Jacopo Torriti, The Coronation of the Virgin Mary

1295
Mosaic
Basilica of Santa Maria Maggiore

In a starry tondo rising above choirs of angels, Christ places a crown on the head of his mother, who is enthroned on his right. The book in his left hand is open to an antiphon from the Common of Virgins, veni electa mea et ponam [in] te thronum meum, "Come my chosen one and I shall place thee [on] my throne."1 Other details and inscriptions in the tondo refer to passages in the Office for Assumption Day, August 15:

• Mary sits on Christ's right with a golden halo and gold-colored clothing. This mirrors the verse from Psalm 44:10 that is quoted in the second nocturn for the feast: Astitit Regina a dextris tuis in vestitu deaurato, circumdata varietate, "The queen stood on thy right hand, in gilded clothing; surrounded with variety."
• The throne and the dozens of stars recall the third nocturn, a phrase of which is inscribed below the throne: MARIA VIRGO ASSUMPTA EST AD ETHEREUM THALAMUM IN QUO REX REGUM STELLATO SEDET SOLIO, "The Virgin Mary has been taken up to the heavenly chamber where the King of Kings is seated on his starry throne." The tondo itself very likely corresponds to the word thalamum, which means "chamber" literally and "marriage" figuratively.
• The next inscription below is from the Vespers service for the Assumption: EXALTATA EST SANCTA DEI GENITRIX SUPER CHOROS ANGELORUM AD CELESTIA REGNA, "The holy mother of God is raised up above the chorus of angels to the celestial realms." Following this phrase, the artist places the tondo literally above the choirs on the left and right.2

The Office may also explain the scene along the bottom of the panel. The second nocturn says, "this day the Eden of the New Adam welcomes its living Paradise, in whom our sentence has been repealed, in whom the Tree of Life was planted."3 That is, Mary is the new Eden. In the mosaic the four rivers of Genesis 2:10 flow from Eden, which is represented as a walled city guarded by the cherubim of Genesis 3:24. They merge to form a scene of abundant river life just like the one prophesied in Ezekiel 47:1-12. In that passage the life-giving water flows from the right side of the Temple. It is explained in the Glossa Ordinaria as salvation flowing from Christ in the temple of "David's flesh, from the womb of the Virgin."4

The mosaic was commissioned by Nicholas IV, the first Franciscan pope, to replace the one installed in the fifth century when the church was built by Sixtus III. Nicholas is pictured at the lower left in his papal tiara. Behind him are Saints Francis, Paul, and Peter. The stigmata are visible in Francis's hand and side. But instead of their customary attributes Peter and Paul carry scrolls quoting verses from scripture. Peter's says, TU EST CHRISTUS FILIUS DEI VIVENTIS, "You are the Christ, the son of the living God" (Matthew 16:16). Paul's has the words michi, vivere, and christus: This appears to reference Philippians 1:21, Mihi enim vivere christus est et mori lucrum, "For to me, to live is Christ; and to die is gain."

Torriti's signature is in the bottom left corner of the panel. Beneath this part of the apse is an image of the Dormition.

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Photographed at the basilica by Richard Stracke, shared under Attribution-NonCommercial-ShareAlike license.

1 From the antiphons for Lauds in the Common of Virgins. See Breviarium Romanum, page 75 of the Commune Sanctorum section in the back of the book.

2 Breviarium Romanum, 991-93. The first translation is from the Douai text of Psalm 44; the second and third are my own. The secondary meaning of thalamus is noted in Lewis.

3 Ibid., 992-93, translation by Toal, IV, 426.

4 Glossa Ordinaria, IV, 1464 (my translation).