Resumen de The Syzygy at Anagni. Measuring the Gap between Concept and Execution in Medieval Wall Painting
The 13th-century fresco cycle in the crypt of Anagni Cathedral in Anagni, Italy, reveals a very interesting gap. A group of cosmological images in this cycle includes a diagram of the microcosm and one of the syzygy—a graphic representation of the interconnectedness of the four elements. Unlike the spiritual images of examples found elsewhere, these images are attached to physical reality and based on representations of the physical world commonly found in various books of learning. Their examination in relation to their textual sources and pictorial tradition, and in terms of their significance in the context of the crypt's narrative cycle, reveals a disconnection between the programmatic aspiration of the cycle and its painted translation. This gap reconfirms the difficulties in establishing direct relationships with given texts when dealing with monumental narrative while helping to define the separation of program and image, and also to clarify the importance of pictorial conventions, iconographic models, and the availability of sources and/or materials used in conveying ideas.
