Ganesh RaviTeja Medisetti (Logan)

Introduction to Art History

Dario D'Ambrosa

LAAHAH210-101

20 October 2020.

Ceiling of Florence Baptistery

San Giovanni.

The Baptistery is one of Florence’s most important religious buildings, dedicated to his patron

saint, John the Baptist. Raised on the foundations of a Roman building, it is a characteristic

example of the Tuscan Romanesque style, dating according to some authorities from around the

11th century. It was consecrated in 1059. Others believe that it is an early Christian building later

remodelled.
Its form is octagonal, and the exterior is sheathed in white marble and green Prato marble.

The Baptistery is famous for its marvelous doors located on its three sides. The oldest bronze

doors are situated on the southern side of the Baptistery. Made by Andrea Pisano around 1330,

the doors consist of 28 quatrefoil panels depicting scenes from St. John's life.

Two of the three doors were created by Lorenzo Ghiberti.

apse of the Baptistery of Florence. It is one of the most important cycles of medieval Italian

mosaics, created between 1225 and around 1330 using designs by major Florentine painters such

as Cimabue, Coppo di Marcovaldo. And by mosaicists from Venice - Meliore and the Maestro

della Maddalena.
The internal pyramid-like vault is decorated all over with extremely beautiful mosaics of the Last

Judgement and Stories of John the Baptist, Joseph and Genesis. The composition is placed

against a gold background in the six concentric divisions that cut horizontally across the eight

segments.
The dome is entirely covered with mosaic showing the Angelic Hierarchies, Scenes from

Genesis, Scenes from the life of Joseph the Patriarch, Scenes from the life of Christ, Scenes from

the life of St. John the Baptist, and the Last Judgement.

The mosaics are set in the following pattern. The central area at the top around the opening of the

lantern contains ornamental elements; this is followed by the image of Christ surrounded by

Seraphim and angelic hierarchies; the third cycle narrates stories from the Genesis, while the

fourth contains stories of Joseph, the fifth stories of Christ, and the last stories of the Baptist. The

area of the apse is dominated by the gigantic figure of Christ in Judgement, over eight metres

high, accompanied, in the three fascias above, by the angels announcing the Last Judgement, the

Virgin Mary, John the Baptist and the Apostles, the Resurrection of the Dead and the division of

the Blessed from the Damned, with a terrifying representation of Hell.

three segments (1) shows the Last Judgement, dominated by a huge figure of Christ, under

whose feet is shown the resurrection of the dead. To Christ's right are shown the just welcomed

into heaven, whilst on the left is hell and its devils.

The other five segments are subdivided into four horizontal registers showing (from top to

bottom) stories from the Book of Genesis (3) and the lives of Joseph (4), the Virgin Mary (5),

Christ (5) and John the Baptist (6).

The double arch over the altar is decorated with busts of Christ, the Virgin Mary, the apostles

and prophets, divided into compartments and decorated with leaves, possibly later work from the

end of the 13th century.

ornate capitals in lively colours with very articulated lines, on which stand four telamons, folded

to look like wheels.

To the left side of the telamons is an enthroned John the Baptist and to the right the Madonna

and Child enthroned.

The wheel's structure is formed of classical swirls with rays containing candelabra.

Below is a vase between two facing animals such as deer, birds and strange fish-men with fins on

their heads.

Above is a vegetable motif with a small head in the middle and higher up an angel holding the

large central medallion, in which is written "Agnus Dei". Around the medallion is inscribed

"HIC DEUS EST MAGNUS MITIS QUEM DENOTAT AGNUS" ("here is great God shown as

a mild lamb") in gold letters on a red background. Between the rays are eight full-length

depictions of prophets in Byzantine style with name labels at their feet – anticlockwise these are

Moses, Abraham, Isaac, Jacob, Daniel, Ezekiel, Jermiah and Isaiah.

Christ the Judge

The three segments above the altar show the Last Judgement, with the centre almost completely

filled by a figure of Christ the Judge seated on the Circles of Paradise and holding out his hands,

showing his wounds from the Crucifixion, one facing palm up and the other palm down,

directing souls to heaven and hell respectively. The large feet also show the wounds from the
Crucifixion – their staggered pose, the robe's complex pleats and the side view of the legs avoid

a rigid frontal effect, highlighted with golden tesserae. The cruciform halo includes mirror-like

enamel cubes, also included in the border of the mandorla around Christ. Either side of the

mandorla are three parallel registers, with two almost symmetrical hosts of angels at the top

bearing symbols of Christ's passion and attributes of the Judgement, along with two angels

sounding the last trumpet of the Apocalypse summoning the dead from their graves at Christ's

feet.
In the second register are the Virgin Mary (with raised hands to Christ's right), John the Baptist

(holding a scroll to Christ's left) and the twelve apostles seated on two long benches decorated as

thrones. Each apostle holds an open book with characters from a different alphabet to show their

taking the Gospel to the whole world after Pentecost. Behind the backrests and between the

saints are angel heads, alternating in tilt from right then to left.

The lower register shows Paradise to the right and Hell to the left, with the souls taken to their

destinations by angels and devils. The elect are driven towards a group giving thanks to God and

accompanied by a large angel holding a scroll reading "Venite Beneditti Patris Mei / Ossidete

Preparatum" ("Come, [ye] blessed of my father / sit in the places prepared [for you]") towards

the Heavenly Jerusalem. Another angel in gem-decorated clothes opens the gateway to a small

man, dragging him by the hand. In the city three large patriarchs sit holding small sweetbreads in

their laps amidst extraordinary colourful plants in a green flower-dotted meadow, the latter

symbolised by a band. In the front row of the elect are a king and a Dominican monk, followed

by three virgins, bishops, a monk and a priest.

Marcovaldo, with less skillful areas by other hands. Hideous devils with black bat-wings push

the damned towards Christ's left.

is dominated by a large Satan on a flaming throne, eating a man and trampling the damned while

snakes growing out of his ears bite at them.

emphasising Satan's insatiable nature. Satan's ass's ears underline his feral nature and are

attributes of Lucifer and the Antichrist, whilst his horns derive from the Celtic god Cernunnos

and symbolise the Church's defeat of paganism. Devils also throw the damned into pits, impale

and mutilate them, burn them on spits, throw them around and force them to drink molten gold.

One group of damned souls is wrapped in flames.