Orvieto Cathedral

The Orvieto Cathedral ( Cattedrale di Santa Maria Assunta ) is a masterpiece of Gothic architecture in central Italy.

The location of the city is the most important building, the Roman Catholic cathedral under the patronage of the Assumption to recognize from afar. The cathedral belongs to the large number of important buildings, which were designed in the late 13th century. He was probably begun in 1288 under Arnolfo di Cambio ( 1240-1302 ), who was a few years later to build the Duomo and the Palazzo Vecchio of Florence. 1308 bodyshell with no roof and facade was finished. Which was completed in the 14th century after drawings by Lorenzo Maitani.

• 3.1 The Chapel of San Brizio, and the cycle of frescoes by Luca Signorelli

Function

Opportunity to build the cathedral, was the blood miracle in the nearby town of Bolsena in 1263, should be dropped at the from a host during the conversion of blood. This blood miracle formed the basis of Corpus Christi. In a side chapel of the cathedral impregnated with the blood altar cloth is kept as a relic. Furthermore, can be found in the building 's masterpiece Luca Signorelli ( 1445/50-1523 ): the fresco of the Last Judgment from the 1499.

Facade

The dating of the facade is pushed in science 1290-1310 back and forth. Exact dating is much to close to a possible dependence of Siena. A recent study demonstrates a dating to the years before 1300.

Orvieto and its building works took on the classic Roman sculpture reference: in the first phase on hadrianisch - Constantinian works, in the second to the personified by the name of Lorenzo Maitani phase of the sculpture of Trajan's Column in Rome. The best feature of the classical capital is explained, inter alia, by the interest of the popes in the construction of the Cathedral of Orvieto, as can be proven by decades. Some Contradictory to the facade reliefs can be explained by the influence of Eastern iconography.

Accordingly, this facade depends also less of Siena, but it can prove relationships for northern Alpine region, which leads to Strasbourg. Masters from the north have worked demonstrably well in Orvieto. Here, too, was - worked with sculptures by the French model, but with greater emphasis on the area, as it corresponds to the Italian tradition and particularly the Umbrian rather - as in Siena. Decorated facade is therefore only with bas-reliefs and mosaics that allow the smooth surface remain as opaque.

The individual decorations of the façade are working very zartgliedrig. The rose window of the 14th century ( in 1354 by Andrea Arcagna ) is moved to the upper sides of a frieze, but not so vividly emerges as in Siena and is strictly included in the geometric rectangular shape, as can be seen in Assisi.

Wall reliefs

The wall reliefs in the base area are now protected against contact behind glass. (?) An unknown artist has from 1310/20 (s: from 1331 ) mounted on an area of ​​112 m². My theme is the history of man, the mystery of salvation and its final destination. Striking and typical of the Umbrian art is the tender, lyrical, soft character of the sitter. " There is no antithesis of high relief and reason. Ideal, homogeneous and impenetrable as a gold ground here spreads the film. " (Keller S. 414-415 ) It is very detailed and careful joyful representations that have kept solely for this unchanged precision on an outside wall since 1320 because the air in Umbria always been very good ( dry? low emissions? ) was and is.

• First Pillar: History of Genesis
• Second pillar: The Jesse and prophecies of redemption
• Third pillar: Stories from the New Testament
• The fourth pillar: The Last Judgment: Revelation of John

Niches

In the niches above the rosette are the twelve apostles; in sideward niches each pairwise twelve Old Testament prophets.

Doors

The latest work of art are the three bronze doors to A - (right) and output ( left); created it in 1970 the Sicilian sculptor Emilio Greco ( 1913-1995 ).

Exterior and interior

The southern outer wall of the cathedral shows the typical horizontal black and white layering as in Siena. And here too, the facade has a strong life of its own against the church behind it. The same decoration also determines the interior, which does also have some Siena, but is not quite as grand. But Orvieto has no stone vault, but a wooden flat ceiling. The roof has been re-designed for 1881-90 500 - year celebration. The aisle walls were above two meters originally painted white in order to fit there frescoes can. Today's striping was completed in 1890 /91 painted in alignment with the nave. This interior is richly furnished with frescoes.

In the apse frescoes from the 14th century show episodes from the life of Mary ( School of Orvieto: Ugolino di Prete Ilario and Pietro di Duccio 1370/1380; 1491-97 by Giacomo da Bologna, Pinturicchio and Antonio da Viterbo, called Pastura, restored ).

The Pietà, created 1570-79 by Ippolito Scalza ( 1532-1617 ), was carved from a single block.

The Chapel of San Brizio and the cycle of frescoes by Luca Signorelli

Particularly worthy of mention and for the history of Italian painting of great importance is the famous Cappella di San Brizio, originally Cappella Nuova is called, with the large fresco cycle Luca Signorelli with the theme of the story of the Antichrist - The end of the world (or The Four Last Things: death, judgment, hell and heaven ), which he painted from 1499. Signorelli had immediately before some frescoes painted in the Abbey of Monte Oliveto. He has here painted three walls and the vault of the chapel in Orvieto fields. It refers to an immensely rich in figures composition.

Signorelli has used in the painting of this chapel studies after antique sculptures. Each figure is clearly highlighted. He walked here, beyond the scope of his teacher Piero della Francesca and found design elements that. Michelangelo, especially in his Last Judgment in the Sistine Chapel in Rome, and were later picked up by the Baroque painting

Especially the anatomy of the human body and its various movement possibilities are shown. The same Michelangelo has repeated on the ceiling of the Sistine Chapel, but - must be like "man" to admit - with less cool academicism and with greater ingenuity. Such motion studies at that time were very popular in the painting. In Monte Oliveto frescoes show the same time also by Signorelli and Sodoma of the same problems.

• The coronation scene of the elect: With distinct gestures bring men to God their gratitude.
• Scene story of the Antichrist: In this excerpt we see the Antichrist himself with a devil as prompters, as evil voice of seduction. It stands on a pedestal and talking to people.
• On the left edge of this field, there is a self-portrait Signorelli along with Fra Angelico in Florence.

Luca Signorelli was much under the influence of Florentine painting and its emphasis on disegno, so the exact drawing. The color plays a central role in the design of the subject, even if it looks different at first glance. While there are strong color contrasts, but the individual figures are clearly more determined by drawing elements than by colored and painterly means.

Organ

The history of the organ dates back to the year 1588, when the first organ was completed. The instrument was located on the Minstrel's Gallery and was designed by the artist Ippolito Scalza. The current instrument was 1974: built by the organ builder Libero Rino Pinchi. It has 72 registers on three manuals and pedal.