MOSAIC ARTIST, Italian
(active 1130s in Rome)

Apse mosaic (detail)

1130s
Mosaic
San Clemente, Rome

The vines leading out from the acanthus bush uncurl into a total of fifty round volutes across the entire surface of the calotte. Some of the spandrels between the volutes are filled with small figures. In the lower section these include the Latin church fathers Gregory, Jerome, Augustine and Ambrose, who are identified by name. They are dressed as monks and hold open books. Also strewn among the vine's branches are numerous birds and other ornamental elements like decorative flowers, oil lamps, baskets of fruit, and vases.

Rural scenes - a woman feeding hens and their chicks, shepherds with their herds of sheep and goat - appear on the strip of ground beyond the peacocks on either side.




© Web Gallery of Art, created by Emil Krén and Daniel Marx.