Altar Wall Research Articles

Skinned St. Bartholomew before (1541) and after (1556, 1562) Fabrica (1543).

When I visited Rome before the coronavirus pandemic, I saw St. Bartholomew depicted in “Last Judgment” in the whole altar wall of the Sistine Chapel in Vatican City. The face on the St. Bartholomew's skin is usually recognized as being a self-portrait of Michelangelo. Michelangelo began to perform his own dissections and demonstrations (Condivi, 1976). The last city of my journey was Milan. In the Duomo of Milan (the Milan Cathedral), an anatomical statue intrigued me: St. Bartholomew statue by Marco d'Agrate. Because it was very similar to the anatomy in the Fabrica (De humani corporis fabrica libri septem) of Vesalius (1543, Plate 27, Figure 1, upper right), I read the text of the exhibition and compared it with Fabrica on my return. I searched for the images of “St. Bartholomew,” representative and anatomical statues or paintings before and after 1543 and selected Michelangelo and Marco d'Agrate to explain the influence of Fabrica. In the Renaissance, anatomical science was a major source of inspiration for artists. By the 15th century, interest had emerged in anatomy as an area of research, and the artists of the period dissected cadavers. Artists performed dissections in order to pursue divine beauty, in the belief that God created humankind in his image, whereas anatomists' goal was to gain scientific knowledge (Sellmer, 2001). St. Bartholomew was portrayed dressed holding a book and a knife up until the 13th to 14th centuries, alluding to the Gospel that he proclaimed and the martyrdom that he suffered. From the Renaissance onward, the iconography of St. Bartholomew with his skin removed from his flesh was finally sanctified after Michelangelo (1541) portrayed him in such a way in the “Last Judgment” in the Vatican's Sistine Chapel. It is notable that St. Bartholomew holds his skin in his left hand. However, he himself is not skinned at all, but covered with normal skin. Thereafter, the muscle underneath the skin is visualized as surface anatomy only. However, in the “Last Judgment,” he holds extra skin in his hand (Figure 1, upper left). Two years after the completion of the “Last Judgment,” Andreas Vesalius published his Fabrica (1543, Figure 1, upper right). Subsequently, 13 and 19 years after the publication of Fabrica, Marco d'Agrate made a bronze statue of St. Bartholomew in 1556, in front of the Certosa of Pavia (1556, Figure 1, lower left), and a marble statue in the Milano Duomo (1562, Figure 1, lower right), respectively. These works of Marco d'Agrate do not show any psychological introspection or give evidence of the deep faith expressed by the martyrdom of St. Bartholomew. However, they form part of a major 16th-century sphere of interest: the study and presentation of human anatomy (Veneranda Fabbrica del Duomo di Milano, 2018). By comparing the portrayal of St. Bartholomew in Michelangelo's fresco and d'Agrate's statues, we can see the how the publication of Fabrica contributed to art. Artists and anatomists together produced images of the body that combined medical knowledge and an artistic vision. When illustrated anatomical texts became readily available in the 17th century, the general enthusiasm of artists for studying cadavers decreased. This study was supported by a grant from National Research Foundation of Korea (NRF-2020R1I1A2054761). The author declares no potential conflict of interest.

The altar wall paintings of the catholicon "The Nativity of the Virgin", Rila Monastery, Bulgaria: Identification of the painting materials by means of vibrational spectroscopic techniques complemented by EDX, XRD and TGA analysis.

The purpose of the present study is to deepen our knowledge about the painting materials and technology characteristics of iconography during the Bulgarian National Revival. Our efforts have focused on studying the murals in the catholicon (main church) "The Nativity of the Virgin" of the Rila Monastery, which is one of Bulgarian leading historical monuments. A series of micro samples from the altar mural paintings were analyzed by a combination of attenuated total reflectance Fourier transform infrared (ATR-FTIR), micro-Raman spectroscopy, scanning electron microscopy energy dispersive X-ray spectroscopy (SEM-EDS), X-ray diffraction (XRD), thermogravimetric analysis (TGA) and Optical microscopy (OM). The data analysis showed that the painter's palette is made up of nine mineral pigments: smalt, chrome yellow, emerald green, vermilion, red lead, green earths, yellow ochre, sienna and calcite. The impression of rich colorful palette was achieved by using various pigment mixtures. The presence of egg binder in many paint samples suggested that the murals were executed by the traditional egg tempera technique, with the only exception of the smalt paint of the background where carbohydrate glue is present as binder.

Monumentalne kompozycje z łysogórskich płyt ceramicznych w wystroju budowli sakralnych

Ceramic panels produced since 1960 in the “Kamionka” cooperative in Łysa Góra are one of the most versatile materials used for architectural decorations. They made it possible to create small “ceramic accents” as well as large-scale and monumental works. Compositions made of Łysa Góra panels, at first found mainly in secular buildings, started to appear in church architecture from the mid-1960s. The earliest was the cladding on the facade of the Chapel of the Holy Cross in Piaseczno by Krzysztof Henisz in 1965. The article presents realisations found in Polish and foreign churches. Most of the discussed compositions were created in the period when new rules of organisation resulting from the recommendations of the Second Vatican Council were introduced into church interiors. This important theme is also highlighted in the article. The last mentioned work – the altar wall in Harmęże by Anna Praxmayer – was created in the 21st century, just before the definitive demise of the factory in Łysa Góra.

GPR measurements to identify cracks and textural arrangements in the altar wall of the 16th‐century Santa Maria Huiramangaro Church, Michoacán, Mexico

ABSTRACTA three‐dimensional ground‐penetrating radar survey was performed on the altar wall, which faced the risk of collapse, of a 16th‐century church in Michoacán, Mexico. The ground‐penetrating radar survey with high‐frequency antennas aimed to locate structural cracks and texture arrangements, the latter through the interpretation of the patterns in the electromagnetic data. The results indicate that the superficially visible cracks or fractures, except for the lateral ones at each end of the wall, disappear at a depth of between 15 and 25 cm. The lower part of the wall below a height of 3.97 m presents an area with multiple diffractions, which suggests that the masonry is made of ‘stone and mud’ and the tilt appears precisely where the adobe wall starts. Using 1500 and 900 MHz antennas, the identified texture of the wall shows at least three leaves or layers with diverse materials and a wooden beam embedded in the wall. Additionally, the survey near the church with a 200 MHz antenna supports the hypotheses that local construction materials were used here. The results inspire us to continue applying ground‐penetrating radar, a non‐destructive method, to diagnose the walls and structures of historical monuments before any intervention.

From the mother’s arms to the holy table. On the influence of the iconography of the presentation of Christ in the temple on the programmatic evolution of altar paintings in Byzantine churches

This research explores the relationship between iconographicprogrammatic innovations in altar wall paintings of post-Iconoclastic churches intended to facilitate liturgical interpretation and depictions of the Theotokos (with Christ) usually placed in the apsidal conch. The conclusion on the existence of direct semantic ties between this type of portrait and the discovery of the motif of Christ-Child-on-the-Altar-Table is the result of a contextual analysis of a specific series of artistic explorations based on the spatial dispersion of Presentation of Christ in the Temple compositions on the very edges of the altar spaces, which preceded this iconographic discovery and were ended shortly thereafter.

THE LAST JUDGMENT AS REPRESENTED IN THE SISTINE CHAPEL BY MICHELAGELO AND IN THE ROMANIAN BYZANTINE VORONET

The Last Judgment is one of the most common themes in both Byzantine iconography and in the Western one, being met in: the nave, the narthex, the exonartex or on the exterior, on the wall facing the sunrise or sunset. In our country, where the Byzantine model is respected, the most significant scene was painted on the western facade of the Voronet church of Moldavia in 1547 by a painter called Marcu. Shortly before, namely in 1541, a different Last Judgment had been completed in a different way, by the great Renaissance artist Michelangelo on the altar wall of the Sistine Chapel.It is, perhaps, the most famous representation of this scene in Western art. This article aims to present the two works created during the same period but in two different ways, each with its elements of originality. Considered a masterpiece of Romanian medieval art, the Voronet scene enrols in a special program as compared to other representations from our country or from other areas with Byzantine tradition, contributing to the formation of a specific Moldavian style. Apart from the religious significance, which underlies its development, specialists in the field concluded that there is here a political influence. One may add the high craftsmanship which gave value and durability to the composition. Michelangelo's Judgment was executed by order of Pope Paul III. It breaks out from the patterns before, being considered an extraordinary work both in regard to the arrangement of figures and from the compositional point of view. The painter uses here bold foreshortenings, conferring dramatic load on the scene, at the same time demonstrating a sound knowledge of the anatomy of the human body.

The Sign of Jonah

The Sign of Jonah Constance Woods (bio) On a recent trip to Rome, I was fortunate to join a very fine tour of the Vatican Museum led by an art historian. Once we were inside the Sistine Chapel, I noticed that several members of our group asked the same question: "Why Jonah?" That question is probably repeated hundreds of times a day by visitors to the chapel. As you stand facing the Last Judgment on the altar wall, you cannot help also taking in the colossal figure of Jonah positioned on the ceiling directly over the altar. Our guide explained that Jonah is usually regarded as a symbol of the Resurrection because he was swallowed by a whale and after three days was cast back out onto the shore. This interpretation is not peculiar to the art world, of course, but is very much part of the tradition of the Church, which goes back to the Church Fathers and indeed to Jesus himself, as Ross King's excellent history of the Sistine Chapel, Michelangelo and the Pope's Ceiling, reminds us: Theologians regarded Jonah as a precursor of Christ and the resurrection, hence his position above the altar of the Sistine Chapel. Even Christ drew a direct comparison between himself and the prophet: "For as Jonah was three days and three [End Page 133] nights in the belly of the whale," he told the Pharisees, "so will the Son of man be three days and three nights in the heart of the earth" (Mt 12:40).1 That explanation, however, does not seem sufficient to account for Jonah's prominent position on the ceiling. The frescoes in the Sistine Chapel form a dazzling exhibit of biblical themes from the Old and New Testaments, yet the Resurrection of Christ is barely represented. Why then should Jonah be so imposing? With the visit to the Sistine Chapel still fresh in my mind, I happened to be reading the Gospel of Matthew when it became suddenly clear that Jonah is more than a symbol of the Resurrection. I believe Michelangelo used Jonah not only as a figure of Christ crucified and resurrected, but also as a figure of Christ the Judge who is to come. Michelangelo's Jonah is seated in a direct line over the magnificent Christ, who has come into the world a second time at the end of history to pronounce the final judgment. Perhaps it is because art historians and Scripture scholars alike are so accustomed to seeing Jonah as a type of the Resurrection that they have overlooked another aspect of Jonah, even though this other aspect is revealed by Christ in the very same breath with which he makes Jonah a symbol of the Resurrection. Here is the full response Jesus makes to the Pharisees when they demand a sign from heaven: But he answered them, "An evil and adulterous generation seeks for a sign; but no sign shall be given to it except the sign of the prophet Jonah. For as Jonah was three days and three nights in the belly of the whale, so will the Son of man be three days and three nights in the heart of the earth. The men of Nineveh will arise at the judgment with this generation and condemn it; for they repented at the preaching of Jonah, and behold, something greater than Jonah is here." (Mt 12:40–41) [End Page 134] Jesus does not say that Jonah will arise at the judgment, but rather the people of Nineveh, who were converted by his preaching. Michelangelo's Jonah could be seen as a synecdoche, a kind of shorthand, for the whole population of Nineveh that will arise and assist Christ at the Last Judgment, condemning the generation that did not believe in him. Jesus makes Jonah a type of himself (that is, a prefigurement of himself) as judge when he says: "Behold, something greater than Jonah is here." Luke's account omits the theme of the Resurrection, and concentrates entirely on judgment: as Jonah was a sign of judgment to Nineveh (a sign of their imminent annihilation if they did not repent), so the Son of Man will...

Divine Kingship and Dynastic Display: The Altar Wall Murals Of St Stephen's Chapel, Westminster

Destroyed by fire in 1834, St Stephen's Chapel at the Palace of Westminster was undoubtedly one of the most opulent and enduringly influential English building programmes of the late thirteenth and fourteenth centuries. Focusing on the programme of wall-painting which flanked its high altar, this paper seeks to clarify the royal chapel's importance not only in terms of its stylistic innovation, but as an arena for Edward Ill's kingly image-making. The study explores the ways in which the chapel space was used and the audiences for which its dynastically forward-looking images were intended. Scrutinising the representations of Edward III and his family, and the biblical scenes beneath which they kneel, it tests the hypothesis that the Westminster murals reflected more than just conventional mid-fourteenth-century devotional preoccupations and were, in fact, indicative of the Plantagenet's own Christian ideology of his kingship.

Michelangelo's Ignudi, and the Sistine Chapel as a Symbol of Law and Justice

The object of this study is to show that a specific part of Michelangelo's painted ceiling, not usually considered intrinsic to thematic discussion, offers not only an important clue regarding the underlying theme of the Ceiling itself but, moreover, suggest that Ceiling is inherently related to the previous and subsequent deco­rations and indeed even to the purpose of the building itself as an architectural monument. Deriving from Ovid's Metamorphoses, the centralizing symmetry and grandly articulated ignudi of the Sistine Chapel represent the Golden Age of Man. In this way the Hebrew and Christian Bible (the Old Testament) and the Pagan Bible (the Ovidian legacy) - familiar sources that did not require theological expertise - were effectively combined and harmonized as the patrimony of Christian Rome. The essence of this conflation suggest that the theme of Law and Justice prevail in the Ceiling, as well as in the original altar wall and the side wall decorations, including Raphael's tapestries, the building itself and its original internal organization and, finally, in Michelangelo's Last Judgement. The so-called Sacrifice of Noah is re-named as the Sacrifice of Abel, which corresponds with the descriptions of this scene by Michelangelo's friends Condivi and Vasari as well as with the correct chronological order of the Ceiling paintings and the theme of Law and Justice.

Michelangelo'sLast Judgment: Resurrection of the Body and Predestination

The earliest record of Michelangelo's commission for the altar wall of the Sistine Chapel refers to it as a “Resurrection” (Fig. 1).1 It has been assumed that this meant Resurrection of Christ and Tolnay has proposed that the original conception was for a rather modest undertaking that, like the ceiling and other of Michelangelo's projects, was expanded by the artist to its final grandiose proportions. We are left with a cumbersome hypothesis, fraught with difficulties, of a change in the conception of the commission in terms both of subject and of scale. A much simpler solution will explain this early reference, namely, that the Resurrection was not to be that of Christ, which was already represented in its logical place in the life of Christ frescoes on the walls;2 rather it was to represent the Christian doctrine of the Resurrection of the Body.