Introduction:
This iconography study will present three Christian Arts; The Last Judgment by Giotto Di Bondone, The Dance of Salome by Benozzo Gozzoli and Santa Pudenzianna's apse mosaic. I will for each of them, first set forth their protagonists and then present their narratives while analysing their key symbols and motifs.
The Last Judgment:
The Last Judgment fresco painted by Giotto Di Bondone (1306), is located in Scrovegni Chapel in Padua. This Fresco depict protagonists as: Christ surrounded by angels and his twelve haloed Apostles. At the top are angels and archangels. Below them on the right side of Christ are the blessed which will go to Heaven, audience to the three Saints Mary. On the lower left are the damned going to Hell, but as well Satan himself surrounded by beasts.
As symbols; the central crucifix in the Fresco held by two angels is a symbol of devotion (S.Zuffi 2002 p.320) and appears to be the mark of redemption and border between the blessed and the damned. Also trumpets are being blown by angels at the upper centre of the fresco, it being a part of the narrative of the Last Judgment, this to awake the dead for Judgment Day. (I Corinthians 15:52)
The dynamic of the narrative and fresco is linked to Christ's hand motions and the marked areas by the Crucifix. Christ's right hand is welcoming, palm facing up the blessed to Heaven, his left-hand palm facing down sending away the damned via Hellfire to Hell. Christ's right side is often connected to the “good”, in this case Heaven and its left to the “wicked”, Hell. (S.Zuffi p.13)
The Apostles are on thrones and the three Saints Mary appear to give blessings and accept a miniature building which is Scrovegni Chapel offered as tribute by Scrovegni himself next to them. (H.Honour, J.Fleming 1982 p.307-308)
The blessed have certain details in clothing and face features, they are whole clothed individual. While the damned are just figures; smaller, naked and with no individual features. Hell's side has more bodies than the other parts of the fresco, and in a smaller space. Hell here, shows the treatment of sinners by lost of identity, title, clothes, riches and purity, explicitly showing people have free will, but on the Last Judgment any sinner will have it taken away. Thus Beasts are depicted grabbing and dragging human to Hell; they torture, rape or hang the damned. The sinners are pushed down in cavities in the soil, representing a second and final funeral. Those sinners are naked like the original sinners Adam and Eve. In more detail we can see someone hiding behind the crucifix, a sinner wanting to escape his fate.
Satan sits on a dragon, which symbolizes evil and sins. Satan's body colour is blue as many of his other beast acolytes, which is a remembrance of past depiction of the angel of Death in Roman Catacombs. (M. Montesano 2018) He was back then depicted as an angel in blue robes. Giotto here still used red robes to symbolize sovereignty, it being worn by Christ.
Further, there is hierarchy on Heaven's side and on Hell's side rather chaos. The red and black Hellfire is going from Christ to Hell itself: appearing like him giving away the sinners to the beasts. There is a clear demarcation between Christ and the beasts, this with the Mandorla symbolizing the “Risen Christ” (H.Honour, J.Fleming p.624). He is not a beast himself but a Judge, the “lawmaker”, (H.Honour, J.Fleming p.225) which purity is not tainted by the acts happening in Hell. Christ sits on lighter cushions supported by what appear to be humanoids and animals, a connection to the four Evangelists could be made.
There is someone on Satan's left which appears to wear a crown. Those details were kept to accentuate the cautionary message of Hell and becoming a sinner, thus even Kings can't escape Hell.
The whole apse shows Christ's sovereignty above all beings on earth, a ruler above all rulers and human's laws the day of the Last Judgment. (Revelation 11:15)
The Dance of Salome:
This Renaissance painting created by Benozzo Gozzoli in 1462, depicts three different scenes in one space frame, a three-dimensional layout. The protagonists are: Salome appearing in two scenes, her stepfather and uncle Herod which appears only in the banquet scene, Salome's mother depicted sitting in the back scene and John the Baptist kneeling down in front of his executioner.
Salome is dancing in front of her Stepfather and Uncle Herod, there are other people attending this banquet. The look of one female at the back, appeared annoyed as her eyes are rolled back and look up. The younger audience at the back, which is recognizable by their clothes and faces, those would look at
one another, not Salome. (Youth's demeanour very similar to Di Paolo's) (S.Zuffi p157)
The older men at the table are looking at Salome but not the oldest one which turns his gaze away. The man behind the oldest one looks like mesmerized, and Herod with a hand on his heart look pleased and touched. We can find the knife he is holding as a sign of him getting ready to ask John to be killed, even if it was not done with his own hands. As well glasses and jars of wine are depicted on the table, wine often connected to exacerbated sentiments and passions, being experienced by Herods. (Ephesians 5:18) Wine can be linked to the future death of John as well.
On the left of the banquet scene we can see John being executed, this because Antipas gave Salome her wish once her dance was finished: John's head on a platter. John is in an alcove, gray and austere, which represent the prison (tower) where he was detained, hint of Medieval motif. (S.Zuffi p.163) His torn prisoner robe's texture is feather like, or fur like, which can for the former show John as angel-like with the aureole, it depicts John's faith and importance in Christianity. Or the latter being linked to his specific representative feature of the Lamb. (S.Zuffi p.153)
He is on his knees, hands joined, showing himself ready for his fate, while a soldier is ready to execute him. John displays a strong faith. It appears like a humble and dignified death in contrast to the spectacle Salome has to put on, for getting her uncle to grant her the wish to kill John; an undignified behaviour.
At the back and final scene we can see Salome on her knees presenting John the Baptist head on a platter like her mum required, when Salome was granted her wish. Further, the filial piety Salome shows to her mother, and not God. The red colour of Salome's mother's dress (and Antipas's) could mean blood, John's. This colour which was associated with Emperors during Roman and Byzantine Empires, gained through time another meaning, representing evil and sins. (M. Montesano 2018) There is here a continuation of sins being perpetuated, as Salome's mother and Antipas committed adultery and married after that, John the Baptist denounced their sins, then the mother used her daughter in a sinful way to get revenge on John. The duo of women taking down a man recall Judith and her servant taking down Holofernes. But as De Capoa emphasized, in this example of Salome, Evil wins over the Good personified by John.(C.De Capoa 2003 p.288)
The theme of John's head on a silver tray was recurring in Renaissance as well. (S.Zuffi p.151-165) The mother takes the plate but do not show any gratitude to her daughter. Which emphasize Salome being a tool for her mother.
Santa Pudenzia's apse mosaic:
The late fourth century apse mozaic located in Santa Pudenziana in Rome depicts Christ at the centre, his Apostles as per usual on both sides, and the four evangelists at the top. As well two veiled ladies, one on each sides with the apostles, and two angels, one at each corners on top, can be observed.
In this mosaic Christ depiction, given the period it was realised, went through a change. As in Roman catacombs he was often depicted beardless and young, he had a role of teacher and healer. Here in this mosaic he appears as the “lawmaker”, beard and long hair, (H.Honour, J.Fleming p.225-226) as well as wearing a red and gold toga which are often connected to emperors. He is then an authoritative figure, this is further emphasize with the tablet he is holding in his hand, we can read “Dominicus Ecclesiae Conser Pudente Vator Anae”. “Conser” was often linked to rulers and divinities at this period. (M.Braconi 2014 p.58) The sentence can be read as : “Protector of the Church of Pudenziana” (R.Franzella 2012 p.30). Also Christ's hand gesture is the ad locutio, which was as well connected to emporors and rulers.(M.Braconi p.58)
On the top of the apse we can see the Tetramorph representation of the four evangelists: on the right an Ox with wings representing Luke, on the left a Lion with wings representing Mark , a human with wings representing Matthew and an Eagle representing John.(S.Zuffi p.12-15)
The scene below shows Christ encrowning the Apostles Peter and Paul. (R.Franzella p.18-23) The women on both sides are holding wreaths as crowns, a strong symbol of high ranked individuals in Christianity and remembrance of Christ's crown of thorns. The crown of thorn, as the crucifix symbols, went as well through changes in terms of meaning (H.Honour, J.Fleming p.225), they were symbol of humiliation during Christ's passion epoch but became the symbol of Christianity and “triumph” later on. This is shown in this mosaic by the presence of the crucifix above Christ, which is adorn with gems and placed on a mount which was recognise as Mount Calvary (R.Franzella p.31).
The city in the background is meant to be “Heavenly Jerusalem”. And the two ladies on both side of Christ are the personification of the “Jews and Gentiles”. This ceremonious scene and the depiction of Jerusalem shows back then the wish to unite different branches of the Christian Church, and the Triumph of the religion itself. (R.Franzella p18-23) Those concepts and changes in meanings depicted in the mosaic were new and unconventional in the 4th century, further they became traditions. This mosaic is an example of Byzantine art amalgamating its Greek-Roman roots with challenging concepts. (J.Lowden 2012 p. 188)
Conclusion:
The three Christian Arts presented show different narratives and as well as occasionally divergent usage of symbols and motifs due to their different epochs of creation. But one thing is common to those arts; Temporality, the treatment of time.
The Last Judgment gives a view into the future, but Giotto's “trompe l'oeil” effects are articulated around the Chapel arches structure. (H.Honour, J.Fleming p.310) So we have present reality and future realm build on one another, relative to the Christians present actions determining there outcome on Judgment Day.
The Dance of Salome, offers multiple scenes in one three-dimensional space frame, being radically different compared to the two other arts. (Relatable to stylistic and iconographic changes at this epoch) (D. Džalto 2019) This attribute permits to depict a fuller narrative and contrasts the protagonists main features by their actions, relaying less and less on Christian symbols and motives, with the example of the good and dignified character of John opposing evil and undignified behaviour of Salome and her mother.
Finally the Mosaic in the apse shows a future of hope with Heavenly Jerusalem, while Christ encrowns Peter and Paul to unit his church in an innovative conceptual past-present time manner. Linking the success of the Church unification to the future completion of Heavenly Jerusalem.
Temporality was accomplished via the partition of media's support space and the insertion of specific symbols and motifs in those different temporal sections, this to depict complex Christian narratives. Details permitting those Christian arts to fulfil their liturgical duties in different epochs, but as well develop further the Christian ethos
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