Detail of the San Vitale Abel and Melchizedech Mosaic:
The Prophet Isaiah
6th century
Church of San Vitale, Ravenna
The prophet holds a scroll, his most common attribute. As usual, he is shown as an old man with gray hair and beard. He and Moses, who is shown on the left, represent the Law and the Prophets, while the evangelists Matthew and Mark above them represent the New Testament.
Directly across from Isaiah on the facing wall is a panel for Jeremiah with the same wreath and walled city in the background. The wreath symbolizes Isaiah's status as a martyr, as he was presumed to be on the basis of some early Christian writings. One may presume that the walled city represents Jerusalem.
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Photographed at the site by Richard Stracke, shared under Attribution-NonCommercial-ShareAlike license.