415:
334:
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242:, and also to have two registers one above the other, but these examples show a trend to differentiate the scenes, of which the Junius Bassus is the culmination, producing a "multitude of miniature stages", which allow the spectator "to linger over each scene", which was not the intention of earlier reliefs which were only "shorthand pictographs" of each scene, only intended to identify them. He notes a "lyrical, slightly sweet manner" in the carving, even in the soldiers who lead St Peter to his death, which compares to some small carvings from the Hellenized east in the
539:
28:
471:. Pilate has a mild and passive appearance, contrasting strongly with the powerful and determined expression of the figure in low relief profile behind him on the wall, the only figure in these scenes depicted in this style and technique. If he is not just one of Pilate's subordinate officers, he may be intended as a portrait or statue of the emperor; Roman official business was usually conducted before such an image, upon which (under the deified pagan emperors) any oaths required were made.
103:
582:. Just to the right of the middle is Daniel in the lion's den, saved by his faith, and on the left is Abraham about to sacrifice Isaac. Job is seen at the point when he has lost everything, but retains his faith; his wife and a "comforter" look on anxiously. Christians saw these as foreshadowings of the sacrifice of God's only son, Jesus, though the
246:, though they are several decades older. Even allowing for "the gradual appropriation of a popular type of Christian tomb by upper-class patrons whose standards asserted themselves increasingly both in the content and in the style of these monuments", Kitzinger concludes that the changes must reflect a larger "regeneration" in style.
223:
effect" – an effect much more noticeable in the original than the cast shown here, which has a more uniform and lighter colour. The cast also lacks the effects created by light on polished or patinated highlights such as the heads of the figures, against the darker recessed surfaces and backgrounds.
211:
of several decades earlier: "The sculpture ignores practically all the rules obeyed by official reliefs. Some figures are portrayed frontally, but certainly not all, and they are not shown in a thoroughly Late
Antique manner; the scenes are three-dimensional and have depth and background .... drapery
589:
The scenes prior to the martyrdoms of Peter and Paul, both common in Early
Christian art, show the same avoidance of the climactic moments which were usually chosen in later Christian art. But they demonstrate to the viewer how the heavenly crown could be achieved by ordinary Christians, although
517:
as the same god, so the representation alludes to the recognition of Christ as "Son of God and King of the
Creation", proving that the transition from paganism to Christianity was more peaceful and syncretic than is popularly believed. From the following century personifications of the
191:
The style of the work has been greatly discussed by art historians, especially as its date is certain, which is unusual at this period. All are agreed that the workmanship is of the highest quality available at the time, as one might expect for the tomb of such a prominent figure.
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where Paul's execution was traditionally believed to have happened. Peter's execution was believed to have happened close to his grave, which was within a few feet of the location of the sarcophagus; both executions were believed to have occurred on the
272:
on three sides of the sarcophagus, allowing for its placement against a wall. The column and many parts of the figures are carved completely in the round. The arrangement of relief scenes in rows in a columnar framework is an introduction from
530:, just a few years older than the sarcophagus and made for another elite Christian, is full of personifications of cities, months and other concepts. The putti in the Chronography also relate closely to those on the sides of the sarcophagus.
403:", or recent convert. Further small reliefs on the lid, and heads at the corners, are badly damaged. They showed scenes of feasts and a burial procession typical of pagan sarcophagi; it is possible the lid was not created to match the base.
590:
the
Imperial persecutions were now over. Both scenes also took place in Rome, and this local interest is part of the balance of Christian and traditional Roman gestures that the sarcophagus shows. The reeds behind Paul probably represent
212:
hangs on recognizable human forms rather than being arranged in predetermined folds; heads are varied, portraying recognisably different people." The sarcophagus has been seen as reflecting a blending of late
238:. The form continues the increased separation of the scenes; it had been an innovation of the earliest Christian sarcophagi to combine a series of incidents in one continuous (and rather hard to read)
411:
The emphasis on scenes of judgement may have been influenced by the career of Bassus as a magistrate, but all the scenes shown can be paralleled in other
Christian works of the period.
277:
at about this time. No portrait of the deceased is shown, though he is praised in lavish terms in an inscription; instead, the ten niches are filled with scenes from both the New and
467:
Before Pilate Christ also carries a scroll, like a philosopher. Pilate, perhaps worried by Jesus's reputation for miracles, is making the gesture
Italians still use to ward off the
621:(review of Malbon book) – Volume 1, Number 1, Spring 1993, pp. 94–96; for Janson it is also the "finest Early Christian sarcophagus", and Kitzinger, 26, calls it the "most famous".
444:
is depicted similarly, and without wings. Christ appears in the centre of both rows; in the top row as a law-giver or teacher between his chief followers, Peter and Paul (the
58:, who died in 359. It has been described as "probably the single most famous piece of early Christian relief sculpture." The sarcophagus was originally placed in or under
414:
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179:. Bassus, as the inscription on the sarcophagus tells us, converted to Christianity shortly before his death – perhaps on his deathbed. Many still believed, like
35:
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The lower scene loosely follows the entry ("adventus") of an emperor to a city, a scene often depicted in
Imperial art; Christ is "identified as imperator by the
395:
performing seasonal tasks such as harvesting grapes. On a damaged plaque surmounting the lid is a poem praising Bassus in largely secular terms, and the
77:
in the same museum, this sarcophagus is one of the oldest surviving high-status sarcophagi with elaborate carvings of
Christian themes, and a complicated
432:
In all the three scenes where he appears Christ is a youthful, beardless figure with shortish hair (though longer than that of other figures), which is
872:(Hierosolymam defendere temptavere Iudaei; verum haec quoque et intravit et vidit illud grande inpiae gentis arcanum patens, sub aurea vite Caelum).
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62:, was rediscovered in 1597, and is now below the modern basilica in the Museo Storico del Tesoro della Basilica di San Pietro (Museum of
838:
498:, of which the entry to Jerusalem is the start, a development that was to play a great part in shaping the Christian art of the future.
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style with the contemporary Roman or
Italian one, seen in the "robust" proportions of the figures, and their slightly over-large heads.
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Elizabeth
Struthers Malbon. The Iconography of the Sarcophagus of Junius Bassus. Princeton, NJ: Princeton University Press, 1990
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Eduard Syndicus; Early Christian Art; p. 97; Burns & Oates, London, 1962, and see Edwards & Woolf, op & page cit.
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above the lower row show scenes with all participants depicted as lambs: on either side of Christ entering Jerusalem are the
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Junius Bassus was an important figure in late antique Rome, a senator who was in charge of the government of the capital as
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entered this city also and saw that grand Holy of Holies of an impious people exposed, Caelum under a golden vine"
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for our sins. Adam and Eve themselves made no sacrifices, but behind Eve is a lamb, and beside Adam a sheaf of
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finds "a far more definite reattachment to aesthetic ideals of the Graeco-Roman past" than in the earlier
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452:: in the top one Jesus is sitting with his feet on a billowing cloak representing the sky, carried by
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Byzantine art in the making: main lines of stylistic development in Mediterranean art, 3rd-7th century
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The setting in the niches casts the figures against a background of shadow, giving "an emphatic
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running along the top of the body of the sarcophagus identifies him, and describes him as a "
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Age of spirituality : late antique and early Christian art, third to seventh century
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The Old Testament scenes depicted were chosen as precursors of Christ's sacrifice in the
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171:, running the administration of a large part of the Western Empire. Bassus served under
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546:. The hand of God originally came down to hold Abraham's knife (both are now missing).
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The inclusion of the pagan figure of Caelus may seem strange today, but since the
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The Great Mosque of Damascus: Studies on the Makings of an Umayyad Visual Culture
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1012:, Horst Woldemar Janson, Anthony F. Janson, 6th edn., Prentice Hall PTR, 2003,
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794:. Hellemo, pp. 65–70 discusses the place of the work in the development of the
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moulding above the scene. There was already a tradition, borrowed from pagan
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1112:; full text available online from The Metropolitan Museum of Art Libraries
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Selected Papers, volume 3, Late Antique, Early Christian and Mediaeval Art
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Cast of Christ's trial before Pilate, with Pilate about to wash his hands.
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in the lion's den (heads restored), Arrest or leading to execution of
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882:(Oxford: Clarendon Press, 1982, 1985 reprinting), p. 252, entry on
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itself, a rare subject up until the 5th century, is not depicted.
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558:. Adam and Eve are shown covering their nakedness after the
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The sarcophagus in many respects shows fewer features of the
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when he died at the age of 42 in 359. His father had been
460:. Christ hands Peter a scroll, probably representing the
886:, cita a Juvenal, Petronio, and Floro como ejemplos de
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The sides have more traditional Roman scenes of the
820:, a fist with the index and little finger extended.
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The Iconography of the Sarcophagus of Junius Bassus
513:and the Roman religion, Caelus was associated with
574:, referring to the sacrifices of their two sons,
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934:, p. 143, 1980, Chatto & Windus, London,
290:The scenes on the front are: in the top row,
70:. The base is approximately 4 x 8 x 4 feet.
993:A History of Ideas and Images in Italian Art
878:(Brill, 2001), pp. 81 and 83 (note 118). El
784:A History of Ideas and Images in Italian Art
234:and that of the "Two Brothers", also in the
494:; in this work that theme is linked to the
131:. Unsourced material may be challenged and
898:; also, to some symbolization of Jehovah."
995:, p. 80, 1983, John Murray, London,
151:Learn how and when to remove this message
1062:Reece, Richard, in: Henig, Martin (ed),
661:, p.10, Skira, Geneva and New York, 1962
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413:
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298:, Enthroned Christ with Peter and Paul (
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26:
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729:, p. vii caption 6, Catharine Edwards,
434:typical of Christian art at this period
418:Detail – cast of the central sections:
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456:, the primordial god according to the
31:Engraving of Junius Bassus Sarcophagus
1010:History of Art: The Western Tradition
974:, in: Catharine Edwards, Greg Woolf.
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978:, Cambridge University Press, 2006,
909:Iconography of Christian Art, Vol. I
786:, p. 80, 1983, John Murray, London,
733:, Cambridge University Press, 2006,
129:adding citations to reliable sources
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16:Sarcophagus in St. Peter's Basilica,
207:style of sculpture typified in the
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615:Journal of Early Christian Studies
522:often appear in depictions of the
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1136:Sculptures in the Vatican Museums
1044:, 1947, Read Books reprint 2007,
364:Three youths in the fiery furnace
568:need for Christ to be sacrificed
352:Miracle of the loaves and fishes
287:, that has no Scriptural basis.
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302:), and a double scene of the
1146:4th-century Roman sculptures
688:Kitzinger, 26–27, 26 quoted.
679:Kitzinger, 22–26, 25 quoted.
630:or 1595, see Elsner, p. 86n.
45:Sarcophagus of Junius Bassus
7:
1029:, 1977, Faber & Faber,
10:
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1102:Metropolitan Museum of Art
617:, Leonard Victor Rutgers,
592:the boggy area of the city
337:Cast of one of the sides;
294:, Judgement or Arrest of
1126:Ancient Roman sarcophagi
1037:(US: Cambridge UP, 1977)
659:Treasures of the Vatican
602:
426:Jesus entering Jerusalem
186:
81:programme embracing the
60:Old St. Peter's Basilica
1077:Oxford Art Encyclopedia
1064:A Handbook of Roman Art
1042:Art in the Early Church
880:Oxford Latin Dictionary
382:Moses striking the rock
244:Cleveland Museum of Art
54:used for the burial of
843:, p. 100, Geir Hellemo
554:, in an early form of
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458:Ancient Roman religion
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64:Saint Peter's Basilica
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39:Side view of the cast.
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874:Finbarr Barry Flood,
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378:receiving the tablets
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859:1.40 (3.5.30): "The
562:, which created the
507:interpretatio romana
268:The carvings are in
232:Dogmatic Sarcophagus
125:improve this section
75:Dogmatic sarcophagus
1151:Early Christian art
1006:Janson & Janson
976:Rome the Cosmopolis
950:Elsner's main theme
894:"with reference to
726:Rome the Cosmopolis
657:Calvesi, Maurizio;
528:Chronography of 354
209:Arch of Constantine
1156:Lazarus of Bethany
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544:Sacrifice of Isaac
442:Sacrifice of Isaac
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407:Scenes with Christ
370:Raising of Lazarus
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341:harvesting grapes.
292:Sacrifice of Isaac
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169:Praetorian prefect
73:Together with the
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25:
1110:978-0-87099-179-0
1100:, no. 386, 1979,
1066:, Phaidon, 1983,
1058:978-1-4067-5291-5
1018:978-0-13-182895-7
984:978-0-521-03011-3
816:Lowrie, 89 – the
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492:Christ the Victor
450:Roman iconography
314:on the dunghill,
261:on the dunghill;
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1131:Jesus in art
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534:Other scenes
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389:Four Seasons
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123:Please help
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79:iconographic
72:
47:is a marble
44:
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972:Elsner, Jaś
751:J.W. Appell
584:Crucifixion
560:Fall of Man
488:iconography
397:inscription
270:high relief
250:Iconography
221:chiaroscuro
214:Hellenistic
52:sarcophagus
1120:Categories
966:References
959:Lowrie, 89
773:Elsner, 87
731:Greg Woolf
648:Reece, 240
639:Reece, 237
275:Asia Minor
181:Tertullian
867:; but he
865:Jerusalem
482:" in the
347:spandrels
345:The tiny
175:, son of
112:does not
66:) in the
798:subject.
706:Hall, 80
597:same day
556:typology
509:between
505:and the
480:Victoria
469:evil eye
401:neophyte
355:and the
1094:, ed.,
896:Jehovah
857:Epitome
511:Judaism
462:Gospels
440:in the
438:Abraham
306:before
133:removed
118:sources
68:Vatican
1108:
1070:
1056:
1048:
1033:
1016:
999:
982:
938:
915:
892:Caelum
888:Caelus
884:caelum
807:Janson
790:
737:
515:Yahweh
454:Caelus
367:, the
324:Daniel
240:frieze
853:Floro
818:cornu
762:Texts
603:Notes
572:wheat
484:conch
393:putti
376:Moses
339:putti
296:Peter
187:Style
1106:ISBN
1068:ISBN
1054:ISBN
1046:ISBN
1031:ISBN
1014:ISBN
997:ISBN
980:ISBN
936:ISBN
913:ISBN
861:Jews
788:ISBN
735:ISBN
580:Abel
578:and
576:Cain
424:and
380:and
328:Paul
116:any
114:cite
85:and
43:The
478:of
312:Job
259:Job
127:by
83:Old
1122::
1052:,
1025:,
1008:,
930:,
890:o
855:,
599:.
384:.
373:,
330:.
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89:.
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