Date of Award
12-2009
Degree Type
Thesis
Degree Name
Master of Arts (MA)
Department
Art and Design
First Advisor
Glenn Gunhouse - Chair
Second Advisor
John Decker
Third Advisor
Maria Gindhart
Abstract
This paper discusses the fresco decoration of Santa Maria ad Cryptas. The frescoes are described and analyzed, and then compared to similar programs in order to determine which features are based on earlier sources, and which are unusual or unique to this particular church. The traditional features are found to reflect a long-established pattern of church decoration reflected in such monuments as Old Saint Peter’s, Sant’Angelo in Formis, the Cathedral of Monreale, and the Cappella Palatina. The unusual features (including the placement of the Passion cycle in the presbytery, and the location of the Crucifixion over the altar) are explained as modifications that emphasize themes of local importance, or of special significance to the patron. The Fossa frescoes utilize programmatic elements, such as the Old and New Testament narrative cycles, to explain sacred history as it related to a medieval man of the patron’s class and profession.
DOI
https://doi.org/10.57709/1234589
Recommended Citation
Walker, Ashely Wilemon, "The Thirteenth-Century Fresco Decoration of Santa Maria Ad Cryptas in Fossa, Italy." Thesis, Georgia State University, 2009.
doi: https://doi.org/10.57709/1234589