MOSAIC ARTIST, Italian
(active 1240-1300 in Florence)

Vault (west half)

1240-1300
Mosaic
Baptistery, Florence

The octagonal space is roofed by an eight-sided cloister vault, on whose faces the mosaics are arranged in six horizontal registers, the top two filled with ornamental motifs and single figures, the lower ones featuring complete scenes. This scheme is abandoned only in the three vaulting segments of the west side in which the number of registers is reduced from six to five and the division into registers is interrupted for nearly the entire height by a large figure of Christ as World Judge in a circular aureole that dominate the impression of the whole. The Last Judgment is pictured next to Christ.