The Art of Ravenna in Late Antiquity

Author(s): Stuart Cristo

Source: The Classical Journal, Vol. 70, No. 3 (Feb. - Mar., 1975), pp. 17-29
Published by: Classical Association of the Middle West and South, Inc. (CAMWS)
Stable URL: http://www.jstor.org/stable/3296444
Accessed: 01-01-2016 01:34 UTC

Your use of the JSTOR archive indicates your acceptance of the Terms & Conditions of Use, available at http://www.jstor.org/page/
info/about/policies/terms.jsp
JSTOR is a not-for-profit service that helps scholars, researchers, and students discover, use, and build upon a wide range of content
in a trusted digital archive. We use information technology and tools to increase productivity and facilitate new forms of scholarship.
For more information about JSTOR, please contact support@jstor.org.

Classical Association of the Middle West and South, Inc. (CAMWS) is collaborating with JSTOR to digitize, preserve and
extend access to The Classical Journal.

http://www.jstor.org

This content downloaded from 142.150.190.39 on Fri, 01 Jan 2016 01:34:41 UTC
All use subject to JSTOR Terms and Conditions

THE ART OF RAVENNA IN LATE ANTIQUITY

The invasionof Alaric and the sack of Rome in A.D. 410 was to the
ancientworld a calamityof cosmic significance,fulfilmentof the forebodings that give the art and literatureof late antiquitytheir somber
quality. St. Augustine'sCity of God, writtenshortlyafter the fall of the
city, was designedto reassurethe moraleof Mediterranean
Christianity,
shaken by this visitation of the wrath of God. Honorius Augustus,
worthlessson and successorof the greatTheodosius,took his frightened
person and the shatteredremnantsof imperialdignity into refuge at
Ravenna,behindthe bulwarkof its marshesand withinreach of escape
throughits seaportof Classis. The role of Rome as politicalcenter of
the WesternEmpire was definitelyclosed by the catastropheof 410,
howevermuch its prestigeas focus of Latin Christendomwas thereby
eventuallyincreased.
The recedingwave of Visigothic invasion, as the raiderspassed on
into southernGaul and Spain to found there their surprisinglycivilized
state, left behind it definiteconfirmationof the shift of political and
culturalgravityto the north. This began in the fourthcenturywith the
location of the de facto Westerncapitalat Milan and its transferencein
the fifth to Ravenna. Anotheraspectof it was the widespreadinfluence
of the MilaneseChurchand liturgyand still anotherthe Gallic renaissanceof Latinliteraturemarkedby suchnamesas Ausoniusand Sidonius
Apollinaris. The troublesof Italy during the rest of the fifth century
enhancedratherthan diminishedthe importanceof Ravenna,and it was
the fall of that city to Theodoricin 493 which closed the career of
Odoacerand markedthe real end of the WesternEmpire.
Capitalof the OstrogothicKingdom,Ravennaremainedthe residence
of the exarchwho representedimperialpower in Italy after the Byzantine reconquest,and lost its importancecommerciallyonly by the gradual
silting-upof its harborof Classis,and politicallyonly with the donation
of the Adriaticmarchesto the Holy See by Pepin in the middle of the
eighth century. Ravennain the fifth centurywas thus at once an emporium of Orientaltrade like Marseillesin Gaul and, in its role of
capital city, the dispenserof artistic fashion. By way of its eastern
trade and throughthe Syrianclergy, who formed so remarkablylarge
an elementin its ecclesiasticalpolity,1came the Greco-Asiaticnotions
1Agnellus in his history of the bishops of Ravenna tells us that up to and including Peter I (396-425), they were all of Syrian origin. Cf. Agnellus, Liber
Pontificalis, ed. J. P. Migne, Patrologiae cursus completus, series latina, CVI, p.
513. The well-known passage in a letter of Sidonius Apollinaris concerning Ravenna (faeneranturclerici, Syri psallunt: "Clericspractice usury and Syrians sing
the psalms") is not to be taken too seriously in view of the banter of which the
letter is composed. Cf. Sidonius Apollinaris, Epistulae, ed. W. B. Anderson,

17

This content downloaded from 142.150.190.39 on Fri, 01 Jan 2016 01:34:41 UTC
All use subject to JSTOR Terms and Conditions

18

STUART
CRISTO

whichwere so effectivein regeneratingthe Latin style of northernItaly

and Gaul.2 The brevityof its careeras an imperialcity and commercial
centerand the unusualpreservationof the monumentswhichit acquired
duringits leadingrole on the stageof historymakeit a veritablemuseum
of the art of late antiquity,an early medievalPompeii.
Its series of mosaicsmay open with the cupola of the baptistery(S.
Giovanniin Fonte), decoratedby the bishopNeon in the middleof the
fifth century,and displayingthe Baptismof Jesus in the centraltondo,
aroundwhich march the twelve Apostles in procession,led by Peter
and Paul. In the thirdand lowest zone, the Asiatic schemeof an architecturalfriezeis adopted,as at St. Georgeof Salonica,but with symbolic
intent: the four gospels are picturedas four books, each inscribedwith
four episcopalthronesas the significantmotifs of the frieze. Altar and
cathedraconvey the conceptof the inspiredgovernmentof the Church,
since the bishop'schair as the seat of the Holy Spiritis no strangerto
early Christianimagery,and only a variantof the more esotericnotion
of the Throneof God embodiedin the well-knowntype of the Etimasia.'
The firstappearanceof this profoundlysignificanttype is upon the arch
of S. Maria Maggioreat Rome, where a cross is set upon the throne,
which is surroundedby the figures of Peter and Paul and the four
Evangelisticsymbols; in a lunettemosaic of S. Priscoin CapuaVetere,
also of the fifth century,the throneis flankedby the Dove of the Holy
Spirit. In both these last two examplesthe book of seven seals lies on
the throne, thus indicating,togetherwith the beasts, the apocalyptic
sourceof the symbol: it is the "throneset in heaven"of the fourthchapter of Revelation.'
Restorationhas substituteda cross for the pedum (the shepherd's
crook) held by the Baptistin the Baptismof Ravennamosaic, and is
probablyalso responsiblefor the beardedJesus; in the original state
the scene was a developed form of the baptisms of the Italo-Gallic
sarcophagiand ivories, adding the oriental features of the river-god.
The mosaicconformedto this type in the detailsof the exomisor sleeveless tunicwornby John, and the pedumhe carried.5We can restorethe
originalappearanceby an apparentreplicaof this tondo in its original
state which decoratesthe centerof the Arian Baptistery'scupola of the
time of Theodoric,whereinthe Baptist'sexomis is renderedas made of
skins, the Savior is beardless,and John carries the pedum. Here the
symbolicalternationof altarand cathedrais omitted,the sense of it beSidonius: Poems and Letters (Cambridge, Mass., 1936), p. 380. Cf. also L.
Br6hier, "Les colonies d'orientaux en Occident," Byzantinische Zeitschrift 12
(1903), 9 ff.
2W. Volbach and M. Hirmer, Early ChristianArt (New York, 1961), p. 27.
3S. Kostof, Orthodox Baptistry of Ravenna (New Haven and London, 1965),
p. 33.
4Ibid.,pp. 34-35.
50. Demus, Byzantine Mosaic Decoration (London, 1941), pp. 69-70. Cf.
Kostof, p. 36.

This content downloaded from 142.150.190.39 on Fri, 01 Jan 2016 01:34:41 UTC
All use subject to JSTOR Terms and Conditions

THE ART OF RAVENNA

IN LATEANTIQUITY

19

ing concentratedin the thronesurmountedby a cross (as in S. Maria

Maggiore) towardwhich the two files of six Apostles direct their steps
and offer their wreaths. The acanthuscandelabrawhich separatethe
figuresin S. Giovanniin Fonte are here replacedby palm trees, bringing
the whole compositioninto similaritywith the same scene on the Pola
casket, and indicatingagain the connectionof Ravennateart with the
Italo-Gallicschool."
Such compositions, especially the mystic association of altar and
cathedrain the lower zone of the Orthodoxcupola, reflecta period of
fairlyfree symbolismduringa time when Christiandogmawas still very
much in debate, and before its tenets had reacheda fixed and unalterable embodimentin art. The fluid state of theologicalthinkingexplains
the difficultyone encountersin attemptingan explanationof the arch
of S. MariaMaggiore,and the curiousmodificationswhichwere wrought
in the Septuaginttraditionby the mosaicsof its nave.7 It is to such untrammeledinventionthat we owe the loveliest of the Ravennamosaics
which decoratethe little cruciformstructureknown as the Mausoleum
of Galla Placidia (c. 450), an accessory originallyof the basilica of
S. Croce whose remains are seen beside it, and probablymeant as a
burialchamberfor membersof the imperialfamily. The vaults of the
east and west armsof the cross, with theirpatternof rosettesand stars,
are perhapsthe firstmosaicsof the Westto seek the effectof a tapestried
wall." The other tunnel vaults retain the currentfashion of acanthus
scrolls, while the pendentivevault in the center suggestsheaven with a
blue field dotted with stars and containingthe four Evangelist-symbols
surroundinga centralcross. The lunettesof the centralvault have each
a pair of apostles flankingthe four windows, below which is the old
Hellenisticmotif of a pair of doves beside a vase or drinkingfrom it,
the whole compositioncrownedby a conch of Latin form, terminating
in the eagle's head which is a frequentembellishmentof such conches
on the Gallic columnarsarcophagi.'The lunetteterminatingthe eastern
arm containingthe martyrdomof St. Lawrenceis identifiedonly by the
flaminggridironset below the window,for no specificrenderingof the
episode is attempted."'A bookcase in which we see the four gospels
6Demus, p. 72. Cf. D. T. Rice, The Art of Byzantium (New York, 1959), p 28.

7Kostof,p. 38.

8Ibid.,p. 39.
"The remaining apostles decorate the lateral vaults, above lunettes showing
stags approachinga fountain. Cf. Kostof, p. 40.
1'The most scholarly treatmentsof this mosaic are by W Seston, "Le Jugement
Dernier au Mausol6e de Galla Placidia 'a Ravenne," Cahiers Arche'ologiquesI
(1945), 37 ff; and P. Courcelle, "Le Gril de Saint-Laurentau Mausolhe de Galla
Placidia," Cahiers ArchdologiquesIII (1948), 28 ff. The first article endeavors
to prove that "Saint Lawrence" is Jesus in his Second Coming, the grille being
the "altar of Holocaust" of Exodus XXVI on which on the Last Day the unregenerate will be consumed. This thesis, partly based on an assumption of a
fourth century date for the silver casket of S. Nazaro in Milan (which is much
more likely of the sixteenth century; cf. Demus, p. 73, and Kostof, p. 41.) is

This content downloaded from 142.150.190.39 on Fri, 01 Jan 2016 01:34:41 UTC
All use subject to JSTOR Terms and Conditions

20

STUARTCRISTO

duly inscribedpresentsthe source of the martyr'sinspiration,and the

saint himself marchestriumphantlytoward his martyrdom,bearing a
cross and holdingthe open book of Scripturein his hand. To enliven
his motion,his palliumis floatingout in long lateralsashes which produce a symmetricalmistranslationof the Hellenisticflying fold-a feature characteristicof Ravennateart in the fifth century. It is especially
markedin the figuresof prophetsand apostleswho stand in the sixteen
niches of the OrthodoxBaptisteryas part of the peculiardecorationin
stucco relief which decoratesthe window-zoneof this building."1Opposite this originalrenderingof a martyrdom,over the entrancedoor,
is the famous Good Shepherd,seated in the remnantsof a Latin landscape amidhis flock but dressedin patricianrobes, nimbed,and holding
aloft a cross.One needonly comparethisfigurewiththe Good Shepherds
of the catacombsor the well-knownstatuettesof the same theme, to
measure the Christianshift from Hellenistic naturalism,wherein the
of
allegorynevertranscendsthe physical,to an arbitraryrearrangement
naturein the interestof transcendentaltruth.12
The compositionof the centralvault finds somewhatof a parallelin
the ceiling of the vestibuleof the chapel in the archiepiscopalpalace at
Ravenna, executed in the early years of the sixth century. Here the
place of the centralcross is taken by the peculiarform of the monogram *, which was a Greek importmet with on the Ravennatesarcophagi."3It is inclosedwithina medallionsurroundedby the four Beasts,
and upheldby four angelswhose figuresrise from the cornersand reproduce the Victories that supportedthe portraitsof the deceased in
the undertombof Palmyra--even to the globes on which they stood
previousto restoration.The archesbearingthe vault have their soffits
decoratedalso with mosaic: on two sides the apex of the arch contains
a medallionportraitof a beardlessJesus with long hair falling on his
shoulders--the Asia Minor portraitreproducedin the frontispieceof
Morey'sEarlyChristianArt here assumesthe formthat was lateradopted by the miniaturistsof earlyCarolingianillumination."'On eitherside
refuted by Courcelle who brings new textual evidence in support of the grille as
the instrumentof Lawrence'smartyrdom and the traditional interpretationof the
mosaic.
"A. Colasanti,L'Art byzantin en Italie I (Paris, 1926), pls. II and V; L. W.
Jones and C. R. Morey, The Miniaturesof the Manuscriptsof Terence II (Princeton, 1932), p. 116. The most satisfactory publication and reproduction of the
mosaics of Ravenna are to be found in the text and plates of C. Ricci, Monumenti:
Tavole storiche dei mosaici di Ravenna (Rome, 1930). A somewhat more convenient collection of plates is that in G. Galassi, Roma o Bisanzio (Rome, 1930).
12Forthe type of the Good Shepherd, cf. R. Dussaud, Revue archdologique70
(1903), 378.
13Rice,p. 39.
'4C. R. Morey, Early Christian Art, 2nd ed. (Princeton, 1935), p. 159. For
Carolingian examples, cf. A. Boinet, La miniature carolingienne (Paris, 1913),
pls. IV, XVI.

This content downloaded from 142.150.190.39 on Fri, 01 Jan 2016 01:34:41 UTC
All use subject to JSTOR Terms and Conditions

THEARTOFRAVENNA
INLATEANTIQUITY

21

of this medallionare groupedthe similarlyframedbusts of six apostles,

the arrangementbeing quite identicalto that of the medallionfrieze on
the Brescia casket. The Jesus-medallionis replacedon the other two
soffitsby the same monogramwhich decoratesthe center of the vault,
and this is flankedby a series of busts of male martyrdomon one side,
and female saints on the other, some of the latter closely resemblingin
featuresand dressthe renderingsof the Virginandof Pharaoh'sdaughter
in the mosaics of S. Maria Maggiore. The originalityof Ravennate
iconographyof the period is manifestin the mosaic decoratinga wall
of the smallrearroom; only the upperhalf is left, showingJesusdressed
imperiallyin a purple chlamys and bearinga cross over his shoulder,
while he holds in his left hand an open book inscribedwith the Latin
wordsof John XIV:6: "I am the Way, the Truth,and the Life.""
The earliestexistingcycle of the life of Jesusin Christianart in sculpture is met upon the ciboriumcolumnsof St. Mark's." In painting,our
firstexistingseriesthatcan claimcompletenessis the sequenceof mosaics
above the nave windows of S. Apollinare Nuovo in Ravenna, built
duringTheodoric'sreign (493-526) and dedicatedin 504 to St. Martin.7"
The bishop Agneilus (553-566) transferredthe church from Arian to
Orthodoxuse, but it receivedits dedicationto St. Apollinarisonly in
856, when Muslimraids inducedthe transferof the relics of Ravenna's
apostle from the church in the port of Classis.8 There are thirteen
panels on each side. On the left side Jesus is beardlessand wears a
crossed nimbus; he is always, like an emperor,accompaniedby an
attendantin the personof a disciple. His eyes are blue, the hair brown;
throughoutthe series the nimbusis gray with a gold cross, in each arm
of which a gem is set. Both cross and nimbusare outlinedin red. His
costumeis alwaysa violet tunicandpurplepallium; the tunichas golden
stripes (clavi), and the palliumis decoratedwith "letters."The sandals
are black. The attendantdisciplehas a darkblue graytunicwith a dark
p. 42.
15Kostof,

"eMorey,p. 105.
rTrhe mosaics of S. Apollinare Nuovo are conveniently illustrated in halftone
reproductions in C. Ricci, Ravenna (Bergamo, 1913), figs. 54-82; Galassi, pls.
XXII-LXI; and large plates in fasc. IV of Ricci's corpus of the Ravennate mosaics,
Monumenti: Tavole storiche dei mosaici di Ravenna. The dependence of the
selection of episodes from the life of Jesus on the Ravennate liturgy, and the relation of both to Syria, were suggested by A. Baumstark, "I mosaici di Sant'
Apollinare Nuovo e l'antico anno liturgico ravennate," Rassegna Gregoriana 9
(1910), 32 ff. Concerning the dedication of S. Apollinare Nuovo to St. Martin,
cf. Cassiodorius, Variae, ed. T. Mommsen, Monumenta Germaniae Historica
Auctores Antiquissimi XI, Var. XXXIV, 242-243.
18O.Dalton, Byzantine Art and Archaeology (Oxford, 1911), pp. 69-70; Demus,
p. 74. Concerning the transference of the church of S. Apollinare Nuovo from
Arian to Orthodox use, cf. Agnellus, Liber Pontificalis in Migne, CVI, p. 559.
Concerning its dedication to St. Apollinaris in 856, cf. "Life of Benedict III,"
Liber Pontificalis, ed. L. Duchesne (Paris, 1886), II, 578, note 3, for the importance and significance of papal participation in the event.

This content downloaded from 142.150.190.39 on Fri, 01 Jan 2016 01:34:41 UTC
All use subject to JSTOR Terms and Conditions

22

STUART
CRISTO

clavus, and a white pallium, and wears dark sandals.'9 In the second
series on the opposite wall, illustratingthe voluminous lessons of
Maundy Thursday,Good Friday, and Easter, the cross-nimbedJesus
is bearded,with blond hair, and the compositionsare fuller.
Between the scenes are decorativepanels containingconch shells of
yellow edged with white and terminatingin a bird'shead like the conch
shells on Gallic columnarsarcophagiand the conches of the mosaics
of Galla Placidia'sMausoleum. From the bird'sbeak hang two ropes
of pearls supportinga corona. Above the shell is a small white cross
flankedby white doves. Between the windows stand, on green foreshortenedpedestalsand againsta golden background,thirty-twofigures
in blue whitetunicswithpurpleclavi andwhitepallia. Overthe windows
is the familiarHellenisticmotif of birds flankinga vase, like those of
the Mausoleumof Galla Placidia.20
The above reviewof the iconographyof the Life of Jesusin S. ApollinareNuovo has made clear the dual characterof Ravennateart of the
end of the fifth and the beginningof the sixth century,a dualismwell
symbolizedby the use of both the bearded (Syrian) type of Jesus and
the beardlessheardwithlong hairbunchedon the napeof the neck or the
shoulders,which had been introducedfrom Asia Minor into Italy to
supplantthe short haired head of the catacombsin the course of the
fourth century.2"Latin still is the retentionof the two fishes of the
Multiplicationin the Last Supper,and the gabledaediculain the Raising
of Lazarus; to the currenticonographyof the Italo-Gallicschool we
may ascribethe placingof the incredulousThomas on Jesus'sleft, and
the cock on a column of Peter's Denial, as well as the renderingof
Jesus before Pilate in a composition found elsewhere only on the
columnarsarcophagi.22But Asiatic are the Healingof the Paralyticof
Capernaum;the wellheadof the RabulaGospelsthat appearsin Jesus'
meetingwith the Womanof Samaria;the Two Marysat the Sepulchre;
and aboveall the identityof the Last Supperwiththat of the Ressanensis.
The easterninfluenceis equallyevidentin style; the faces, round-eyed
and staring,having nearly forsakenthe Hellenisticthree-quartersview
to assume frontality; the antique allegory which still survives in the
Good Shepherdof Placidia'stomb is replacedby a direct and primitive
symbolismthat makesJesus distinctlylargerthan the other figures; the
landscapeof the earliersettingshas given way to Neo-Attic neutrality.23
Many as are the survivalsof the Latin art of Italy in these mosaics,they
reflectthe art of the ChristianOrientsufficientlyto serve as substitute

19Demus,p. 75; Kostof, p. 44. Cf. A. Grabar, Byzantine Painting (New York,
1953), p. 86.
20Demus,pp. 75-76; Grabar,p. 87; Kostof, pp. 44-45.
21Rice,p. 53.
22Grabar,p. 89. Cf. Dalton, pp. 72-73; Demus, p. 77.
23Demus,pp. 77-78; Grabar,p. 90. Cf. Kostof, p. 46.

This content downloaded from 142.150.190.39 on Fri, 01 Jan 2016 01:34:41 UTC
All use subject to JSTOR Terms and Conditions

THEARTOFRAVENNA
IN LATEANTIQUITY

23

for the lost mosaicsand frescoesthat once adorned,in the fifth and
sixthcenturies,the churchesof the East.
witha proThelowestzoneof thesouthwallof thenaveis decorated
cessionof twenty-sixmale saints,led by St. Martinfromthe city of
Ravennato Jesusenthroned
betweentwo pairsof angelsat the eastern
transend of the frieze. In this mosaicrestorationhas considerably
formedthe angels,especiallythoseat Jesus'left, andsubstituted
a torch
(?) foranoriginalbookheldin hishand.24Hisbeardedfigurerepresents
the definitiveintegration
of the Asiaticconceptionof the Savior,hereafterthe prevailingrenderingin Italy. On the otherside of the nave
twenty-twofemalesaintsadvancefrom Ravenna'sport of Classisin
a procession
headedby theMagitowardtheVirgin,frontallyenthroned
withan equallyhieraticChilduponherlap,flankedby attendant
angels
as is her Son on the oppositewall. The Magiare original,but much
restored,and the angelsto Mary'srighthave been retouched.The
frontalpostureof Maryis a featureof Asiaticepiphanies,
butit is notean
worthythat despiteher regalaspect,she is not as yet sufficiently
isolatedobjectof venerationto do withoutthe Adorationof the Magi
as the motivation
of herpresence.25
Thefactthatthe GallicSt. Martinleadsthemaleprocession,andthe
of thechurchto him,maybe addedto the datathat
originaldedication
showthe close connectionof Gauland northernItalyin the fifthand
sixthcenturies.The restof the saintsare mostlywesternmartyrs,and
only five are directlyconnectedwith Ravenna.All save St. Martin
(whosefigureis a restoration)and St. Lawrence,who occupiesthe
fourthplace,arein white.26
The representation
of Ravennafromwhichthe processionstartsrevealsthe dateof the frieze. The facadeof Theodoric's
palaceadjoining
the city gate occupiesthe foreground;behindit we see five buildings
the churchof S. Apollinareitself,and
amongwhichcan be recognized
the ArianBaptistery; the othersare uncertain.The tympanum
of the
the Beastsas in the stucco
gatewaycontainsa figureof Jesustrampling
reliefof the OrthodoxBaptisteryand in a frequenttype on the terracottalampsof "African"
type.27Hereandthereon the columnsof the
of
the
we
can
stillmakeout a handor an arm,remnants
portico
palace
of thefiguresof Theodoricandhis court,oncefillingthe intercolumniationsbutlaterremovedandreplacedby existingcurtains.Thischange
is explainedby the LiberPontificalis
of Ravennacompiledby Agnellus
in theninthcentury:

24Demus,p. 79.
25G.Bovini, Ravenna Mosaics, transl. G. Scaglia (Greenwich, Conn., 1956), pp.
104-105.
26Ibid.,105.
27Ibid.,106; Demus, p. 79; Kostof, pp. 47-48.

This content downloaded from 142.150.190.39 on Fri, 01 Jan 2016 01:34:41 UTC
All use subject to JSTOR Terms and Conditions

24

STUARTCRISTO

Igitur reconciliavitbeatissimus Agnellus pontifex intra hanc

urbem ecclesiamsancti Martiniconfessoris,quam Theodoricus
rex fundavit,quae vocaturCaelumaureum,tribunalet utrasque
parietesde imaginibusmartirumvirginumqueincedentiumtesselis decoravit.28
From this it transpiresthat the odd relationof the saints to the city is
not original,and that while Ravennaand Classis (togetherwith Jesus,
the Virgin, and their attendantangels) formed part of the original
decorationunderTheodoric,the saints (and Magi) were put in by the
RavennatebishopAgnellusin the middleof the sixth century.29
The date is important. One can supposefrom the mannerin which
the nave of S. MariaMaggiorewas decoratedin the firsthalf of the fifth
century,and from the paneledLife of Jesus of the end of the century
which still remainsof Theodoric'smosaics here, that the lowest zone
originallywas dividedinto panels. This is naturallate antiquetreatment
of a long oblong areawhile Hellenistictaste was still predominant,since
it providedthe meansof makingthe separatescenes into axial compositions.30Here howeverthe space is filled by the long files of undifferentiatedfigurescarryingthe eye forwardby theirslightlyswayingstance,
but retardingit as well by the staring frontalityof their gaze. The
principleof compositionis new to the West and is oriental,its unity
achievedby the repetitionof identical accents at regularintervals as
of the latermosaicsof Antioch. Thus has the East
in the carpet-patterns
establishedin the LatinOccidentnot only its preferencesin iconography
and detailsof style, but its fundamentalmode of compositionas well.3'
A predecessorof the bishop Agnellus who provided S. Apollinare
Nuovo with its two beautifulfriezes was Ecclesius, who governedthe
RavennateChurch a generationearlier. Ecclesius, returningc. 525
from an embassyto Constantinople,broughtinto Italy the Asiatic rival
of the Latin basilica, the church of central plan, stemmingfrom the
famous Domus Aurea, the octagonaltemple erectedby Constantineat
Antioch.32The octagonof S. Vitale which he commencedwas finished
by his successorMaximianusin 547, and its decorationsmay therefore
be dated at least in part afterthe Byzantinereconquestof Ravennain
539.33In the apsidalmosaic,however,the founderof the churchappears
with the patron St. Vitalis, and offers to Jesus a model of the new
church, while St. Vitalis approacheson the other side to receive the
crownextendedby the Savior. Jesus is depictedaccordingto the Latin
28Agnellus,p. 571.
29Ibid.,p. 571. Cf. Bovini, p. 107.
SoBovini,pp. 107-108.
31Bovini,p. 108; Demus, p. 81.
32Rice,p. 60.
33Ibid.,p. 61. A convenient set of reproductions of the mosaics of S. Vitale
may be found in S. Muratori, I Mosaici ravennati della Chiesa di S. Vitale
(Bergamo, 1945).

This content downloaded from 142.150.190.39 on Fri, 01 Jan 2016 01:34:41 UTC
All use subject to JSTOR Terms and Conditions

THEART OFRAVENNA
IN LATEANTIQUITY

25

formulaas beardlessand with shorthair, and sits upon the Latin globe.
This rests on a rocky ground-strip,from which flow, beneaththe globethrone of Jesus, the Four Rivers of Paradise. In the spandrelsabove
are the Latin symbolsof the cities of Jerusalemand Bethlehem,devoid
howeverof theirlambs. In the vault of the choir four angelson globes
supporta centralgarlandencirclingthe Lamb, repeatingthe scheme of
the chapelof the archbishop'spalace, but the field about them is filled
with rich acanthusscrolls after a mannerthat had been customaryin
Italy since the fourth century.34The motif is here developed in an
Asiatic sense by animatingthe rinceauxwith the varied menagerieof
beasts and birds that populatethe vine-rinceauxof the Antioch pavements. The apostles whose busts in medallionsflanked the head of
Jesus on the soffits of the arches in the archbishop's chapel, reappear

(but with the Saviorbearded) on the soffit of the entrancearch of the

choir, togetherwith the busts of SS. Gervasiusand Protasius,the sons
of St. Vitalis. These two were the saints especiallyhonoredat Milan,35
whichis evidenceagainof the influenceof the MilaneseChurchthroughout northItaly.
The gallery which surmountsthe encirclingaisle of the octagon is
continuedinto the choir, openingupon it as does the aisle below it, by
three archessupportedon columns. Over the lower of these arcadesis
a lunette on each side, filled with the mosaic scenes embodyingOld
Testamentanti-typesof the Eucharistand the Crucifixion.On the left
as one enters,Abrahamand Sarahprepareto serve with food the three
angels who sit at a table under the oak of Mamre, to which scene is
added,with no attemptat division,Abraham'sSacrificeof Isaac.3 On
the opposite wall Abel offers a lamb and Melchizedeka wafer to the
Hand of God which hovers from a blue sky stripedwith clouds above
a drapedaltar. On this betweentwo eucharisticleaves standsthe chalice
which here as in the mosaic of S. MariaMaggioresymbolicallyjustifies
the strange association of Abel with the priest-kingMelchizedekas
typifyingthe sacramentof the Lord'sSupper. A colonnadedbasilicaretreatswithgood foreshorteninginto the backgroundbehindMelchizedek;
a tree behind Abel indicatesa landscape. Above the lunette on either
wall two flying angelssupporta disc inclosinga cross from whose arms
hang the Alpha and Omega. Toward the entrancebeyond the lunette
a prophetstands on each wall; on one side Isaiah, on the other Jeremiah-the one the prophetof the Incarnation,the other of the Passion.
Toward the apse the correspondingspace is filled with episodes of
Moses' life: on one side he removeshis shoe before the burningbush
and tends the flock of Jethro; on the otherhe receivesthe tables of the
Law while the people of Israel await his returnbelow at the foot of
p. 82.
S"Demus,
pp. 82-83; Dalton,p. 76.
3SIbid.,
36Bovini,
p. 109.

This content downloaded from 142.150.190.39 on Fri, 01 Jan 2016 01:34:41 UTC
All use subject to JSTOR Terms and Conditions

26

STUART
CRISTO

Sinai-scenes adaptedfrom types familiarto us as traditionalillustrationsof the Septuagint.37

On the walls between the gallery openings and the entrance and
apsidalends of the choirwe see the four Evangelistsin whollyunfamiliar
guise. They sit at their lecterns,with scriniabeside them, in the same
rocky landscapein which the Good Shepherdof the Tomb of Galla
Placidiais placed, while on the cliffs above them stand their symbols,
the lion and the ox being here in naturalform withoutthe additionof
wings. They are neitherthe standingevangelistsof Egyptianusage, nor
the seatedprofilesof Asia Minor,nor the conflationof these types that
were characteristicof Syria.38This odd renderingmight be ascribedto
mere inventionwere it not that there is evidenceof a Latin traditionof
depictingthe evangeliststhus in a landscapesetting, not indeed to be
found elsewherein existingexamplesof late antiquepainting,but surviving in Carolingianimitations.39
A directimitationof the RavennaEvangelistsseems to be presentin
of the GodescaleEvangeliaryof c. A.D. 782, whose
the author-pictures
colophon states the book was completedat the time of Charlemagne's
journeyto Italy.40Here again we find the otherwiseunique motif of
wingless beasts occupying a ledge in a rocky landscape behind the
seatedevangelist. The originalconceptionhoweveris ratherto be found
in those Carolingianmanuscriptswhich though of later date than the
Gospel-Bookof Godescaleuse Latin models of more remote antiquity
than the mosaics of the sixth century,and thus reflectwhat may have
been the archetypalillustrationof Latin Gospels in the Vulgateedition
of Jeromeor its early copies, from which both they and the Ravennate
mosaicists drew." Such reflectioncan undoubtedlybe found in the
of gospel-booksof the school of Reims, such as the
evangelist-portraits
at Vienna, and of Xanton, Blois, and
of
Schatzkammer
Evangeliaries
same
where
the
backgroundis the conspicuousfealandscape
Epernay,
ture.42The peculiarrenderingin S. Vitale may thereforebe addedto the
Latin elementsin the decorationof its choir.
87Bovini,p. 110. The survival of the Septuagint type of Moses receiving the
Law in Greek miniatures of later date is illustrated in Figs. 23, 40, 43, 51 of
Morey's article "Notes on East Christian Miniatures," Art Bulletin 11 (1929),
34 ff.
88Morey,Early ChristianArt, p. 121.
S9Bovini,pp. 110-111.
4Boinet, pl. III.
41Ibid.,p. 19.
42Ibid.,pls. LVIII-LX, LXVIII, LXX, LXXII. In the same connection may be
cited the extract from a letter of Archbishop Maximianus of Ravenna concerning
two Bibles he caused to be copied, which is quoted by Agnellus: "emendavi.
cautissime cum his quae Augustinus, et secundum Evangelia quae beatus Hieronymous Roman misit. .. ." Cf. Agnellus, p. 610. These "Latin" landscapes may
however be well regarded as intrusions into western art of Greek and especially
Alexandrian practice, as adaptationsof such backgroundsas those of the frescoes

This content downloaded from 142.150.190.39 on Fri, 01 Jan 2016 01:34:41 UTC
All use subject to JSTOR Terms and Conditions

THEARTOFRAVENNA
IN LATEANTIQUITY

27

In pointof iconography,
then,it maybe saidthatthe mosaicsso far
described
no
more
thana laterphaseof the Latinstylewhose
exemplify
evolutionwe havebeenfollowing,bothin the retentionof Italian-types
such as the short-haired
youthfulJesus on the globe in the apsidal
andinventiveiconography
evinced
mosaic,thecharacteristic
fluctuating
in the eucharistic
typesemployedin the lunettesof the choir,and the
of theEvangelists.43
But theorientalizing
of the style
peculiarrendering
hasunmistakably
advanced.In spiteof theinterrelation
of thefiguresof
the apsidalcomposition,
theyareseparateandfrontalto the utmostdethe
and
heads
have
turnedoutwardwiththeirexpandedeyesfixed
gree,
on the spectatorin thecharacteristic
orientalstarewhichso spiritualizes
the scenesof Jesus'careerin S. Apollinare
Nuovo. Thebitsof naturalism survivingin the backgrounds
of the lunettesand the landscapesin
whichthe Evangelists
sit, cannotobscurethe whollysymbolicselection
andcombination
of actionsandfigures,excludingevena hintof actuality."
The transcendental
purposeof thisartis mostmanifestwhenwe see
the renderingof a real event,as in the two
how it can denaturalize
famousgroupsof JustinianandTheodorawiththeirsuitesandecclesiasticalescorts,executedin mosaicpanelswhichin the apsereplacethe
marbledadoelsewhereemployedthroughout
the choir. Abstraction
is
evidentatoncein thegoldbackground
whichreplaceshereas in the apse
thecloudyblueskyof thelateralwallmosaics.Theimperialpanels,and
abovethem,dateafterthe Byzantine
probablythe apsidalcomposition
of Ravennain 539, andsincethe bishopMaximianus,
who
reconquest
tookoverthesee onlyin 546, thedatemaybe movedforwardto at least
the yearof the dedicationof S. Vitale,in 547.45 In fact the donations
whichthe mosaicsrecord-Justinianbearinga paten or a bowl for
eucharistic
purposes,andTheodoraa chalice-implythe completionof
the church'sdecorationand its outfittingfor service.The Augustusis
by threecourtierswhosepatricianrankis markedby the
accompanied
tablionon theirmantlesandtheembroidered
symbolson theshoulderof
theirtunics,and by his bodyguardof spatharii;Hellenistictradition
survivesin the nimbuswhichsurrounds
the imperialhead."4
In the correspondinggroup on the other side of the apse, Theodora

withherladiesandtwoofficialsof the courtprepareto enterthe vestibuleof the churchfromthe atrium,indicatedby a fountain,to present
the jeweledchalicewhichshe holdsin her hands. Of the sevenladies
in her suite,two are somewhatdistinguished
by a partialisolationand
of S. Maria di Castelseprio. Cf. M. Schapiro, "Latin Landscapes of Late Antiquity," Art Bulletin 34 (1952), 162; Morey, "Evangeliariesof Schatzkammer,"
Art Bulletin 34 (1952), 198 ff., and Morey's Early Christian Art, p. 194.
"Bovini, p. 112.
"Ibid., pp. 112-113.
45Agnellus,p. 612. Cf. Dalton, p. 80; Rice, p. 71.
"Bovini, 114; Rice, p. 73.

This content downloaded from 142.150.190.39 on Fri, 01 Jan 2016 01:34:41 UTC
All use subject to JSTOR Terms and Conditions

28

STUART
CRISTO

moreeleganceof dress,and the olderof thesehas drawnher mantleover

her head. The costumeof the two, rich as it is, is far surpassedby the
splendorof the Augusta,who wears a diademhung with pearls and a
heavy pearl necklace,and is costumedin a purplemantle embroidered
on its edge with the Adorationof the Magi.47The portraitureof the two
ladies next to the Augusta,and of the bishop Maximianuson the other
panel,is a remarkablerecordin view of the otherwiseunrealconception
of the groups. Spatialrelationis so far eliminatedthat the figuresseem
to standon each other'sfeet; the suggestionof an interior,faintlyvisible
in Theodora'sgroup, is lost in that of Justinian. The movementis a
slightswayingof the figurewhichin no way affectsthe staringfrontality
of theirfaces focusedon the eyes of the spectatoras on a camera. The
scale of the figuresshows still some trace of the proportionsobserved
in the miniatures,but they almost fill the space and have acquireda
dignity of pose that would make them more Hellenic were it accompaniedby any mass behindtheirflat silhouettes. The Byzantinestyle is
announcedbut not realizedby these strangelyarrestingfigures;a Byzantine artist would not crowd his space with so casual an assemblage,
would throwthe weightof each figureon one leg, and would modifythe
staringeyes by some suggestionof obliquityof gaze."
The centuriesbetweenthe sixth andthe ninthwere to be surethe most
repetitivephase of Latinstyle. Italy succumbedto a steadilydisintegrating imitationof the Ravennatemanner that lasted until her art was
revitalized by transalpineand Byzantine infusions in the eleventh
century." During this period too her ornamentwas barbarizedby the
same infiltrationof Teutonictaste whose beginningswe have noticedon
the late sarcophagiof Ravenna. The mosaicswith which PaschalI and
GregoryIV adornedthe tribunesof the churchesof Rome in the early
years of the ninth centurywere often but flattenedand stylizedcopies
of the apse of SS. Cosmasand Damian.50Outsideof Italy mosaics and
frescoes almost disappearedfrom c. 600 to the ninth century,and the
Merovingianmanuscriptssubstitutedfor illustrationa barbaricinitial
ornamentconstructedof birds and fishes.5' If the povertyof Merovingian illuminationshows the disastrouseffect of the collision of barbarian
with Latin culture,the art of the British Isles that reachedits climax
during this dark period on the continent displays a sophisticationof
barbariandesignthat carriesthe bewilderinginvolutionsof its ornament
in manuscriptsand metal work to unique beauty. The human figure
47Bovini,pp. 114-115.
48Bovini,p. 116; Rice, p. 74.
49The effect of both of these transfusions may be seen in the frescoes of S.
Angelo in Formis in south Italy of the eleventh century. Cf. F. X. Kraus, Die
Wandgemiildevon S. Angelo in Formis (Berlin, 1893), pls. XVI-XXIV, pp. 29-31.
SoColor-platesof the apse of SS. Cosmas and Damian are found in Volbach and
Hirmer, pls. 102-107.
51E. H. Zimmermann, Vorkarolingische Miniaturen (Berlin, 1916-1918), pp.
11-13.

This content downloaded from 142.150.190.39 on Fri, 01 Jan 2016 01:34:41 UTC
All use subject to JSTOR Terms and Conditions

THE ART OF RAVENNAIN LATE ANTIQUITY

29

which Christianityimposedupon its iconographywas reducedby Celtic

style to the abstractrequirementsof its complicatedpattern.52
On the continentthe human figure returnsin timid copies of late
antiquemodelsin manuscriptsof the late eighthcentury.53At this point
begins the first of the Carolingianschools, which producedthe manuscripts of the so-called "Ada" group, decoratedfor Charlemagneand
the membersof his court with more magnificencethan taste and drawing mainlyupon Ravennatestyle for its types.54The school of Tours in
the ninth centuryseeks Latin models of the fifth century,and Carolingian "renaissance"
style is progressivelyretrospectivein its appropriation
of the antiqueuntil the most originalof its schools,that of Reims, harks
back to Latincopies and adaptationsof the Alexandrianmanner.55Here
first appearsthe realisticbent of Latin medievalart that was to carry it
ultimatelyfar from any antiquestyle at all, but the forms in which this
realismwas firstcast, in such miniaturesof the Reims school as those of
the UtrechtPsalter,56
were none the less part of the Alexandrianvocabulary, revealing their origin in architecturallandscapes, mountainous
backgrounds,and a lively uninhibitedhandlingof the figures. Out of
these, by a vigorous creativeprocess that left its antique, particularly
Ravennate,sources far behind, the Christianityof the West ultimately
evolvedits self-expressionin Romanesqueand Gothic,while the eastern
Church, more conservativeof ancient forms, was developingfrom a
revisionof Neo-Attic style the stately beauty of Byzantineart.
STUART CRISTO
Fordham University

52F.Henry, Irish Art in the Early Christian Period (London, 1940), p. 32.
53E.g.,the Evangelists of the Gundohinus Gospels, executed at Fleury in the latter part of the eighth century. Cf. Zimmermann,pls. 81-84.

54Boinet,
pls. XXXIV-XXXIX.

55Ibid.,pp. 57-61.
56D. T. Tselos and G. R. Benson, "New Light on the Origin of the Utrecht
Psalter,"Art Bulletin 13 (1931), 53 ff.

This content downloaded from 142.150.190.39 on Fri, 01 Jan 2016 01:34:41 UTC
All use subject to JSTOR Terms and Conditions