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In the second half of the fourth century, Christian iconography diversified, with the emergence of new narrative, cyclical and Christocentric forms. This new taste for cycles is apparent in funerary art, as is shown by some private hypogea, discovered in the anonymous catacomb on the Via Latina (Via Dino Compagni). Here the iconography becomes more complex, with subtle expressions of the religious beliefs of the deceased.
The picture shows a fresco in a hypogeum in the anonymous catacomb on the Via Latina. It depicts a group of philosophers seated around a naked youth lying on the ground. The scene has been interpreted as a medical lesson. This large mysterious scene is the pendant of a fresco representing Christ in Majesty in the niche opposite.
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