Mosaics in the dome of the Arian Baptistry of Ravenna (northern Italy), depicting the Apostles; late 5th/early 6th c.
E06018
Images and objects - Wall paintings and mosaics
Mosaics from the Arian Baptistery, Ravenna
Twelve apostles are depicted against a gold background on the dome of the baptistry. Their portraits are arranged like spokes on a wheel around a central roundel depicting Christ’s baptism by *John (the Baptist, S00020) in the river Jordan. A personification of the river is also depicted.
The apostles are all haloed and all apart from *Peter (S00036) and *Paul (S00008) hold a crown. Peter holds the keys and Paul books. All other apostles are depicted differently. They stand in different poses, some are bearded, some are old and some are young. Yet it is hard to identify these apostles with certainty as none of the apostles are labelled. All the apostles are turned towards a jewelled throne – which is placed between Peter and Paul – on which a cross and purple cloth are seated.
Description: Frances Trzeciak.
Cult building - dependent (chapel, baptistery, etc.)
Use of ImagesCommissioning/producing an image
Public display of an image
Source
These mosaics are still visible in the Arian Baptistry today. They have been restored - along with several other late antique mosaics from Ravenna - to reflect their late antique form.Discussion
The extent to which this baptistry and the Orthodox baptistry (E05780) – which was built around the same time – reflect the doctrinal convictions of their founders has been debated. The composition in both is remarkably similar: in both mosaics twelve apostles are depicted circling a medallion. In this medallion, Christ is baptised by John the Baptist and flanked by a personification of the River Jordan. Yet, for example, the Apostles in the Arian baptistry all face an unoccupied throne: perhaps this reflects the honour owed to God the Father – in Arian thought – above the human Christ? But it is easy to read too much into these differences: the most striking thing about the two mosaics is the similarity between the two images. Indeed, as Sam Barber has highlighted, the two mosaics would never be viewed together, but on separate occasions which could likely be months apart. It is possible that Arian or Orthodox convictions determined the composition of these two mosaics, but it is equally possible that they are – following Deborah Mauskopf Deliyannis’ argument – neutral.Bibliography
Further Reading:Barber, Sam, "Defining Difference or Connecting Spaces? Similarity and Meaning in the Arian Baptistry, Ravenna," in: M. Boulton, J. Hawkes, and H. Stoner (eds.), Place and Space in the Medieval World (New York, 2018), 149-158.
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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Arian Baptistry, Ravenna. Photo credit: Petar Milošević, 26/04/2015. License: CC BY-SA 4.0.
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Detail from Arian Baptistry, Ravenna. Photo credit: José Luiz Bernardes Ribeiro, 17/09/2016. License: CC BY-SA 4.0.
Frances Trzeciak
30/07/2018
| ID | Name | Name in Source | Identity | S00008 | Paul, the Apostle | Certain | S00020 | John the Baptist | Certain | S00036 | Peter, the Apostle | Certain | S00084 | Apostles, unnamed or name lost | 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, E06018 - http://csla.history.ox.ac.uk/record.php?recid=E06018