MOSAIC ARTIST, Italian
(active 1140s in Rome)

Apse calotte mosaic (detail)

1140-43
Mosaic
Santa Maria in Trastevere, Rome

The centre of the apse composition in Santa Maria in Trastevere features a subject previously unknown in Roman monumental art. Here, for the first time, Mary is pictured seated next to Christ on a richly ornamented heavenly throne. Both are dressed in precious garments; Christ wears a tunic with decorative borders and a gold pallium, while Mary's outer garment is also gold and covered with intricate embroidery. She is further adorned with a bejewelled collar and a gold crown. Christ, pictured in a strictly frontal view, has placed his right hand on Mary's shoulder, and with his left presents an open book inscribed with a portion of the liturgy for the feast of Assumption.