Monuments of the early church . ance he is clothed in the white tunic andpallium; in the former instance in a short tunic of dark ox^posite lunette (Fig. 132) more expressly represents thetypical application to the Eucharist by depicting in the middlethe Christian altar. It is a stone table supported upon fourlegs, and covered first with a heavy woollen cloth of dark color,and above with a white linen cloth fringed at the edge andadorned with the customary embroidery. Upon it stands thechalice and two loaves. Melchizedek offers up to God a simi-lar loaf. He wears slioes, a loose tuni
Monuments of the early church . ance he is clothed in the white tunic andpallium; in the former instance in a short tunic of dark ox^posite lunette (Fig. 132) more expressly represents thetypical application to the Eucharist by depicting in the middlethe Christian altar. It is a stone table supported upon fourlegs, and covered first with a heavy woollen cloth of dark color,and above with a white linen cloth fringed at the edge andadorned with the customary embroidery. Upon it stands thechalice and two loaves. Melchizedek offers up to God a simi-lar loaf. He wears slioes, a loose tunic with a broad borderand a sash,, and a long mantle which is fastened at the breast— it was the dress of Oriental kings. His palace appears inthe background. On the other side Abel, in the dress of ashepherd, issues from his simple cabin and presents his lambas an acceptable sacrifice to God. 318 riCTOJUAL ART This theme was represented again, about a century later, invery similar fashion in S. ApoUinare in Classe (Fig. 131).. MOSAICS—Historical Subjects 319 Here we have Abel, Abraham, and Melchizedek all groupedabout the altar, which in this case is supported upon five legsand has only the linen cover. But to return to S. Vitale. It is in the apse we have themost marked expression of Greek or Byzantine art. Christ,young and beardless, is seated upon the globe of the world; inhis left hand is a book, and with his right he holds out thecrown of recompense to his followers. On each side stands amajestic angel, with black hair bound with a white on the right stands S. Vitale dressed like an officerof the court, and on the left is the Bishop Ecclesius offeringthe model of the church. Flanking the apse on each side are two compositions whichhave nothing in common with the themes which we havestudied. On the left (Fig. 134) the Emperor Justinian isrepresented carrying a votive paten as a gift to the is preceded by his clergy, one deacon carrying a censer,a
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Keywords: ., bookcentury1900, bookdecade1900, booksubjectchristi, bookyear1901
