The Padua Baptistery, dedicated to

St. John the Baptist John the Baptist ( – ) was a Jewish preacher active in the area of the Jordan River in the early first century AD. He is also known as Saint John the Forerunner in Eastern Orthodoxy and Oriental Orthodoxy, John the Immerser in some Baptist ...

, is a

baptistery In Church architecture, Christian architecture the baptistery or baptistry (Old French ''baptisterie''; Latin ''baptisterium''; Greek language, Greek , 'bathing-place, baptistery', from , baptízein, 'to baptize') is the separate centrally planned ...

on the Piazza del Duomo next to the cathedral in

Padua Padua ( ) is a city and ''comune'' (municipality) in Veneto, northern Italy, and the capital of the province of Padua. The city lies on the banks of the river Bacchiglione, west of Venice and southeast of Vicenza, and has a population of 20 ...

, Italy. Preserved inside is one of the most important

fresco Fresco ( or frescoes) is a technique of mural painting executed upon freshly laid ("wet") lime plaster. Water is used as the vehicle for the dry-powder pigment to merge with the plaster, and with the setting of the plaster, the painting become ...

cycles of the 14th century, a masterpiece by

Giusto de' Menabuoi ''Cappella del beato Luca Belludi'' Sant'Antonio (Padua) Giusto de' Menabuoi (c. 1320–1391) was an Italian painter of the early Renaissance. He was born in the Republic of Florence. He was likely a pupil of Giotto but this is not definitive. ...

. It is part of the

UNESCO World Heritage Site World Heritage Sites are landmarks and areas with legal protection under an treaty, international treaty administered by UNESCO for having cultural, historical, or scientific significance. The sites are judged to contain "cultural and natural ...

'' Padua's fourteenth-century fresco cycles'', inscribed in 2021 for its outstanding cultural and artistic significance.

History

The construction of the

began in the 12th century, probably on top of an existing structure; it underwent various reworkings in the following century, and was consecrated by Guido, patriarch of Grado, in 1281. Between 1370 and 1379 it was restored and adapted as a

mausoleum A mausoleum is an external free-standing building constructed as a monument enclosing the burial chamber of a deceased person or people. A mausoleum without the person's remains is called a cenotaph. A mausoleum may be considered a type o ...

for prince Francesco il Vecchio da Carrara and his wife, Fina Buzzaccarini. The latter oversaw the decorative work, entrusting it to

(whose burial site was later found outside the building). With the fall of the House of Da Carrara in 1405, Venetian soldiers demolished the grand burial monuments and covered the numerous emblems of Francesco il Vecchio with green paint. After various partial restorations in the 20th century, the work is currently awaiting an important full restoration.

Description

The

cycle decorating the walls, painted between 1375 and 1376 by

, is considered a masterpiece. With respect to previous works, Padua must have been struck by the Romanesque and Byzantine rigidity, as can be seen in the Paradise of the baptistery's

cupola In architecture, a cupola () is a relatively small, usually dome-like structure on top of a building often crowning a larger roof or dome. Cupolas often serve as a roof lantern to admit light and air or as a lookout. The word derives, via Ital ...

: the scene is organized around a

Christ Pantocrator In Christian iconography, Christ Pantocrator (, ) is a specific depiction of Christ. or , literally 'ruler of all', but usually translated as 'almighty' or 'all-powerful', is derived from one of many names of God in Judaism. The Pantokrator i ...

, around which turns a hypnotic wheel with multi-layered spokes made of angels and saints, whose golden halos as seen from below seem to be the work of a magnificent goldsmith. At the center of the Paradise is also the ''

Mother of God ''Theotokos'' (Greek: ) is a title of Mary, mother of Jesus, used especially in Eastern Christianity. The usual Latin translations are or (approximately "parent (fem.) of God"). Familiar English translations are "Mother of God" or "God-bearer ...

''. The paintings that cover the walls show scenes from the life of

(to the left of the entrance), Mary, and Jesus. On the walls adjacent to the altar are represented the ''Crucifixion'' and the ''Descent of the Holy Spirit'' (frescoed on the cupola of the altar), and a large ''

polyptych A polyptych ( ; Greek: ''poly-'' "many" and ''ptychē'' "fold") is a work of art (usually a panel painting) which is divided into sections, or panels. Some definitions restrict "polyptych" to works with more than three sections: a diptych is ...

'', also by Guisto de' Menabuoi, sits on the altar itself. Painted on the walls surrounding the altar, in the apse, are monstrous figures and images of the

Book of Revelation The Book of Revelation, also known as the Book of the Apocalypse or the Apocalypse of John, is the final book of the New Testament, and therefore the final book of the Bible#Christian Bible, Christian Bible. Written in Greek language, Greek, ...

. In the

tholobate A tholobate (), also called a drum or tambour, is the upright part of a building on which a dome is raised. It is generally in the shape of a cylinder or a polygonal prism. The name derives from the tholos, the Greek term for a round building ...

are scenes from the ''

book of Genesis The Book of Genesis (from Greek language, Greek ; ; ) is the first book of the Hebrew Bible and the Christian Old Testament. Its Hebrew name is the same as its incipit, first word, (In the beginning (phrase), 'In the beginning'). Genesis purpor ...

'', while prophets and evangelists look down from the ''

pendentive In architecture, a pendentive is a constructional device permitting the placing of a circular dome over a square room or of an elliptical dome over a rectangular room. The pendentives, which are triangular segments of a sphere, taper to point ...

s''; and here a less Byzantine flair is demonstrated, presenting figures that have been inserted into life-like spaces illusionistically depicted. Also in the stories of Christ and John the Baptist, frescoed on the walls, appear finely calculated architectural representations into which the painter has inserted his solemn, static images. The figures represented in the surrounding scenes, however, appear freer, for example in the Wedding Feast at Cana, where a group of servants moves naturally about the room in contrast to the static diners. From the analysis of these stylistic choices it is clear that the use of ''rétro'' effects was for Giusto a precise component willingly chosen to bring about an expressive and symbolic end: he was perhaps the only 14th century painter with the presence of mind to make conscious selections among these different pictorial languages. In the scene of the creation of the world the

zodiac The zodiac is a belt-shaped region of the sky that extends approximately 8° north and south celestial latitude of the ecliptic – the apparent path of the Sun across the celestial sphere over the course of the year. Within this zodiac ...

show Christ's function as Lord of cosmic time. God the Father can interrupt the course of natural events to manifest His will to mankind: which occurred during the three hours of darkness that accompanied the agony and death of Jesus. Through his angels, represented here, God dominates and neutralizes the influence of the planetary demons here in the world underneath the moon.''Astrologia, magia, alchimia'', Dizionari dell'arte, ed.

Notes

Bibliography

* ''Guida d'Italia (serie Guide Rosse) - Veneto'',

Touring Club Italiano The Touring Club Italiano (TCI) (Italian Touring Club or Touring Club of Italy) is the major Italian national tourist organization. History The Touring Club Ciclistico Italiano (TCCI) was founded on 8 November 1894 by a group of bicyclists to ...

Images

File:Giusto de' menabuoi, paradiso (detail), 1376-78, battistero di Padova.jpg, Underneath the cupola File:Giusto de' menabuoi, nozze di cana, 1376-78, battistero di Padova.jpg, The wedding feast of Cana File:Giusto de' menabuoi, adamo ed eva, 1376-78, battistero di Padova.jpg, Adam and Even thrown out of the Garden of Eden File:Battistero 1.jpg, The three kings File:Battistero 0002.jpg, Annunciation File:Joseph in the well by Giusto de Menabuoi (Padua baptistery).jpg, Joseph in the well

External links