The mosaic depicting the miracle of the
loaves and fishes (FIG. 11-18) stands in sharp
contrast to the 80-year-earlier mosaics of the
Mausoleum of Galla Placidia. Jesus, beardless, in
the imperial dress of gold and purple, and now
distinguished by the cross-inscribed nimbus
(halo) that signifies his divinity, faces the viewer
directly. With extended arms he instructs his dis-
ciples to distribute to the great crowd the miracu-
lously increased supply of bread and fish he has
produced. This Ravenna artist made no attempt
to supply details of the event. The emphasis is instead on the holy
character of it, the spiritual fact that Jesus is performing a miracle by
the power of his divinity. The fact of the miracle removes it from the
world of time. The presence of almighty power, not anecdotal narra-
tive, is the important aspect of this scene. The mosaicist told the
story with the least number of figures necessary to make its meaning
explicit, aligning the figures laterally, moving them close to the fore-
ground, and placing them in a shallow picture box. The composi-
tion, so different from those in the lunettes of the Mausoleum of
Galla Placidia, is similar to that of the Samuel and David mural
(FIG. 11-3) in the Dura-Europos synagogue two and a half centuries
earlier. This similarity illustrates once again that Early Christian
artists inherited both classical naturalism and Late Antique abstrac-
tion from Roman art. But the Sant’Apollinare Nuovo mosaic differs
from the Dura murals as well as the Galla Placidia mosaics in having
a golden background. The landscape setting, which the artist who
decorated the Mausoleum of Galla Placidia so explicitly depicted
(FIG. 11-16), is here merely a few rocks and bushes that enclose the
figure group like parentheses. The blue sky of the physical world has
given way to the otherworldly splendor of heavenly gold. The ethe-
real golden background as well as the weightless figures with their
flat, curtainlike garments would soon become the norm in Byzan-
tine art, although even in Byzantium echoes of classical naturalism
persisted (see Chapter 12).Luxury Arts
Throughout history, artists have produced so-called “minor arts”—
jewelry, metalwork, cameos, ivories, among other “crafts”—alongside
the “major arts” of sculpture and painting. Although the terminology
seems to suggest a difference in importance or quality, “minor” refers
only to size. Indeed, the artists who fashioned jewelry, carved ivories
and cameos, and produced gold and silver vessels by casting or ham-
mering (repoussé) employed the costliest materials known. Some of
them, for example, Dioscurides, official gem cutter of the emperor
Augustus, are among the few Roman artists whose names were
recorded. In Late Antiquity and the Middle Ages, the minor arts—
more appropriately called “luxury arts”—had high status, and they
figure prominently in the history of art through the ages.Illuminated Manuscripts
Although few examples survive, illustrated books were popular in
the ancient world. The long tradition of placing pictures in manu-
scripts began in pharaonic Egypt (FIG. 3-36) and continued in Greek
and Roman times.
VATICAN VERGILThe oldest preserved painted Greek or Latin
manuscript is the Vatican Vergil,which dates from the early fifth
century. It originally contained more than 200 pictures illustrating
all of Vergil’s works. Today only 50 painted pages of the Aeneid and
Georgics survive. The manuscript is important not only because of
its age. The Vatican Vergilis a prime example of the survival of tradi-
tional Roman iconography and of the classical style long after Theo-
dosius banned all pagan cults.
The page illustrated here (FIG. 11-19) includes a section of
text from the Georgics at the top and a framed illustration below. The
poem recounts Vergil’s visit to a modest farm near Tarentum
(Taranto, in southern Italy) belonging to an old man from Corycus
in Asia Minor. In the illustration, the old farmer sits at the left. His
rustic farmhouse is in the background, rendered in a three-quarter
view. The farmer speaks about the pleasures of the simple life in the
country—a recurrent theme in Latin poetry—and on his methods
of gardening. His audience is two laborers and, at the far right, Vergil
himself in the guise of a farmhand. The style is reminiscent of Pom-
peian landscapes, with quick touches that suggest space and atmo-
sphere. In fact, the heavy, dark frame has close parallels in the late
Pompeian styles of mural painting (FIG. 10-22).
VIENNA GENESISThe oldest well-preserved painted manu-
script containing biblical scenes is the early sixth-century Vienna
Genesis,so called because of its present location. The book is sump-
tuous. The pages are fine calfskin dyed with rich purple, the same
dye used to give imperial cloth its distinctive color. The scribe used
silver ink for the Greek text (see “Medieval Manuscript Illumina-
tion,” page 305).
Folio 7 (FIG. 11-20) of the Vienna Genesisillustrates the story
of Rebecca and Eliezer (Gen. 24:15–61). When Isaac, Abraham’s son,
was 40 years old, his parents sent their servant Eliezer to find a wife
for him. Eliezer chose Rebecca, because when he stopped at a well, she
was the first woman to draw water for him and his camels. The man-11-18Miracle of the loaves and fishes, mosaic
from the top register of the nave wall (above the
clerestory windows in FIG. 11-17) of Sant’Apollinare
Nuovo, Ravenna, Italy, ca. 504.
In contrast to FIG. 11-16, Jesus here faces directly
toward the viewer. Blue sky has given way to the
otherworldly splendor of heavenly gold, the
standard background color for medieval mosaics.304 Chapter 11 LATE ANTIQUITY11-18AHagios
Georgios,
Thessaloniki,
ca. 390–450.
11-20AStory of
Jacob, Vienna
Genesis, early
sixth century.