Pala d'oro
The Pala d'Oro ( ital. About "golden altar" of pala "altarpiece", from lat. Palla "robe, Curtain") is a gold, silver, enamels manufactured and precious stones altarpiece in St. Mark's Basilica in Venice .
Description and structure
,_15.jpg)
The Pala d'oro is not only the best-known individual work of art inside the extremely richly decorated Basilica San Marco, but also one of the most magnificent Christian altarpieces of all. In addition to the imposing dimensions of 3.45 meters wide and 1.40 meters high, the valuable features contribute to this: 83 enamel pictures made using the cell melting technique , 74 enamel medallions, 38 gold miniature busts , gold and silver engravings and gold filigree as well as 2,486 jewels - 526 pearls , 330 garnets , 320 emeralds , 255 sapphires , various amethysts , rubies , topazes and carved cameos adorn the work. In addition to this rather material wealth, there is the largely excellent artistic execution.
The antependium is horizontally divided into two zones, a base and a lower top, which are grouped together by a gold frame decorated with filigree , precious stones and semi-sculptural busts of saints. The center of the base is a representation of Christ as Pantocrator in a mandorla . It is surrounded by four medallions depicting the canonical evangelists . Above Christ, the Holy Spirit is depicted as a dove (center, so-called Hetoimasia ) and left and right cherubim and seraphim , below him in three individual figures, Mary (center), Empress Irene (left) and the Doge Ordelafo Faliero (right), who commissioned the extension of the altarpiece in the 12th century. The latter picture, according to one assumption, originally portrayed the emperor Johannes Komnenos , matching the picture of Irenes , but was reworked by the Venetians for their purposes. Against this, however, is the fact that the attached name shows no signs of revision, and the Doge does not wear the usual imperial red shoes, but black ones. However, the head, which is clearly too small, and the nimbus have been replaced. This revision could have taken place in 1209 to give the Doge an imperial appearance. This would fit into the revision of Venetian history in the wake of Doge Enrico Dandolo and the Fourth Crusade.
Angels (above), the twelve apostles (center) and Old Testament prophets (below) are shown in three rows on the left and right of this central field . The frame of the base is made up of roughly square enamel plates depicting the life of Christ (above, across) and the evangelist Mark (vertical left and right) as well as the transfer of the relics of Mark to Venice (lower right). - The center of the essay is the Archangel Michael . Scenes from the life of Jesus are depicted in three arcades to the right and left of him: on the left the entry into Jerusalem, Christ's descent into hell and the crucifixion, on the right the Ascension of Christ, the miracle of Pentecost and Mary's death and ascension to heaven.
Emergence
Despite its uniform effect in the spirit of the Venetian Gothic of the 14th century, it is an ensemble that has gradually emerged. The oldest parts, namely the small circular medallions on the outer frame, come from a silver antependium introduced from Byzantium in 978 (according to other sources: 976) , which was probably commissioned by the Doge Pietro I. Orseolo at the time. In 1105 the Doge Ordelafo Faliero had the table reworked and enlarged; For this extension, the square enamel plates with scenes from the New Testament and the life of St. Mark , attached to the left, right and above the lower main field, were made in Venice . The essay was created around 1209 under Doge Pietro Ziani , using the large arcade-shaped enamel panels that the Venetians had stolen in 1204 in the conquered Byzantium. The Pala d'Oro was given its present form in 1345 during the Dogat by Andrea Dandolo during a renewed and radical revision; this also resulted in the other parts not mentioned before. The Venetian goldsmith Gian Paolo Boninsegna, who also signed the panel, played a key role in this. Despite the different prehistory of the elements, Buonisegna succeeded in creating a harmonious overall work.
Lineup
In the past, the board was only shown on public holidays. It was usually covered by the Pala feriale , two painted wooden panels by Paolo Veneziano from 1345. The upper panel shows Christ on the cross, accompanied on the right and left by Saints George , Mark and the Madonna and the evangelist John the apostle Paul and Saint Nicholas of Myra . The bottom row shows the discovery of the body of St. Mark and its transfer to Venice. Both the Pala d'Oro and the Pala feriale are now located in St. Mark's Basilica, the Pala d'Oro on the back of the main altar with a view of the main apse .
literature
- Giovanni Lorenzoni: La Pala d'oro di San Marco . Sadea editore, Florence 1965.
- Sergio Bettini: Venice, the “Pala d'Oro” and Constantinople. In: Hansgerd Hellenkemper (ed.): The treasure of San Marco in Venice. Olivetti, Milan 1984, pp. 33–62 (exhibition catalog, Cologne, Römisch-Germanisches Museum).
Web links
Individual evidence
- ↑ David Buckton, John Osborne: The Enamel of Doge Ordelaffo Falier on the Pala d'Oro in Venice , in: Gesta 39 (2000) 43-49.