Detail View: ADJUNCT MODULE C: WORLD ART: Santa Maria Antiqua: Chapel of the Primicerius Theodotus

Collection: 
ADJUNCT MODULE C: WORLD ART
Preferred Title: 
Santa Maria Antiqua: Chapel of the Primicerius Theodotus
Image View: 
Detail, painted illusionistic banner of cloth on the lower walls of the chapel and wall icon with Theodotus and his family
Creator: 
reign of Pope Zacharias (Byzantine pope, 679-752); unknown (Italian painter)
Location: 
repository: Santa Maria Antiqua (Rome, Lazio, Italy)
Location Note: 
Palantine Hill, Roman Forum
GPS: 
+41.891+12.485583
Date: 
ca. 741-752 (creation)
Cultural Context: 
Byzantine; Italian
Style Period: 
Byzantine
Work Type 1: 
chapel (room or structure)
Work Type 2: 
fresco (painting)
Classification: 
Paintings
Material: 
pigment on plaster (fresco)
Technique: 
fresco painting (technique)
Subjects: 
New Testament; rulers and leaders; saints; Jesus Christ; Mary, Blessed Virgin, Saint; martyrdom; Zachary
Description: 
The chapel to the left of the apse was decorated in the time of Zacharias (Zachary, reigned 741-752) by a papal official named Theodotus. A well-preserved narrative cycle on the side walls relates the passion of SS Quiricus (Cyr or Cyricus) and Julitta, martyrs at Tarsus, and includes portraits of the donor and his family. It is one of the earliest surviving non-biblical hagiographic cycles. On the end wall, a depiction of Theodotus presenting a model of the church to the enthroned Virgin and Child was removed in 1947 (now restored). The niche above it was painted with a Crucifixion, depicting a colobium-clad Christ flanked by the Virgin, St. John, and two other figures, one, identified by an inscription as Longinus, carrying a lance and the other a sponge. Above the frescoes are opus sectile decorations and other paintings from the 2nd century CE. (Source: Grove Art Online; http://www.oxfordartonline.com/)
Collection: 
Archivision Adjunct Module C: World Art
Identifier: 
6A2-I-R-RF-SMA-CPT-A19
Rights: 
© Scott Gilchrist, Archivision, Inc.