE TVA (*Perpetua, martyr of Carthage, S00009)
FELICI TAS (*Felicitas, martyr of Carthage, S00009)
Description: Frances Trzeciak.
Cult building - dependent (chapel, baptistery, etc.)
Use of ImagesPublic display of an image
Commissioning/producing an image
Source
These mosaics adorn the vaults of the Cappella Arcivescovile, where they are still visible today, essentially in their original form. The historian Agnellus, writing in 830/846, provides an account of the chapel's foundation, which he attributed to Peter II, bishop of Ravenna (494-520), on the basis of its dedicatory inscription (now lost). See $E05772.Discussion
This is a varied selection of martyrs. It is possible they were chosen because their relics were held in the chapel. Yet it is much more likely they were simply martyrs popular in Ravenna and Italy in the early sixth century. Euphemia had become a symbol of Chalcedonian orthodoxy, while Polycarp (also from Asia Minor) was well-known from his early Martyrdom, and a major church to Cosmas and Damian was built in Rome in the 520s by Felix IV (E01361). Chrysogonus, Perpetua, Felicitas and Caecilia were all popular across Italy. Cassianus was the local saint of nearby Imola. Eugenia, Daria and Chrysanthus all have attested veneration in Rome.The male saints are varied in beard- and hair-style, the female saints less so. However, by contrast with the representations of female saints in Sant' Apollinare Nuovo (for which see E06046), two of the women are distinguished from the others: Daria, as a mature matron, does not wear the diadem in her hair borne by her more youthful companions (her husband, Chrysanthus, is similarly portrayed as mature), and Felicitas, as a slave, also has no diadem and is dressed in dowdy black.
Similar portraits of martyrs in medallions were once to be found in Santa Sabina in Rome from the 420s (Deliyannis, 194).
Bibliography
Further Reading:Deichmann, Friederich Wilhelm, Ravenna, Hauptstadt des spätantiken Abendlandes, vol. 1-3, (Wiesbaden, 1958-89).
Deliyannis, Deborah Mauskopf, Ravenna in Late Antiquity (Cambridge, 2010).
Jäggi, Carola, Ravenna: Kunst und Kultur einer spätantiken Residenzstadt; die Bauten und Mosaiken des 5. und 6. Jahrhunderts (Regensburg, 2016).
Verhoeven, Mariëtte, The Early Christian Monuments of Ravenna: Transformations and Memory (Turnhout, 2011).
Images
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Peter, Andrew, Paul and James. Cappella Arcivescovile, Ravenna. Photo credit: GFreihalter, 03/11/2015. License: CC BY-SA 3.0.
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Detail of John, Cappella Arcivescovile, Ravenna. Photo credit: Nick Thompson, 23/04/2010. License: CC BY-SA 2.0.
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Detail of Paul, Cappella Arcivescovile, Ravenna. Photo credit: Nick Thompson, 23/04/2010. License: CC BY-SA 2.0.
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Detail of Peter, Cappella Arcivescovile, Ravenna. Photo credit: Nick Thompson, 23/04/2010. License: CC BY-SA 2.0.
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Detail of Philip, Cappella Arcivescovile, Ravenna. Photo credit: Nick Thompson, 23/04/2010. License: CC BY-SA 2.0.
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Detail of Chrysanthus, Cappella Arcivescovile, Ravenna. Photo credit: Nick Thompson, 23/04/2010. License: CC BY-SA 2.0.
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Cappella arcivescovile, Ravenna. Photo credit: GFreihalter, 03/11/2015. License: CC BY-SA 3.0.
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Detail of Cosmas and Damian, Cappella Arcivescovile, Ravenna. Photo credit: Nick Thompson, 23/04/2010. License: CC BY-SA 2.0.
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James, Jude Thaddeus, Simon Canneus, Cappella Arcivescovile, Ravenna. Photo credit: Nick Thompson, 23/04/2010. License: CC BY-SA 2.0.
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Thomas, Matthew, Bartholomew, Cappella Arcivescovile, Ravenna. Photo credit: Nick Thompson, 23/04/2010. License: CC BY-SA 2.0.
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Cappella arcivescovile, Ravenna. Photo credit: GFreihalter, 03/11/2015. License: CC BY-SA 3.0.
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Cappella arcivescovile, Ravenna. Photo credit: GFreihalter, 03/11/2015. License: CC BY-SA 3.0.
Frances Trzeciak
30/07/2018
| ID | Name | Name in Source | Identity | S00004 | Polykarpos/Polycarp, bishop and martyr of Smyrna, and his companion martyrs | [Polyca]rpvs | Certain | S00008 | Paul, the Apostle | Pavlvs | Certain | S00009 | Perpetua, Felicitas and their companions, martyrs of Carthage | Perpetva, Felicitas | Certain | S00017 | Euphemia, martyr of Chalcedon | Evfemia | Certain | S00036 | Peter, the Apostle | Petrvs | Certain | S00042 | John, the Apostle and Evangelist | Iohannis | Certain | S00108 | James, the Apostle, son of Zebedee | Iacobvs | Certain | S00109 | Philip, the Apostle | Filippvs | Certain | S00146 | Caecilia, virgin and martyr of Rome | Caecilia | Certain | S00199 | Thomas, the Apostle | Thomas | Certain | S00256 | Bartholomew, the Apostle | Bartholemevs | Certain | S00288 | Andrew, the Apostle | Andreas | Certain | S00306 | Chrysanthus and Daria, chaste couple and martyrs of Rome, and companion martyrs | Chrysanthvs, Daria | Certain | S00385 | Kosmas and Damianos, brothers, physician martyrs of Syria | [Cos]mas, Damianvs | Certain | S00401 | Eugenia, virgin and martyr of Rome, buried on the via Latina, and companions | Eugenia | Certain | S00791 | Matthew, Apostle and Evangelist | Matthevs | Certain | S00792 | Jude Thaddaeus, Apostle, one of the Twelve | Taddaevs | Certain | S00835 | Simon Kananaios, the Zealot, apostle of Christ | Simon Cananevs | Certain | S00911 | Chrysogonus, martyr of Aquileia, venerated in Rome | Chrisoconvs | Certain | S01801 | James, the Apostle, son of Alphaeus | Iacobvs | Certain |
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Please quote this record referring to its author, database name, number, and, if possible, stable URL:
Frances Trzeciak, Cult of Saints, E05950 - http://csla.history.ox.ac.uk/record.php?recid=E05950