Title of Art: (Lateran Baptistry)
Art Form: Mosaic
Date of Composition: 642-649
Subjects: Mary, Mother of God
Ritual Pose/Object: orans pose, pallium
Exhibit Institution: Battistero di San Giovanni in Laterano (Baptistry of St. John Lateran, also known as the Lateran Baptistry)
Exhibit Location: Rome, Italy
VM Image #: 0028
Photographer: Shala Graham
Date of Photograph: December 31, 2022
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In the Chapel of Venantius within the Lateran Baptistry, the apse mosaic centers a bust of Jesus with angels on both sides. Below Christ is Mary wearing a pallium, her arms raised in the orans position. The other figures with her are (left to right) Pope John IV holding a model of the chapel, St. Venantius, Apostle John, Apostle Paul, Apostle Peter, John the Baptist, St. Domnius, and Pope Theodore I. In this wide view, the triumphal arch depicts saints on both sides, Bethlehem and Jerusalem, and icons representing the four evangelists: (ox) Luke, (angel) Matthew, (lion) Mark, (eagle) John.
Mary is adorned in a navy-blue veil and the pallium. Historically, the pallium distinguished popes or prestigious bishops. Therefore, this artist was signifying something special in Mary, not least her piety as she assumes the orans pose. Furthermore, she is front and center: directly under Christ, and in the middle of the saints, apostles, and popes. Above her, Christ displays the sign of orthodoxy, his three extended fingers noting the Trinitarian belief of Father, Son, and Holy Spirit. Common in Byzantine mosaics, the gold surrounding everyone symbolized the omniscience of God. Above the arch are the four evangelists who are commonly depicted as the following animals: (ox) Luke, (angel) Matthew, (lion) Mark, (eagle) John. They each hold a book, representing the gospel narratives that they wrote.