Rome, Santa Prassede, apse mosaic, Pope Paschal I, St. Paul and St. Praxedis or Pudentiana
On the left side of the apse mosaic of Santa Prassede (817-824), St. Paul presents one of the two patron saints of the church (St. Praxedis or her sister Pudentiana) to Christ, and Pope Paschal I, the patron of the building and its decoration, holds a model of the church. In the background, a phoenix sits in the palm tree. In ancient Egyptian and Greek mythology, it was believed that the phoenix was a bird that could regenerate itself from its own ashes. Early Christians adapted the myth to make the phoenix a symbol of the resurrection and the hope for eternal life. The square halo distinguishes Pope Paschal I from the saints: it was used in early medieval paintings and mosaics in Rome to identify living or contemporary figures associated with the artworks in which they were depicted (See: John Osborne, “The Portrait of Leo IV in San Clemente, Rome: A Re-examination of the So-Called ‘Square’ Nimbus in Medieval Art,” Papers of the British School at Rome 47 [1979]: 58-65]).
D'Emilio photo archive no. s19774228_1465uGalleries:Apse, Apse mosaics with Christ and saints, Churches of Rome, Italy 800s, Mosaic, Phoenix, Santa Prassede, St. Paul, St. Praxedis, martyr, St. Pudentiana, martyrKeywords:phoenix, square halo, wreath-crownPhoto Location: Rome, ItalyPhotographer: Dr. James D’EmilioDate of Photo:Device Make: NikonDevice Model: Nikon SUPER COOLSCAN 5000 EDOriginal Dimensions: 5318×3642Picture Orientation: LandscapeGPS Coordinates:Picture Number: 22097
WARNING: You are about to download a 73.5 MB TIFF!
Normally such a large file is only needed for high quality printing purposes. If you are certain that you need such a large file, click the DOWNLOAD button to begin.
If you do not wish to download the large TIFF, just click the × in the top right-hand corner to close this alert.
