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In a previous article we spoke more generally about the Italo-Byzantine Domes of Venice. That particular article was focused primarily on the exterior of the domes with their distinctive shape that can be found throughout Venice as well as some other parts of Italy where the influence of the Byzantine, or Eastern Roman Empire, was felt.
Today I thought it might be worth taking a look at the interior side of the main domes, the cupolas, of the most prominent church in all of Venice: St. Mark's Basilica. Whether you've been there yourself or have simply seen images in books or online, the one thing you can say about St. Mark's is that it is an overwhelming experience. It is a treasury of mosaic and other sacred arts and for that reason you can quickly become overwhelmed by all of the treasures found within. If one lives and worships in the basilica regularly of course, this is advantageous, because it means that the basilica's artistic treasures are always potentially revealing themselves over time to the worshipper. However, if you are just coming into the basilica as a visitor, you're liable to miss many details.
The cupolas are, of course, one of the most important features of Byzantine and Italianate churches. They often contain some of the most important works of art in a given church, second only perhaps the apse itself. But in an Italo-Byzantine context, the works of the cupola might even surpass those of the apse in importance, or at very least equal it -- and that certainly seems to be the case here.
San Marco is set in a Greek cross plan -- which is to say, it is a cross with equidistant arms, each of those arms having its own dome/cupola, with another, the primary dome, found at the centre of the crossing -- and these will be the works we are considering today.
I. Cupola of Christ and the Prophets
Beginning with the dome that is located directly above the altar and presbytery, we find a rainbow-encircled medallion, signifying the firmament of heaven, in which is depicted a young, beardless Christ surrounded by the prophets who foretold the coming of Christ and the Theotokos. A good description of the symbolism of the design is provided on the website of the basilica:
The story of salvation begins in the cupola of the Prophets with announcement of the Messiah by the prophets who, around the Virgin, display their prophecies.... [Christ] appears at the centre of the cupola amid myriads of stars with the scroll of the laws in his hands. In the concave interior, the Virgin and prophets. At the bottom the Virgin in sumptuous [Byzantine] garments and her hands outstretched while awaiting the Word to descend upon her from the centre of the cupola is aligned with the thirteen prophets Isaiah, Jeremiah, Daniel, Obadiah, Habakkuk Hosea, Jonah, Zephaniah, Haggai, Zechariah, Malachi, Solomon and David. Each one bears a scroll alluding to the Incarnation and Resurrection of Christ and to the Last Judgement. In a central position and in an attitude of prayer Isaiah, pointing at the beardless youth in the middle of the cupola, pronounces the words: “Behold, the Virgin shall conceive and give birth to a son who shall be called Emanuel, God with us” and David, head of the royal dynasty of Israel, dressed in the sumptuous garments of the Byzantine emperor, proclaims the royal nature of the child to be born to her: “the fruit of your loins shall I place on my throne."
II. Cupola of the Ascension
As we move into the crossing in the centre of the basilica we come to the dome of the Ascension. This is one of the largest and arguably the most artistically important of all the domes, measuring 42 feet in diameter. At the apex of this particular dome we find an image of Christ surrounded by a starry firmament. Around this are four angels with figures of the Virgin Mary, as well as the figures of the twelve apostles:
In the starry circle of the centre Christ, seated on a rainbow, is drawn heavenwards by four flying angels. Below, in a great concentric circle, the Virgin between two angels and the 12 apostles are gazing upwards, alternated by plants of various forms and sizes, suggesting the messianic environment of the Mount of Olives where Luke situates the episode of the Ascension. Farther below, between the windows, there are sixteen female figures in a dancing sequence personifying the Virtues and Beatitudes: Hope, Faith, Justice, Fortitude, Temperance, Prudence, Humility, Gentleness, Contrition, Abstinence, Mercy, Patience, Chastity, Modesty, Constancy and Charity, this last crowned and in royal garments, “mother of all the virtues” as suggested by the inscription surrounding her. Here we have the three theological virtues (Faith, Hope and Charity), the four moral virtues (Prudence, Justice, Fortitude and Temperance) and then another nine virtues that are an integral part, in accordance with the mediaeval concept of the four moral virtues... The colours used are the most precious, all obtained by mixing the vitreous paste with lapis lazuli, copper, gold, silver or iron; and when the chromatic element and the luminosity of the enamels were not enough to render immaterial and transfigure an image, highlighting was carried out with gold, silver and whites. While the human faces of the apostles are highlighted in black, those of Christ, the Virgin and the angels have bright highlighting that gives the impression of a divine light emanating from the faces themselves.
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| The Central Dome (found at the crossing) |
III, Cupola of Pentecost
IV. Cupola of the Saints
The domes that are found on each of the arms of the north and south transept arms are the more minor of the five domes. In the case of the southern dome, we see a simple depiction of a central cross with four saints depicted, on for each arm of the cross. These include the figures of St. Blaise, St. Leonard, St. Nicholas and St. Clement.
IV. Cupola of St. John
Finally there is the dome of St. John the Evangelist, located in the northern transept arm. This particular dome includes various scenes taken from the life and miracles of the Evangelist.
It is also worth noting that within the narthex, other minor domes can be found, however, we'll leave that for another article at another time. For the moment, we hope these small views into these five primary cupolas of the Basilica of San Marco in Venice have served to whet your appetite, not only for more of the work of this great treasure of Christendom, but also for the beauty of mosaic work in general.
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