Ravenna, Italy: Basilica of San Vitale: Presbytery Apse
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Authors
Sheppard, Beth M.
Issue Date
5/22/2017
Type
Image
Language
Keywords
Italy , Ravenna , Basilica San Vitale , Presbytery , Apses , Byzantine Art , Mosaics , Jesus Christ in Art , Angels in Art , Saint Vitale in Art , Bishop Ecclesius in Art , Celestial Garden in Art , Alpha in Art , Bethlehem in Art , Jerusalem in Art
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Abstract
Description
The Presbytery apse in the Basilica San Vitale (Basilica of St. Vitale; Church of Saint Vitale) in Ravenna, Italy. The featured mosaic in the middle of the apsidal bowl-shaped vault is that of Christ the Redeemer, young and beardless, holding a scroll with the seven seals in his left hand and offering a martyr's crown to St. Vitale with his right hand. To Christ's left, Bishop Ecclesius (promoter of the Basilica) offers Him a model of the Church. Two angels are also present. Christ is sitting on a blue celestial globe, which represents the creation. The celestial garden underneath the figures has flowers and four stylized rivers, while multicolored cirrus clouds float above. This garden and sky are the same mosaic decoration found in the Basilica of St. Apollinare in Classe. Above the featured mosaic, the under arch of the apse is decorated with cornucopias, birds, and flowers. Above it, on the apsidal estrados, two angels hold up a circle with seven rays coming from the central Alpha. They are flanked by the bejewelled walls of Bethlehem on the left and Jerusalem on the right, with a green cypress tree preceding the city walls. This too is the same symbology as in St. Apollinare in Classe: two cities which represent the history of man's salvation. Above the angels (top of the photo) are three mullioned, arched windows which are flanked by wine-shoots which rise from two vases and fall into two baskets. At the bottom of the photo, three more arched, mullioned windows center the apsidal vault and are flanked by two additional mosaic panels of Emperor Justinian on the left and Empress Theodora on the right, although these panels are not easily discernable in the photo.
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License
CC BY-NC-SA 4.0