Frederick II at Verona
Date:
Abbey church, ca. 1135,
Tower frescoes, ca. 1230,
Bronze doors, eleventh to twelfth century
Location or Findspot (Modern-Day Country):
Italy
Description:
Several churched dedicated to the fourth-century saint Zeno preceded the monastery church at Verona rebuilt in the twelfth century. The facade features a "wheel of fortune," with figures clambering around the rose window. The door is flanked by relief panels (ca. 1135) depicting events from the Old and New Testaments and scenes from local legend. The medieval cast-bronze doors are also preserved.
The tall brick tower to the left as one faces the facade was built between 1045 and 1178 as part of the abbot's palace. It contains thirteenth-century wall paintings, of which the largest, on the south wall, shows a ruler at left, seated on a sella curulis with lion-head finials, receiving homage from a diverse group of people. The ruler is almost certainly Emperor Frederick II (1194–1250); the coat of arms of the Holy Roman Empire (a two-headed black eagle) is painted in one corner of the room. The fresco depicts Frederick as ruler all of humanity, probably on the model of Alexander "the Great." He is approached by men who represent different parts of his hoped-for (but never achieved) realm: Persians with rounded caps; black-skinned Africans; Jews wearing traditional cloth head coverings; profiled men with horns; and other groups more difficult to identify.
The fresco's ideology of universal rule may have been painted to flatter the emperor when he lodged at San Zeno several times in the 1230s. Frederick traveled with a menagerie from all over the known world, arriving in Verona with falcons, leopards, camels, and an elephant among the animals. Contemporary chronicles reported that there were "Ethiopians" and "Saracens" in his entourage as well.
The tall brick tower to the left as one faces the facade was built between 1045 and 1178 as part of the abbot's palace. It contains thirteenth-century wall paintings, of which the largest, on the south wall, shows a ruler at left, seated on a sella curulis with lion-head finials, receiving homage from a diverse group of people. The ruler is almost certainly Emperor Frederick II (1194–1250); the coat of arms of the Holy Roman Empire (a two-headed black eagle) is painted in one corner of the room. The fresco depicts Frederick as ruler all of humanity, probably on the model of Alexander "the Great." He is approached by men who represent different parts of his hoped-for (but never achieved) realm: Persians with rounded caps; black-skinned Africans; Jews wearing traditional cloth head coverings; profiled men with horns; and other groups more difficult to identify.
The fresco's ideology of universal rule may have been painted to flatter the emperor when he lodged at San Zeno several times in the 1230s. Frederick traveled with a menagerie from all over the known world, arriving in Verona with falcons, leopards, camels, and an elephant among the animals. Contemporary chronicles reported that there were "Ethiopians" and "Saracens" in his entourage as well.
Relevant Textbook Chapter(s):
6,
7,
8
Image Credits:
Wikimedia Commons; blackcentraleurope.com
