MOSAIC ARTIST, Italian
(active 1140-70 in Palermo)

Nave, centre aisle, south wall (detail)

1140-70
Mosaic
Cappella Palatina, Palermo

Like the architecture, the pictorial program in the chapel's sanctuary is essentially Byzantine in character. This is not the case in the nave, whose mosaic decor consists of two pictorial cycles. The Old Testament cycle, which runs along the side walls of the centre aisle in two registers, follows in the tradition of Roman church decoration. It begins on the south wall, next to the crossing, with the story of the Creation, and ends on the north wall with scenes from the life of Jacob. The second cycle extends across both of the side-aisle walls: the stories of apostles Peter and Paul are related in fourteen panels, some of them containing two scenes.

The picture shows a detail of the south wall of the centre aisle of the nave, with a view into the south side aisle. On the south wall, scenes from the Old Testament cycle can be seen: creation of the stars, creation of fish and birds, creation of land animals, creation of Adam; drunkenness of Noah, building the Tower of Babel; St Cataldus, St Leo the Great. In the south side aisle scenes belonging to the Peter and Paul cycle are depicted.