medieval-religion: Scholarly discussions of medieval religion and culture
from my perusal of Toubert's article, it seems to me that the St. Clement apse
mosaic was certainly *not* physically moved from the lower church to its
present location.
Frau Schiller's text
"Das ursprüngliche Apsismosaik in S. Clemente … ist 1126-8 von der
Unterkirche in die obere Kirche übertragen und dabei weitgehend restauriert
und verändert worden."
[Gertrud Schiller, Ikonographie der christlichen Kunst.
1. Aufl. Gütersloh: Gütersloher Verlagshaus G. Mohn, 1968. II, p. 111, note
25]
or
"...was ... transferred from the crypt in the upper church in 1126-8 and it
was extensively restored and altered."
[G.S., Iconography of Christian art. Translated by Janet Seligman. [1st
American ed.] Greenwich, Conn., New York Graphic Society, 1971- [v. 2, 1972]
must be taken, not as a literal "transfer" (or "translation"), but rather in
the sense of "the idea/program/iconography was transferred/replicated/copied
from the crypt to the upper church."
given the extreme improbability of early 12th c. medievals possessing the
technical means to pull off a literal, physical "transfer" of a massive mosaic
such as that in the apse of St. Clements, i'd suggest that the burden of proof
that such an event actually occurred lies with those who are credulous enough
to believe that such an astonishing feat was possible.
unfortunately the Krautheimer which i mentioned earlier
Early Christian and Byzantine Architecture (Pelican history of art). 4th ed.,
rev. by Richard Krautheimer and Slobodan Ćurčić. Harmondsworth, Middlesex,
England; New York: Penguin, 1986. [NA360 .K72 1986]
confines himself to the architecture, and has nothing to say about the
decoration of the building.
c
------ Original Message ------
Received: Mon, 25 Apr 2011 02:30:26 PM EDT
From: Christopher Crockett <[log in to unmask]>
To: [log in to unmask]
Subject: Re: [M-R] S. Clemente mosaic: the birds
> medieval-religion: Scholarly discussions of medieval religion and culture
>
> From: Herwig Weigl <[log in to unmask]>
>
> > Helene Toubert, Le renouveau paleochretien a Rome au debut du XII siecle,
> in: Cahiers archeologiques 20 (1970).
>
> pp. 99-154.
>
> curiously listed in the Table de matieres as "Aspects du renouveau..."
>
> seems to be primarily an iconographic study; "La mosaique de Saint-Clement"
on
> pp. 122ff.
>
> well researched, as one might expect in this journal.
>
> at first glance, no mention of any "moving" of the mosaic from the lower
> church, but (on the contrary?) noting that "with [this mosaic] Roman art
> renewed, after more than two centuries of interruption... the difficult
> technique of the apse mosaic."
>
> with a note (p. 122, no. 84): "Actually, since the great works of the 11th
c.,
> we know of no Roman apse mosaic of any importance...in this difficult
> technique.... It is possible that the return to the mosaic technique at St.
> Clement's was _facilitée_ by the artists being able to examine the mosaic
in
> the lower church [there], before it was abandoned.... We may also not
exclude
> the possibility that there were contacts with Monte Cassino where, in the
> second half of the 11th c., Abbot Didier had had some mosaics done."
>
>
> i'll have to read the rest more closely, but it sure seems like Madame
Toubert
> is going to see the present mosaic as entirely the work of the 12th c.
>
> c
>
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