Image: Web Gallery of Art
Clavis number: ECMA 154
Other descriptors: none
Location: Palermo, Sicily
Category: mosaics
Related literature: Acts of Paul; Acts of Peter; Passion of the Holy Apostles Peter and Paul (Pseudo-Marcellus)
Featured characters and locations: Paul (apostle), Peter (apostle), Simon (Magus), Nero.
1. DESCRIPTION
Material: glass tessarae
Size: not specified
Date: 12th/13th cent.
Provenance: the cycle of Paul is located on the left apse of the south wall. It features scenes from the canonical book of Acts along with an image of Paul’s martyrdom. The cycle of Peter is located on the right apse of the south wall and, again, features scenes from the canonical Acts along with two related scenes of Peter and Paul contending with Simon Magus and a depiction of Peter’s martyrdom.
Image: Wikimedia; Index of Medieval Art
Description: Peter us crucified head downwards while soldiers and nobles look on. Inscription: CRUCIFIXIO SANCTI PETRI (Crucifixion of Peter).
Image: Web Gallery of Art; Index of Medieval Art
Description: on left, Peter and Paul appear before Nero in dispute with Simon Magus. Inscription: HIC PAULUS VENIT ROMAM ET PACEM FECIT CUM PETRO (Here Peter and Paul dispute with Simon Magus before Nero). On right, Peter and Paul watch while Simon flies from the tower, lifted by demons. Inscription: HIC PRÆCEPTO PETRI ET ORATIONE PAULI SIMON MAGUS CECIDIT IN TERRAM (Here by the command of Peter and the prayer of Paul Simon Magus fell to earth).
Image: Wikimedia
Description: inscription: DECOLLATIO SANCTI PAULI (Beheading of Saint Paul).
2. RELATION TO APOCRYPHAL LITERATURE
The martyrdoms of Peter and Paul are widely attested in their respective apocryphal acts. The earliest accounts are from the Acts of Paul (ch. 14) and the Acts of Peter (). The twin images of Peter and Paul before Nero and the fall of Simon relates the most to the Passion of the Holy Apostles Peter and Paul attributed to Marcellus (known as Acts of the Holy Apostles Peter and Paul in its Greek form). This text is the most widely-attested account of the martyrdoms of both apostles and thus contains the most well-known and influential version of the Simon story. Here both apostles appear together in Rome, where they are interrogated by Nero. During the dispute with Simon, Paul prays on his knees and Peter stands. Pseudo-Marcellus also narrates the martyrdoms of both apostles.
3. BIBLIOGRAPHY
Kessler, Herbert L. “The Meeting of Peter and Paul in Rome: An Emblematic Narrative of Spiritual Brotherhood.” Pages 265-75 in Studies in Art and Archeology in Honor of Ernst Kitzinger on his Seventy-Fifth Birthday. Edited by William Tronzo and Irving Lavin. Washington, DC: Dumbarton Oaks, 1987.
Kitzinger, Ernst. I mosaici di Monreale. Palermo: Flaccovio Editore, 1991.
Millunzi, Gaetano. Il Duomo di Monreale. Rome: Vivere In., 1986.
4. ADDITIONAL RESOURCES
“Monreale Cathedral Mosaics.” Wikipedia.
“Monreale Cathedral.” Wikipedia.
“Mosaics in the Cathedral of Monreale.” Web Gallery of Art.
Stories of Art. “A Guide to the Cathedral of Monreale and the Worlds Most Spectacular Mosaics.” Youtube.
Entry created by Tony Burke, York University, 23 December 2023.