CIMABUE
(b. ca. 1240, Firenze, d. ca. 1302, Firenze)

Scenes from the Apocalypse

1277-80
Fresco
Upper Church, San Francesco, Assisi

In the south transept of the Upper Church, there are five scenes from the Apocalypse along the basamanto adjacent to the large Crucifixion fresco. They particularly emphasize the role of the angels as mediators between heaven and earth. The depictions include the Adoration of the Lamb by the Twenty-four Elders and Many Angels, the Angel of the Sixth Seal, the Angel Burning Incense on the Altar of God, the Angel Announcing the Fall of Babylon, and the Angel Sent by God to Show Him the "Things Which Must Shortly Come to Pass".

The heavy damage to these frescoes makes it very difficult to read them. The picture shows the first three of the scenes, namely the Adoration of the Lamb by the Twenty-four Elders and Many Angels, the Angel of the Sixth Seal, and the Angel Burning Incense on the Altar of God.