The Apse at St. Praxedes: Christ and Saints – center of the triumphal arch

9th century
Mosaic
Basilica of St. Praxedes, Rome

The mosaic follows the practice of early icons of the regnant Christ in placing him between two archangels (see Weitzmann, The Icon). Left to right, the saints depicted are St. Paul (pointy beard), St. John the Baptist (shaggy mantle), the Virgin Mary (blue mantle), St. Praxedes (patron saint of this church), St. Peter (short, square beard), and another apostle whose hair is perhaps just untidy enough to identify him as St. Andrew. All but Mary present their martyr's crowns.

View the entire apse with triumphal arch.
Read more about images of SS. Praxedes and Pudentiana.
Read more about images of St. Andrew

• Home Page
• Praxedes & Pudentiana
• St. Praxedes Apse
• This Detail

Photographed at the Basilica of St. Praxedes by Richard Stracke, shared under Attribution-NonCommercial-ShareAlike license.