Chiara Croci
University of Lausanne, Art History, Faculty Member
- Masaryk University, Faculty of Arts, Adjunctadd
Fondato con tutta probabilità sul crinale del quarto secolo, San Giovanni in fonte è in questo stato di cose il primo battistero d’occidente che si conservi con la sua decorazione originaria. I suoi mosaici offrono uno scorcio unico sul... more
Fondato con tutta probabilità sul crinale del quarto secolo, San Giovanni in fonte è in questo stato di cose il primo battistero d’occidente che si conservi con la sua decorazione originaria. I suoi mosaici offrono uno scorcio unico sul problema dell’affermazione di un’imagerie cristiana su scala monumentale e si rivelano fondamentali per ricostruire la cultura artistica del periodo di svolta che dal tramonto dell’epoca tardoantica conduce agli albori del medioevo
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Celebre per le sue pitture antiche, la Campania felix custodisce monumenti paleocristiani degni dei più noti di Roma e Ravenna: un patrimonio rimasto finora nell’oblio, che si rivela invece cruciale per la conoscenza dell’arte... more
Celebre per le sue pitture antiche, la Campania felix custodisce monumenti paleocristiani degni dei più noti di Roma e Ravenna: un patrimonio rimasto finora nell’oblio, che si rivela invece cruciale per la conoscenza dell’arte tardoantica.
Questo libro, che ha per protagonisti il battistero di San Giovanni in Fonte a Napoli, il complesso funerario di Cimitile presso Nola e quello di San Prisco alle porte di Capua, ricostruisce la nascita e i primi sviluppi dell’arte monumentale cristiana in Campania.
Ne emerge un panorama estremamente originale, frutto di un contesto culturale plasmato da committenti in bilico tra la “vecchia” aristocrazia romana e la “nuova” gerarchia ecclesiastica.
Questo libro, che ha per protagonisti il battistero di San Giovanni in Fonte a Napoli, il complesso funerario di Cimitile presso Nola e quello di San Prisco alle porte di Capua, ricostruisce la nascita e i primi sviluppi dell’arte monumentale cristiana in Campania.
Ne emerge un panorama estremamente originale, frutto di un contesto culturale plasmato da committenti in bilico tra la “vecchia” aristocrazia romana e la “nuova” gerarchia ecclesiastica.
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Dedicato alla produzione pittorica romana dell’altomedioevo, questo libro è il primo scorcio di una ricerca in corso nell’ambito del progetto Rome aux siècles ‘obscurs’. Les lumières de la communication visuelle, Ve-XIe siècles (Fondo... more
Dedicato alla produzione pittorica romana dell’altomedioevo, questo libro è il primo scorcio di una ricerca in corso nell’ambito del progetto Rome aux siècles ‘obscurs’. Les lumières de la communication visuelle, Ve-XIe siècles (Fondo Nazionale Svizzero della ricerca, 2020-2023). Sette casi di studio illustrano le strategie metodologiche sviluppate da un gruppo di ricerca multidisciplinare per affrontare testimonianze tra loro diverse per contesto, funzione e tipo di committenza (i mosaici di Sant’Agnese fuori le mura e di Santo Stefano Rotondo, il mosaico e le pitture della cosiddetta aula a sei vani sotto San Martino ai Monti, le pitture del Patriarchio lateranense, di Santa Maria in Cosmedin, di San Giorgio al Velabro e della galleria orientale di San Lorenzo fuori le mura).
Le molte novità qui riunite sono prova della vitalità di Roma tra i secoli V e XI, quando si affermò un sistema di comunicazione visiva che plasmerà nel tempo il paesaggio figurativo cittadino.
Le molte novità qui riunite sono prova della vitalità di Roma tra i secoli V e XI, quando si affermò un sistema di comunicazione visiva che plasmerà nel tempo il paesaggio figurativo cittadino.
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Research Interests: History, Cultural History, Cultural Studies, Art History, Medieval History, and 15 moreCultural Heritage, Medieval Studies, Historiography, Culture, Early Medieval History, Carolingian Studies, Historiography (in Art History), Early Rome, Medieval Art, Christianity and Rome, Carolingian Art, Merovingian and Carolingian, Medieval Rome, Carolingian manuscripts, and Carolingian History
Couronnement des édifices les plus prestigieux, charnière entre l'espace architectural et le monde céleste, la coupole s'avère être un « système » crucial dans l'art de l'antiquité tardive et du haut Moyen Âge. Signe de commandes très... more
Couronnement des édifices les plus prestigieux, charnière entre l'espace architectural et le monde céleste, la coupole s'avère être un « système » crucial dans l'art de l'antiquité tardive et du haut Moyen Âge. Signe de commandes très distinguées, elle caractérise des bâtiments de grande importance – mausolées, martyria et memoria, baptistères, églises impériales, chapelles palatines – et incarne des défis architecturaux et décoratifs majeurs. En raison du faible nombre d’exemples conservés et de la complexité de leurs problématiques, les bâtiments à coupole ont rarement été l’objet d’études d'ensemble. Durant ces quinze dernières années, toutefois, d’importantes recherches ont révolutionné l’état des connaissances d’une partie de ces bâtiments et ont fondé les présupposés d’une nouvelle étude d’ensemble. Dans ce volume anthologique, les bâtiments à coupole majeurs de l’Antiquité tardive et du haut Moyen Âge sont étudiés selon des perspectives variées. Son but est celui d’éclaircir la structure et la décoration de ces bâtiments par rapport à leur fonction et d’offrir ainsi une ouverture sur un tournant historique majeur.
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L’articolo prende spunto da due recenti ipotesi. La prima, formulata da C. Parisi Presicce, presenta il colosso della basilica di Massenzio come una rilavorazione della statua di Giove del Tempio del Campidoglio. La seconda, di C.... more
L’articolo prende spunto da due recenti ipotesi. La prima, formulata da C. Parisi Presicce, presenta il colosso della basilica di Massenzio come una rilavorazione della statua di Giove del Tempio del Campidoglio. La seconda, di C. Vollmer, propone di interpretare la rotonda al fianco sud di San Pietro, poi dedicata a Sant’Andrea, come l’edificio nel quale l’augusto avrebbe progettato di farsi seppellire ad Petrum. Se confermate, queste ipotesi impongono una revisione del diffuso schema storiografico che oppone il disinteresse quasi totale di Costantino per il centro di Roma all’ambizioso programma di fondazioni ecclesiastiche extra moenia. Il saggio discute queste ipotesi inserendole nella più ampia problematica del rapporto tra Costantino e la Roma antica, aprendo nuove piste per affrontare in chiave transdisciplinare le dinamiche della trasformazione del mondo tardoantico.
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The mosaic in the apse of the Church of S. Agnese fuori le mura in Rome represents one of the most important examples of the wall mosaics of the Roman Middle Ages. Although it is associated with Byzantine figurative culture, no scientific... more
The mosaic in the apse of the Church of S. Agnese fuori le mura in Rome represents one
of the most important examples of the wall mosaics of the Roman Middle Ages. Although it is
associated with Byzantine figurative culture, no scientific study has addressed this important piece
of Italian art history. One factor that has probably limited and created difficulties for its analysis
is the poor legibility of the original parts, which are compromised by heavy restorations affecting
the gold background, the faces of the two male side figures, and the lower band of the mosaic. The
present work describes how multispectral imaging provided significant guidance in the preliminary
identification of possible original areas in this ancient wall mosaic. Through an interdisciplinary
approach, the art historical background and historical graphic documentation of known restorations
supported the use of multispectral imaging to recognize original parts. The initial results of the
lab analyses (SEM-EDS and EMPA) of supposed original tesserae validated the hypothesis made a
priori thanks to multispectral acquisition, opening up new application possibilities for use of this
noninvasive technique in the preliminary in situ identification of original parts in restored glass
wall mosaics.
of the most important examples of the wall mosaics of the Roman Middle Ages. Although it is
associated with Byzantine figurative culture, no scientific study has addressed this important piece
of Italian art history. One factor that has probably limited and created difficulties for its analysis
is the poor legibility of the original parts, which are compromised by heavy restorations affecting
the gold background, the faces of the two male side figures, and the lower band of the mosaic. The
present work describes how multispectral imaging provided significant guidance in the preliminary
identification of possible original areas in this ancient wall mosaic. Through an interdisciplinary
approach, the art historical background and historical graphic documentation of known restorations
supported the use of multispectral imaging to recognize original parts. The initial results of the
lab analyses (SEM-EDS and EMPA) of supposed original tesserae validated the hypothesis made a
priori thanks to multispectral acquisition, opening up new application possibilities for use of this
noninvasive technique in the preliminary in situ identification of original parts in restored glass
wall mosaics.
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Addressing Christian mosaics known through visual and written antiquarian documents, this paper discusses the necessity to look at this type of sources going beyond the iconographic information usually considered. A look to documents... more
Addressing Christian mosaics known through visual and written antiquarian documents, this paper
discusses the necessity to look at this type of sources going beyond the iconographic information usually
considered. A look to documents related to most known antiquarian sources opens questions on the contexts
of some lost works and allow to reconsider historiographical convictions in order to reach a new image
of medieval art.
discusses the necessity to look at this type of sources going beyond the iconographic information usually
considered. A look to documents related to most known antiquarian sources opens questions on the contexts
of some lost works and allow to reconsider historiographical convictions in order to reach a new image
of medieval art.
Research Interests: Early Christianity, Early Medieval Archaeology, Early Christian Art, Prints and Drawings, Antiquarianism in the seventeenth century, and 6 moreEarly Christian Archaeology, Medieval Rome, History of Archaeology - Antiquarianism - Classical Tradition, Giovanni Ciampini, Capua Vetere, and MIchele Monaco
The first Christian visual expressions are unquestionably characterized by their immediate character. Many of the Old and New Testament images appearing in third-century funerary spaces are in fact reduced to identification of the... more
The first Christian visual expressions are unquestionably characterized by their immediate character. Many of the Old and New Testament images appearing in third-century funerary spaces are in fact reduced to identification of the protagonist and some minimal attributes. Scholars have therefore referred to these images as "signitive" or "abbreviated" depictions. This essay, considering various typologies of objects, the contexts of their creation, and their relation to testamentary narrative cycles, offers insights into the origins of this figurative visual language. The images are shown to result from accumulations of single elements that form networks of salvific concepts, the semantic potential of which was enhanced and oriented according to an associative logic. Indeed, they are not abbreviations of elaborate narrative cycles; in some cases, they reflect visual strategies developed in narrative cycles that enhanced the sense of "signitive" images and served as bridges linking them.
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A glimpse of Pavia's early medieval pictorial and mosaic richness can be gained from four tituli contained in the Lorsch sylloge. Combining what the tituli offer with information about the politico-ecclesiastical situation as well as... more
A glimpse of Pavia's early medieval pictorial and mosaic richness can be gained from four tituli contained in the Lorsch sylloge. Combining what the tituli offer with information about the politico-ecclesiastical situation as well as archaeological evidence of the pre-Carolingian city, this article presents the hypothesis that the inscriptions referred to images created in the church of San Michele over the seventh and eighth centuries. The image of St Michael at one time dominating the entrance, and that of a Christus Victor, could date back to a rearrangement of the church resulting from the affirmation of the cult of the Archangel in the second half of the seventh century. These and other figural elements may have provided inspiration for the works promoted by King Desiderius (757-774), to whom an inscription seems to attribute an apsidal mosaic replacing an older decoration.
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Gold glass bottoms generally found in Roman catacombs, are some of late antiquity’s most enigmatic objects. Originally conceived as vessels, once they were broken, their bases were reemployed to be embedded in the mortar sealing of the... more
Gold glass bottoms generally found in Roman catacombs, are some of late antiquity’s most enigmatic objects. Originally conceived as vessels, once they were broken, their bases were reemployed to be embedded in the mortar sealing of the slabs of certain loculi. Drawing on the different hypotheses on the origins of the bowls or glasses these bottoms were obtained from, and reflecting on the reasons for and ways of using these glass bottoms to decorate loculi, this paper aims to reassess the position of gold glass in the culture of late antiquity by questioning its pertinence or link to "popular" culture.
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Hagiographical narratives, especially depictions of the acta martyrum, stand out in the pre-Carolingian Rome and reach an apex in the transept of Santa Prassede. Whether this reflects the renewal of a late-antique tradition, the survival... more
Hagiographical narratives, especially depictions of
the acta martyrum, stand out in the pre-Carolingian Rome and reach
an apex in the transept of Santa Prassede. Whether this reflects the renewal of a late-antique tradition, the survival of a tradition erased
by conservation, or something new in eighth- and ninth-century Rome remains unclear. To understand the transept program in the cultural and political context of Pope Paschal i’s papacy, this paper considers the main developments of the hagiographical paintings in the early Middle Ages, the role of Saint Peter’s basilica as a model, and the specifics of the transept’s space, coming back to the repetitiveness of the cycles of Santa Prassede and to the redundant scene of the martyr trial
the acta martyrum, stand out in the pre-Carolingian Rome and reach
an apex in the transept of Santa Prassede. Whether this reflects the renewal of a late-antique tradition, the survival of a tradition erased
by conservation, or something new in eighth- and ninth-century Rome remains unclear. To understand the transept program in the cultural and political context of Pope Paschal i’s papacy, this paper considers the main developments of the hagiographical paintings in the early Middle Ages, the role of Saint Peter’s basilica as a model, and the specifics of the transept’s space, coming back to the repetitiveness of the cycles of Santa Prassede and to the redundant scene of the martyr trial
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La cattedrale di Capua, pesantemente trasformata in seguito ai danni bellici, era dominata fino alla prima metà del XVIII secolo da un mosaico absidale commissionato dal vescovo Ugone (1129-1135). Noto da testimonianze grafiche... more
La cattedrale di Capua, pesantemente trasformata in seguito ai danni bellici, era dominata fino alla prima metà del XVIII secolo da un mosaico absidale commissionato dal vescovo Ugone (1129-1135). Noto da testimonianze grafiche Seicentesche, era presentato dagli eruditi locali come una sintesi dei mosaici absidali delle tre principali chiese paleocristiane perdute dell’antico centro (Santa Maria Maggiore, SS. Stefano e Agata e San Pietro in Corpo): una tesi che ne fece, ante litteram, un prodotto artistico della riforma gregoriana. Lo studio della reliquia iconografica del mosaico ugoniano rispetto ai suoi pretesi modelli paleocristiani consente di relativizzare la lettura e di interpretarla alla luce del contesto capuano sei e settecentesco. Enfatizzando il legame tra l’antica e la nuova Capua in un particolare momento politico-ecclesiastico, il mosaico di Ugone offre nuovi argomenti per una revisione del mito storiografico dell’arte della riforma.
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The Depiction of the Acta Martyrum During the Early Middle Ages. Hints from a Liminal Space, The hagiographical cycles painted in the transept of Santa Prassede, dating in all likelihood from the moment of the foundation of the church by... more
The Depiction of the Acta Martyrum During the Early Middle Ages. Hints from a Liminal Space, The hagiographical cycles painted in the transept of Santa Prassede, dating in all likelihood from the moment of the foundation of the church by Paschal have been neglected by the academia because of their state of preservation and their apparently marginal location. This paper reconsiders this ensemble considering the transept as a crucial element in a basilica focused on a crypta, where it occupies a liminal place between the space of the clergy and the space of the worshippers. Taking into account this specific location and after having pointed on the diffusion of the hagiographical matter at the basis of the paintings in the early medieval culture, the paper shows the main iconographical strategies adopted to facilitate the apprehension of these narrative cycles. What emerges is an ensemble not less important than the most renowned works of Paschal , which push to reflect on the status of the wall-painting and especially of the narrative genre for a better understanding of the early medieval art.
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The article aspires to show how physiognomy was used in late antique art in order to give substance to the theophanic dimension of a person, especially of a saint. Drawing on monumental art, sculpture, daily life objects and catacomb... more
The article aspires to show how physiognomy was used in late antique art in order to give substance to the theophanic dimension of a person, especially of a saint. Drawing on monumental art, sculpture, daily life objects and catacomb paintings or mosaics, it is possible to discern that the physiognomic features were used as iconographical attributes, which were adjusted depending on the context and of the degree of holiness of the person depicted (saints, deceased, patrons). Therefore, the article allows to follow the transition from portrait to 'icon' characterizing the late antique period.
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A Christian Cosmography? The Astronomical Origins of the Dome of a Lost Martyrial Building Known only through modern copies and descriptions, the iconography of the lost mosaics of the fifth-century building in the San Prisco cemetery on... more
A Christian Cosmography? The Astronomical
Origins of the Dome of a Lost Martyrial Building
Known only through modern copies and descriptions,
the iconography of the lost mosaics of the fifth-century
building in the San Prisco cemetery on the Appian
Way outside Capua remains unique in Early Christian
art. Similarities between the composition scheme of
the Capuan dome’s mosaic and images in astronomical
treatises, such as the miniature of the Ptolemy’s easy
Tables, attest to the influence of cosmological models in
the mosaic's iconography. Specific connections between
cosmological imagery and depictions in the Early Christian
world emerge from the analysis, enabling the author to
present San Prisco's mosaic as a Christian Cosmology
adapted, by members of a highly cultivated ecclesiastical
elite, to the devotional needs of the Capuan martyrial site.
Origins of the Dome of a Lost Martyrial Building
Known only through modern copies and descriptions,
the iconography of the lost mosaics of the fifth-century
building in the San Prisco cemetery on the Appian
Way outside Capua remains unique in Early Christian
art. Similarities between the composition scheme of
the Capuan dome’s mosaic and images in astronomical
treatises, such as the miniature of the Ptolemy’s easy
Tables, attest to the influence of cosmological models in
the mosaic's iconography. Specific connections between
cosmological imagery and depictions in the Early Christian
world emerge from the analysis, enabling the author to
present San Prisco's mosaic as a Christian Cosmology
adapted, by members of a highly cultivated ecclesiastical
elite, to the devotional needs of the Capuan martyrial site.
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Lieu par excellence des images théophaniques, la coupole a réservé, spécialement dans le monde médiéval et byzantin, peu d’espace à la narration. En accueillant des scènes issues du Nouveau Testament disposées dans un schéma radial, la... more
Lieu par excellence des images théophaniques, la coupole a réservé, spécialement dans le monde médiéval et byzantin, peu d’espace à la narration. En accueillant des scènes issues du Nouveau Testament disposées dans un schéma radial, la coupole du baptistère de Naples constitue en ce sens une exception qui mérite d’être approfondie. Des considérations sur l’iconographie des mosaïques et leur articulation montrent comment on a su exploiter l’espace afin d’y aménager des paradigmes bibliques adaptés à un contexte spécifique et permettent d’émettre des hypothèses sur le maigre succès de la narration dans les bâtiments à coupole
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"Oriente o Roma"? Napoli. La pluralità stilistica dei mosaici del battistero di
San Giovanni in Fonte (400 ca) tra “modes” e pratiche
di cantiere
San Giovanni in Fonte (400 ca) tra “modes” e pratiche
di cantiere
From the end of the nineteenth century on the mosaics of the baptistery of San Giovanni in Fonte have been held to pertain to two different artistic periods. One part was identified as ‘Roman’ and ascribed to the fourth century, while... more
From the end of the nineteenth century on the mosaics of the baptistery of San Giovanni in Fonte have been held to pertain to two different artistic periods. One part was identified as ‘Roman’ and ascribed to the fourth century, while another, considered less naturalistic, was attributed to a later, Byzantine tradition. Although most of the academe agrees now on dating the decoration to the episcopate of Severus (368-410), the dichotomist ‘reading’ of the mosaics continues to influence studies on the baptistery. By identifying in late eighteenth-century historiography, more precisely in the 1898-1908 decade, the origin of the two-phases thesis, the present study will underline that the perception was influenced by contemporary ruminations on the nature of Byzantine art and the development of the ‘Orient or Rome’ debate.
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Research Interests: History, Cultural Studies, Art History, Medieval History, Cultural Heritage, and 12 moreMedieval Studies, Early Medieval Archaeology, Early Medieval History, Carolingian Studies, Medieval Art, Christianity and Rome, Early Medieval Art, Carolingian Art, Merovingian and Carolingian, Medieval Rome, Carolingian art and architecture, and Carolingian History
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Brno, Masaryk University, Hans Belting Library, 14th-15th October 2019