TORRITI, Jacopo

There was a major mosaic flowering in Rome during the pontificate of Pope Nicholas IV (1288-1292). This renewal was indebted to the mosaic commissions by popes of the early thirteenth century. Nicholas IV first had the Early Christian apse mosaic at the Lateran completely redone between 1288 and 1291. The bust of the Saviour from the earlier mosaic was transferred into the new one. In addition, the gem-studded cross atop the hill of paradise with its rivers and drinking stags may also have been saved from the older work. Distinctly thirteenth-century elements are the figures of saints on either side of the cross - on the left the Virgin recommending the donor pope, who kneels at her feet, along with Sts Francis, Peter, and Paul, on the right John the Baptist, Anthony, John the Evangelist, and Andrew. The rest of the apostles are pictured between the windows below the apse calotte.

Jacopo Torriti was responsible for the design of the mosaic. He signed it and indicated his role with the tools that serve as his attributes.

The apse mosaic was removed during the expansion of the choir in 1883-84 and subsequently replaced; it is essentially only a re-creation from the late nineteenth century.

Throngs of adoring angels take an active interest in the ceremony. They are flanked on either side by applauding saints - Peter, Paul, and Francis on the left. Pope Nicholas IV is seen kneeling in adoration of the two figures on the throne, but he is considerably smaller than they, even smaller than the angels and the saints standing behind them.

Throngs of adoring angels take an active interest in the ceremony. They are flanked on either side by applauding saints - John the Baptist, John the Evangelist, and Anthony on the right. Cardinal Jacopo, the archpriest of Santa Maria Maggiore, is seen kneeling in adoration of the two figures on the throne, but he is considerably smaller than they, even smaller than the angels and the saints standing behind them.

Five scenes from the life of Mary are beneath the Coronation of the Virgin at window level: the Annunciation, the Nativity, the Adoration of the Kings, the Presentation in the Temple, and the Dormition.

The picture shows the Annunciation.

Five scenes from the life of Mary are beneath the Coronation of the Virgin at window level: the Annunciation, the Nativity, the Adoration of the Kings, the Presentation in the Temple, and the Dormition.

The picture shows the Nativity.

Five scenes from the life of Mary are beneath the Coronation of the Virgin at window level: the Annunciation, the Nativity, the Adoration of the Kings, the Presentation in the Temple, and the Dormition.

The picture shows the Adoration of the Kings.

Five scenes from the life of Mary are beneath the Coronation of the Virgin at window level: the Annunciation, the Nativity, the Adoration of the Kings, the Presentation in the Temple, and the Dormition.

The picture shows the Presentation in the Temple.

Five scenes from the life of Mary are beneath the Coronation of the Virgin at window level: the Annunciation, the Nativity, the Adoration of the Kings, the Presentation in the Temple, and the Dormition.

The picture shows the Dormition. This scene, interrupting the chronological sequence of the events, occupies the centre compartment, which places it in a direct relationship to the Coronation in form and content.

According to tradition, Pope Liberius (pope from 352 to 366) and a patrician had the same dream at the same night. The Virgin appeared and expressed her wish to raise a church at the site which she will mark by snow at the middle of the summer. Next day the Esquiline hill was covered by snow and it became the site of the church of Santa Maria Maggiore.

The Early Christian church was erected by Pope Sixtus III (432-440) and its mosaic decoration in the nave and the apse also date from this period. The Early Christian apse mosaic has been lost, having been replaced by the one by Jacopo Torriti during a redesign of the entire choir area under Pope Nicholas IV (1288-1292) who commissioned the replacement without entirely changing the original subject matter and retaining the bust of the Saviour, believed to have appeared miraculously at the time of the basilica’s consecration. For the expansion of the choir the apse was sacrificed along with its mosaic. The exterior of the new apse is polygonal in form, and is now enclosed in Baroque architecture. Inside, however, it is semicircular.

The commission for the new apse mosaic was given to Jacopo Torriti, who left the Lateran workshop around 1291 to assist the work at Santa Maria Maggiore. The main subject of the mosaic is the Coronation of the Virgin, with five scenes from the life of Mary beneath if: the Annunciation, the Nativity, the Adoration of the Kings, the Presentation in the Temple, and the Dormition. The latter, interrupting the chronological sequence of the events, occupies the centre compartment, which places it in a direct relationship to the Coronation in form and content.

The subject of the Coronation of the Virgin as linked to her physical resurrection had already been popular north of the Alps as early as the twelfth century. In Italy, however, it found its first inclusion in monumental art in Torriti’s mosaic, and it had never before been pictured with such splendour.

The mosaic from the apse of Santa Maria Maggiore is beneath the dome of the apse where are scenes from the life of the Virgin. The artist, who was commissioned by the Franciscan pope, Nicholas IV, combined new iconographic elements from Gothic cathedrals with traditional Roman elements such as the acanthus vine.

The Coronation of the Virgin had never before been pictured with such splendour. Against a gold ground a round slice of heaven in dark blue, set with the sun and moon and numerous stars in gold and silver, serves as a foil for the heavenly throne on which Christ welcomes the Virgin into the topmost sphere of heaven. Both are dressed in gold, and together they share the centre of the symmetrical composition. With his right hand Christ is placing a crown on her head, while Mary has turned toward him and raised her hands in the gesture of an intercessor. Throngs of adoring angels take an active interest in the ceremony. They are flanked on either side by applauding saints - Peter, Paul, and Francis on the left, John the Baptist, John the Evangelist, and Anthony on the right. At the left and right edges of the mosaic two large acanthus plants send out tendrils that uncurl into round volutes framing the figural composition at the sides.

The mosaic from the apse of Santa Maria Maggiore is beneath the dome of the apse where are scenes from the life of the Virgin. The artist, who was commissioned by the Franciscan pope, Nicholas IV, combined new iconographic elements from Gothic cathedrals with traditional Roman elements such as the acanthus vine.

The Coronation of the Virgin had never before been pictured with such splendour. Against a gold ground a round slice of heaven in dark blue, set with the sun and moon and numerous stars in gold and silver, serves as a foil for the heavenly throne on which Christ welcomes the Virgin into the topmost sphere of heaven. Both are dressed in gold, and together they share the centre of the symmetrical composition. With his right hand Christ is placing a crown on her head, while Mary has turned toward him and raised her hands in the gesture of an intercessor. Throngs of adoring angels take an active interest in the ceremony. They are flanked on either side by applauding saints - Peter, Paul, and Francis on the left, John the Baptist, John the Evangelist, and Anthony on the right. At the left and right edges of the mosaic two large acanthus plants send out tendrils that uncurl into round volutes framing the figural composition at the sides.

The Coronation of the Virgin had never before been pictured with such splendour. Against a gold ground a round slice of heaven in dark blue, set with the sun and moon and numerous stars in gold and silver, serves as a foil for the heavenly throne on which Christ welcomes the Virgin into the topmost sphere of heaven. Both are dressed in gold, and together they share the centre of the symmetrical composition. With his right hand Christ is placing a crown on her head, while Mary has turned toward him and raised her hands in the gesture of an intercessor. Throngs of adoring angels take an active interest in the ceremony.

In his left hand Christ displays a book inscribed with a verse taken from the office for the feast of the Assumption.

Mary has turned toward him and raised her hands in the gesture of an intercessor.

The two frescoed vaults of the nave, one by Torriti and the other by the Isaac Master (the Master of the Isaac Stories), sum up the iconographic program of the walls beneath. The vault of the Deësis celebrates the church triumphant in the four tondi depicting Christ giving his blessing, the Virgin Mary, and St Francis and St John flanked by angels. The vault of the Doctors celebrates the Church militant, called on to prepare for the Kingdom of God on earth through the work of Jerome, Ambrose, Gregory, and Augustine.

The fresco in the vault of the second bay from transept depicts the Blessing Christ, the Virgin Mary, St Francis and St John. The four tondi are flanked by angels.

The two frescoed vaults of the nave, one by Torriti and the other by the Isaac Master (the Master of the Isaac Stories), sum up the iconographic program of the walls beneath. The vault of the Deësis celebrates the church triumphant in the four tondi depicting Christ giving his blessing, the Virgin Mary, and St Francis and St John flanked by angels. The vault of the Doctors celebrates the Church militant, called on to prepare for the Kingdom of God on earth through the work of Jerome, Ambrose, Gregory, and Augustine.

The detail of the Deësis vault in the third bay of the nave represents the Blessing Christ in the west vault cell.

The walls on either side of the window are divided horizontally. At top, the Creation of the World can be seen on the left and the Creation of Adam (Jacopo Torriti) on the right. Below these are the Building of the Ark and the Boarding of the Ark (follower of Cimabue). On the walls of the nave we can see the first three stations in the life of St Francis. The illusionistic framework of the Legend of St Francis is also visible: the rich console frieze above the coffered ceiling, which is laid out in perspective and supported by twisted columns.

The frescoes illustrate the complex decorative program realized in the nave of the Upper Church.

This scene begins the biblical stories in the nave. From an iconographic point of view they are derived directly from the Early Christian frescoes that could once be seen inside the Vatican basilica of old St. Peter’s. The influence of these Roman prototypes can also be recognised in almost all the medieval mural paintings of biblical subjects in the central regions of Italy.

This fresco is located in the clerestory of the north wall in the fourth bay of the nave.

This episode provides a good example of the link between the biblical stories and the scenes from the life of St Francis painted underneath by Giotto. Just as God made a pact of alliance with Noah by saving him from the scourge of the Flood, so he entrusts Francis with a spiritual mission by inviting him to become his follower and take up his cross.

This fresco is located in the clerestory of the north wall in the fourth bay of the nave.

This episode provides a good example of the link between the biblical stories and the scenes from the life of St Francis painted underneath by Giotto. Just as God made a pact of alliance with Noah by saving him from the scourge of the Flood, so he entrusts Francis with a spiritual mission by inviting him to become his follower and take up his cross.

This fresco is located in the clerestory of the north wall in the fourth bay of the nave.

This fresco is located in the clerestory of the north wall in the third bay of the nave.

This fresco is located in the clerestory of the north wall in the third bay of the nave.

The frescoes in the clerestory of the two western bays of the nave are less closely related to Torriti’s secure works. Scenes like the Construction of the Ark and the Sacrifice of Isaac betray the persistent influence of Cimabue.

This fresco is located in the clerestory of the north wall in the third bay of the nave.

This scene was probably painted by an assistant of Torriti.

Pope Nicholas IV commissioned the mosaic decoration of the apse of Santa Maria Maggiore, replacing the fifth-century mosaic but without entirely changing the original subject matter and retaining the bust of the Saviour, believed to have appeared miraculously at the time of the basilica’s consecration. The task was given to Jacopo Torriti, who left the Lateran workshop around 1291 to assist the work at Santa Maria Maggiore.

The frescoes above the gallery behind the crossing in the nave of the Upper Church show the unmistakable style of Jacopo Torriti who was chosen by Pope Nicholas IV for the mosaic decoration of the apsidal tribunes of San Giovanni Laterano (1291) and Santa Maria Maggiore (1296) in Rome. The frescoes in Assisi are earlier than the Roman mosaics, as is clear from their more old-fashioned approach to the representation of space.

The decorative program in the nave consists of the fresco cycle Legend of St Francis painted by Giotto beneath the gallery on the lower part of the wall, and episodes from the Old Testament above the gallery in the clerestory on the north wall, and episodes from the New Testament on the south wall. Some of these scenes as well as the vault with the Deesis were painted by Torriti and his assistants.

The picture shows the decoration on the north wall (to the right from the entrance).