Romanesque Sculptures in the Baptistery of Parma

As a follow-up to our recent posts about the cathedral and baptistery of Parma, Italy, here are some final pictures which give us a closer view of some of the sculptures by the original architect of both buildings, Benedetto Antelami (ca. 1150-1230). Many of the great medieval churches are decorated with sculptures of subjects that are not immediately and specifically religious, such as the months and seasons of the year, the labors of man etc. The great French art historian Émile Mâle offers an explanation of this in his magnificent book The Gothic Image.

“The whole world is a symbol. The sun, the stars, the seasons, day and night, all speak in solemn accents. Of what were the Middle Ages thinking in the winter time when the days were shortening sadly and the darkness seemed to be triumphing for ever over the light? They thought of the long centuries of twilight that preceded the coming of Christ, and they understood that in the divine drama both light and darkness have their place. They gave the name of Advent (Adventus) to those weeks of December, when by means of the liturgy and lessons from Scripture they expressed the long waiting of the ancient world. It was at the winter solstice, at the time when light begins to reappear and the days to lengthen, that the Son of God was born. Even the round of the year shadows forth man’s course upon earth, and recounts the drama of life and death. Spring, which gives new life to the world, is the symbol of baptism which renews the spirit of man at his entrance into life. Summer too is a type, for its burning heat and light are reminders of the light of another world and of the ardent love of the eternal life. Autumn, season of harvest and vintage, is the dread symbol of the last Judgment—that great Day on which men will reap as they have sown. Winter is a shadow of that death which awaits mankind and the universe. Thus the thinker moved in a world of symbols, thronged by forms pregnant with spiritual meaning.”

In this spirit which Mâle describes so beautifully, Antelami created a series of sculptures which represents the months of the year as figures performing an agricultural labors typical of each of them.  These kinds of figures are usually placed on the outside of building, but have been inside the baptistery from time out of mind, and normally live in the lower rank of niches seen here.

Nicola took these pictures recently when they were moved down to the floor (temporarily, I believe.) March is represented as a young shepherd playing a pipe, the first month of the year, and the traditional beginning of the zodiacal cycle with Aries. Several of the niches have representations of the signs of the zodiac in the wall beneath them, but in others, as seen below, the sign is incorporated into the symbol of the month. 

April

May

June, the first wheat harvest. 

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The Baptistery of Parma

This post completes our series of photos taken by Nicola de’ Grandi of the cathedral complex of the city of Parma in the Emilia-Romagna region of Italy: the previous posts covered the cathedral and the diocesan museum. The baptistery was commissioned in 1196 from the architect and sculptor Benedetto Antelami, and completed according to his design around 1270, about 40 years after his death. Its unusual appearance results from the combination of Romanesque architectural elements, arranged according to the sensibility of the Gothic style, particularly in regard to its height. It also preserves in remarkably good condition a magnificent frescoed cupola of the later 13th century, while the lower part of the interior, arranged in a series of niches, is filled with frescoes of the 13th and 14th century.

The ceiling is arranged in six bands. The red circle in the middle is the upper heaven, the band below it, with the blue background and rhombuses with stars in them, the lower heaven. These are followed by the Twelve Apostles and the Four Evangelists; Ss Paul and Barnabas are included among the former, since Matthew and John are with the latter. The fourth band shows a deesis scene, Christ with the Virgin and the Baptist to either side of Him (slightly to the right in the photo below); the remaining 13 spaces are occupied by as many prophets. In the fifth band, the life of St John the Baptist is depicted in the full panels; those which are pierced with windows have two Saints on either side, including the Doctors of the Church. The sixth has episodes from the life of Abraham in the full arches; the alternating arches either side of them have Virgin Saints, the four elements, and the four seasons.

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The Arian Baptistery of Ravenna, and the Mausoleum of Theoderic

Following up on yesterday’s post about the Orthodox Baptistery of Ravenna, today we look at its Arian counterpart, and the mausoleum of the Gothic king who built the latter, Theoderic. As leader of the Ostrogoths, it was he who established their rule over most of Italy in the later 5th century, under the nominal suzerainty of Byzantium. For much of his reign, he kept his capital at Ravenna, where he engaged in a number of important building projects, including a cathedral and a baptistery for the use of his Gothic subjects, the vast majority of whom were Arians. (For the most part, orthodox Christians were allowed to live peaceably under his reign.) Fourteen years after his death in 526, Ravenna was retaken by the Byzantines under the Emperor Justinian, whose policy was to take over Arian buildings and convert them to Catholic worship. Under the archbishop of Ravenna St Agnellus (556-69), the Arian baptistery was converted into an oratory dedicated to the Virgin Mary. In the wake of numerous other interventions in the following centuries, what remains today is essentially a fragment of the original, the central part, which preserves a large mosaic in its central cupola very similar to that of the Orthodox Baptistery. As with the other ancient buildings of Ravenna, the subsiding of the ground has brought the structure more than 7 feet beneath its original level. (Photos by Nicola de’ Grandi.)

The cupola mosaic consists of a central tondo of the Baptism of Christ, surrounded by an outer ring in which the Twelve Apostles process towards a royal throne with an empty Cross on it, the latter being a motif known as an etimasia.

As in the Orthodox Baptistery, Christ and St John the Baptist are accompanied by the dove of the Holy Spirit, and a third male figure, the personification of the River Jordan. Various attempts have been made to explain specific aspects of the image as expressions of the beliefs of the Arians; all of these run aground on the more basic fact that the Catholics who took over the building in 540 clearly did not perceive them as such, and left them alone.

The etimasia, which celebrates the majesty of Christ as revealed through His victory over death on the Cross. Note how the line of the Cross’ upright points directly through the Holy Spirit to the figure of Christ in the scene of the Baptism, indicating that the Son of God was revealed to us by the Father as our Redeemer. The Apostles closest to the throne are Ss Peter and Paul; the others are not labelled, and have no distinctive attributes.

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The Orthodox Baptistery of Ravenna

Until the early 5th century, the cathedral of Ravenna was at the nearby port city of Classe, where we saw the basilica of St Apollinaris last month. At the very end of the 4th century, St Ursus (399-426), the predecessor of St Peter Chrysologus, began building a new cathedral in Ravenna itself, some remains of which are incorporated into the current cathedral. He also began a new baptistery, which is generally known as the “orthodox” baptistery, since it was used by those who professed the orthodox Nicene faith, as opposed to that of the Arians. It is also known the Neonian Baptistery from St Neon (451-68), St Peter’s successor, who completed it by replacing the original flat roof with a cupola, richly decorated with mosaics. In common with many early baptisteries, the structure is octagonal, the eight sides representing the eight persons who were saved on Noah’s ark, a symbol of the Church, and the cycle of creation and new creation, with Sunday, the day of the Resurrection, being the first and the eighth day. Like many buildings in Ravenna, it has subsided considerably since its original construction, and is now over 6 feet below its original level. The small apses were added in the tenth century, but the rest of the walls are original. (Photos by Nicola de’ Grandi.)

The baptismal font is relatively new, from the 16th century, but the raised platform from which the priest performed the baptisms is original, from the 5th century.

The mosaic cupola

In the tondo at the center, the Baptism of Christ; the brighter area in the upper part of it, including the faces of both Christ and John the Baptist, and the dove of the Holy Spirit, are restorations of the 18th century. The figure behind the Lord, labelled as the personification of the River Jordan, is original. In the blu eband around them are the Twelve Apostles, each of whom is dressed as a Roman senator, and holding a crown.

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The Cathedral of Siena (Part 8): the Baptistery

Continuing our series of Nicola’s photos of the cathedral of Siena, today we turn to the baptistery; the baptismal font, an extraordinary achievement in the history of bronze sculptures, will be covered in its own separate post. As previously noted, the cathedral stands fairly close to the edge of a rather steep hill. When the choir behind the altar was extended in 1317, the baptistery was built underneath it by the architect Camaino di Crescentino (completed in 1325), partly to serve as a support that would keep the structure from falling down into the valley below. This accounts for its rather odd appearance; the marble-covered façade, which was never completed, is very high, but the building itself is extremely shallow.

The space inside is divided into two sets of three bays. Those closer to the façade are decorated with images of the Twelve Apostles, in reference to the ancient custom of reciting the Apostles’ Creed as one enters the building during the rite of baptism. The two on the sides were painted by Agostino di Marsiglio; the central one is by the Sienese sculptor and painter Lorenzo di Pietro (1410-80), who, for reasons unknown, is generally referred to by peculiarly unfortunate nickname “Vecchietta”, which means “little old lady.”

The second set of bays, also by Vecchietta, show the articles of the Creed. The pinnacle at the top of this photograph, in which a man kneels in front of Christ in glory, represents the words “and in Jesus Christ, His Only Son, our Lord.” The images underneath it by Benvenuto di Giovanni (ca. 1460) show two miracles of St Anthony of Padua: above, St Anthony saves a women in Ferrara who had been wrongly accused of adultery by making her newborn speak and say who its father was; below, a donkey kneels before the True Presence of Christ in the Eucharist.

In the central bay, left, “He descended into hell, on the third day He rose from the dead”; at center, “He ascended into heaven”; on the right, “whence He will come to judge the living and the dead”; at top, “I believe in the Holy Spirit.” (On the arch in front of the apse, the Assumption of the Virgin.)

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The Baptistery of Parma

The city of Parma in the Emilia-Romagna region of Italy has one of the most beautiful baptisteries in the country. Commissioned in 1196 from the architect and sculptor Benedetto Antelami, it was completed according to his design around 1270, about 40 years after his death. Its unusual appearance results from the combination of Romanesque architectural elements, arranged according to the sensibility of the Gothic style, particularly in regard to its height. It also preserves in remarkably good condition a magnificent frescoed cupola of the later 13th century, while the lower part of the interior, arranged in a series of niches, is filled with frescoes of the 13th and 14th century. These pictures were taken by our Ambrosian correspondent Nicola de’ Grandi.

The ceiling is arranged in six bands. The red circle in the middle is the upper heaven, the band below it, with the blue background and rhombuses with stars in them, the lower heaven. These are followed by the Twelve Apostles and the Four Evangelists; Ss Paul and Barnabas are included among the former, since Matthew and John are with the latter. The fourth band shows a deesis scene, Christ with the Virgin and the Baptist to either side of Him (on the left in the photo below); the remaining 13 spaces are occupied by as many prophets. In the fifth band, the life of St John the Baptist is depicted in the full panels; those which are pierced with windows have two Saints on either side, including the Doctors of the Church. The sixth has episodes from the life of Abraham in the full arches; the alternating arches with have to either side of them Virgin Saints, the four elements, and the four seasons.

Unlike the cupola, the niches in the lower part of the building are not organized in a unitary program; they were painted at different stages by a variety of artists, many as ex votos. Here we see in the first niche a relief sculpture of an angel, with Ss Peter and Paul to either side, and below, a Madonna and Child with the Archangel and St John the Baptist, who presents to them Card. Gherardo Bianchi (1220-1302) a native of Parma. In the second, a relief of Christ in glory, with Angels and the symbols of the Evangelists, with His Baptism below, and the Virgin and Child with angels below that. In the third niche, a relief of an angel, with Ss Ambrose and Jerome, the Crucifixion, and the Madonna of mercy with Saints, a popular medieval motif. In the fourth niche, a relief of St Michael spearing a dragon, with Christ above him, and the Evangelists and other Saints; below that, a Madonna and Child with a sainted pope and bishop.

Statues of the months and seasons in the loggia, the work of Antelami and assistants.

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Restored Baptistry at St Stephen’s in Portland, Oregon

The church of St Stephen in Portland, Oregon, recently received on indefinite loan the old baptismal font and Paschal candle stand from the cathedral of the Immaculate Conception, also in Portland. (They had been kept in a warehouse for decades.) In order to house them, a space within the narthex that had formerly been the baptistery, but was then decommissioned, has been set off with a nice wrought-iron gate, and the font and stand installed. Here are some before-and-after photos, starting with a long shot across the narthex from the entrance to the bell tower/choir loft; our thanks to the pastor, Fr Eric Andersen, for sharing these with us. As Fr Z likes to say, brick by brick!

The Pietà statue seen above in front of the window was removed from this space, and the font, candlestick and gate brought in.

The gate has now been installed, and the space restored to use as the baptistery.

The original blueprints of the church show that the baptismal font was planned to be at the back of the nave, but it evidently was never installed there. There are old photos of baptisms being carried out in various places around the church, but at one time, the part of the narthex seen above was used as the baptismal chapel, as evidenced by holes in the terrazzo floor where an old gate used to be. This is where the new gate seen above has been installed. (The Pietà has been moved into the nave, in the location where the blueprints showed the original baptismal font was supposed to be, as seen in the lower right part of this photograph.)

Fr Andersen adds that when he first arrived at St Stephen’s, there was a very large baptismal font which doubled as a holy water stoup; the water recirculated through a pump, and he soon realized that it could not longer be used, since the the water could not be kept pure for baptisms, and there was no sacrarium in it. It was decommissioned, eventually removed from the building altogether, which permitted the reclamation of the church’s main aisle. The first photo here was taken during an Easter vigil a number of years ago, the second shows the restored space.

The Baptistery of Padua

The baptistery of Padua, Italy, was originally constructed in the 12th century, probably on the sight of an earlier structure, and after various modifications, was consecrated by the Patriarch of Grado in 1281. In 1370s, it was transformed into a mausoleum for the city’s ruler, Francesco da Carrara the Elder, and his wife, Fina Buzzaccarini, who commissioned the painter Giusto de’ Menabuoi (ca. 1320-91) to decorate the interior with frescoes; these were executed in 1375-76, and mostly survive in quite good condition. The centerpiece is a magnificent image of Paradise in the cupola, with Christ the Pantocrator in the middle, surrounded by countless Angels and Saints. The walls are covered with images of the lives of Christ, the Virgin Mary and St John the Baptist, including a large Crucifixion scene. The baptistery also has an altar in a recess, with the original altarpiece by Giusto; the walls surrounding it are decorated with scenes from the Apocalypse, and the small cupola above it shows the descent of the Holy Spirit.

A view of the cathedral, with its façade still not added after almost 470 years, and the baptistery to the right.

Image from Wikimedia Commons by José Luiz Bernardes Ribeiro, CC BY-SA 4.0 

Interior view of the font, and the niche with the altar to the right.

The cupola, with Paradise in the center, and stories from the book of Genesis around the tambur.

Detail of the tambur, the Creation of the World.

St Luke the Evangelist, whose relics are in the church of St Justina in Padua, with the Prophets David and Jeremiah.

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The Baptistery of Parma

The city of Parma in the Emilia-Romagna region of Italy has one of the most beautiful baptisteries in the country. Commissioned in 1196 from the architect and sculptor Benedetto Antelami, it was completed according to his design around 1270, about 40 years after his death. Its unusual appearance results from the combination of Romanesque architectural elements, arranged according to the sensibility of the Gothic style, particularly in regard to its height. It also preserves in remarkably good condition a magnificent frescoed cupola of the later 13th century; while the lower part of the interior, arranged in a series of niches, is filled with frescoes of the 13th and 14th century. These pictures were taken by our Ambrosian correspondent Nicola de’ Grandi during a recent visit.

The ceiling is arranged in six bands. The red circle in the middle is the upper heaven, the band below it, with the blue background and rhombuses with stars in them, the lower heaven. These are followed by the Twelve Apostles and the Four Evangelists; Ss Paul and Barnabas are included among the former, since Matthew and John are with the latter. The fourth band shows a deesis scene, Christ with the Virgin and the Baptist to either side of Him (on the left in the photo below); the remaining 13 spaces are occupied by as many prophets. In the fifth band, the life of St John the Baptist is depicted in the full panels; those which are pierced with windows have two Saints on either side, including the Doctors of the Church. The sixth has episodes from the life of Abraham in the full arches; the alternating arches with have to either side of them Virgin Saints, the four elements, and the four seasons.

Unlike the cupola, the niches in the lower part of the building are not organized in a unitary program; they were painted at different stages by a variety of artists, many as ex votos. Here we see in the first niche a relief sculpture of an angel, with Ss Peter and Paul to either side, and below, a Madonna and Child with the Archangel and St John the Baptist, who presents to them Card. Gherardo Bianchi (1220-1302) a native of Parma. In the second, a relief of Christ in glory, with Angels and the symbols of the Evangelists, with His Baptism below, and the Virgin and Child with angels below that. In the third niche, a relief of an angel, with Ss Ambrose and Jerome, the Crucifixion, and the Madonna of mercy with Saints, a popular medieval motif. In the fourth niche, a relief of St Michael spearing a dragon, with Christ above him, and the Evangelists and other Saints; below that, a Madonna and Child with a sainted pope and bishop.

Statues of the months and seasons in the loggia, the work of Antelami and assistants.

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