the persistence of classical motifs and stylistic modes in Early Chris-
tian art. Contemporaneous with, but radically different from, the
mosaic panels (FIG. 11-17) of Sant’Apollinare Nuovo, the Vienna
Genesisincorporates many anecdotal details, such as the drinking
camel and Rebecca bracing herself with her raised left foot on the
rim of the well as she tips up her jug for Eliezer. Nonetheless, the fig-
ures are seen against a blank landscape except for the miniature city
and the road to the well. As at Ravenna, everything necessary for
bare narrative is present and nothing else.
ROSSANO GOSPELS Closely related to the Vienna Genesis is
another early-sixth-century Greek manuscript, the Rossano Gospels,
the earliest preserved illuminated book that contains illustrations of
the New Testament. By this time a canon of New Testament iconog-
raphy had been fairly well established. As in the Vienna Genesis,the
text of the Rossano Gospels is in silver on purple vellum. The
Rossano artist, however, attempted with considerable success to
harmonize the colors with the purple background. The subject of
folio 8 (FIG. 11-21) is the appearance of Jesus before Pilate, who
asks the Jews to choose between Jesus and Barabbas (Matt. 27:
2–26). The vividly gesturing figures are on two levels separated by a
simple ground line. In the upper level, Pilate presides over the tri-
bunal. He sits on an elevated dais, following a long-established pat-
tern in Roman art (FIG. 10-76). The people form an arch around
Pilate (the artist may have based the composition on a painting in
an apse) and demand the death of Jesus, while a court scribe re-
cords the proceedings. Jesus (here a bearded adult, as soon became
the norm for medieval and later depictions of Christ) and the
bound Barabbas appear in the lower level. The painter explicitly
labeled Barabbas to avoid any possible confusion so that the picture
would be as readable as the text. Pilate on his magistrate’s dais,
flanked by painted imperial portraits, and the haloed Christ needed
no further identification.Ivory Carving
Among the other important luxury arts of Late Antiquity was ivory
carving, which has an even longer history in the ancient world than
manuscript illustration (see “Ivory Carving,” page 307).
CRUCIFIXION OF CHRIST A century before the pages of
the Rossano Gospels were illuminated with scenes from the Passion
cycle, a Roman or northern Italian sculptor produced a series of
ivory plaques for a small box that dramatically recount the suffering
and triumph of Christ. The narrative on the box begins with Pilate
washing his hands, Jesus carrying the cross on the road to Calvary,
and Peter denying Jesus, all compressed into a single panel.
The next plaque in the sequence (FIG. 11-22) shows, at the left,
Judas hanging from a tree with his open bag of silver dumped on the306 Chapter 11 LATE ANTIQUITY11-21Christ before Pilate, folio 8 verso
of the Rossano Gospels,early sixth century.
Tempera on purple vellum, 11 101 – 4 .
Museo Diocesano d’Arte Sacra, Rossano.
The sources for medieval manuscript illus-
trations were diverse. The way the people form
an arch around Pilate on this page suggests
that the composition derives from a painting
in a church apse.1 in.