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Called Priscilla because she was the donor of the land for her family’s burial. It was then opened up to Christians.
Greek Chapel
Named for two Greek inscriptions painted on the right niche.
Three niches for sarcophagi.
Lower portions done in the first Pompeian style of painting with imitation marble paneling enriching the surface.
Upper portions decorated with paintings in later Pompeian styles: sketchy painterly brushstrokes.
Contains scenes of Old and New Testament stories.
Orant fresco
Fresco over a tomb niche set over an arched wall; cemetery of a family vault.
Central figure stands with arms outstretched in prayer; perhaps the same woman seen three times.
Left: painting of a teacher with children, or the image of a couple being married with a bishop.
Good Shepherd fresco
Early Christian art often shows parallels between Old and New Testament stories, which Christians see as a fulfillment of the Hebrew scriptures and shows their interest in adapting them to their own context.
Restrained portrait of Christ as a Good Shepherd, a pastoral motif in ancient art going back to the Greeks.
Stories of the life of the Old Testament Prophet Jonah often appear in the lunettes; Jonah’s regurgitation from the mouth of a big fish is seen as prefiguring Christ’s resurrection.
Peacocks in lunettes symbolize eternal life; quails symbolize earthly life; Christ is seen as a bridge between these worlds.
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Patronage: According to an inscription in the narthex, the basilica was founded by Pope Celestine I (422–432).
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Form Exterior: plain and massive with little decoration.
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Function: Christian church.
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Rebecca and Eliezer at the Well
Jacob Wrestling the Angel
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Materials: Manuscript made from 130 calfskins.
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Function: Reliquary of a young girl martyred in the early fourth century.
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Patronage: Commissioned by Bishop Odo, half-brother to William the Conqueror.
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Function: Christian church dedicated to the Virgin Mary; a Marian shrine.
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Function: Moralized Bible.
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Context: Done for the royal court at Paris.
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Function: Meant to be in a private home for personal devotion.
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Context: Prominent placement of the artist’s signature indicates the rising status of his occupation.
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Protestantism: the faithful achieve salvation by God’s grace; guidance can be achieved using the Bible.
Meant to reflect the Lutheran ideas about salvation.
Done in consultation with Martin Luther, a leader in the Protestant movement.
Left: Last Judgment
Moses holds the Ten Commandments.
The Ten Commandments represent the Old Law, Catholicism.
The Law of Moses is not enough; it is not enough to live a good life.
A skeleton chases a man into hell.
Right: Figure bathed in Christ’s blood
Faith in Christ alone is needed for salvation.
Symbolically, the barren branches of the tree on the left side contrast with the full bloom on the right.
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Hunters have had little success in the winter hunt; dogs are skinny and hang their heads.
Peasants in the sixteenth century were regarded as buffoons or figures of fun;
Bruegel does not give them individuality but does treat them with respect
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Patronage: Commissioned by the Sforza family of Milan for the refectory of a Dominican abbey.
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Function: One of the scenes on the Sistine Chapel ceiling.
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Patronage: Pope Paul III was the patron.
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Four broad horizontal bands act as the unifying element:
Bottom: dead rising on the left and the mouth of hell on the right.
Second level: ascending elect, descending sinners, trumpeting angels.
Third level: those risen to heaven are gathered around Jesus.
Top lunettes: angels carrying the cross and the column, instruments used at Christ’s death.
Christ, in center, gestures defiantly with right hand; complex pose.
Justice is delivered: the good rise, the evil fall.
Lower right-hand corner has figures from Dante’s Inferno: Minos and Charon.
Saint Bartholomew’s face is modeled on a contemporary critic.
Saint Bartholomew holds his skin, a symbol of his martyrdom, but the skin’s face is Michelangelo’s, an oblique reference to critics who skinned him alive with their criticism.
It may also represent Michelangelo’s concern over the fate of his soul as expressed in his poetry.
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Hall of Mirrors
Gardens
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Function: Painting originally hung in King Philip IV’s study.
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Henri IV Receives the Portrait of Marie de’ Medici
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Function: Not for general sale but for private purposes.
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