Signs of Man
6441 I Vangeli
Texts by Ernst Murbach, I.Wordswoth, H.White
1964 / 172 PAGES.
Language: Two editions: Italian, French
The small town of Zillis near Chur, Switzerland, is home to a magnificent treasure: the wooden ceiling of the church of Saint Martin: 153 panels wherein an anonymous Romanesque master recreated episodes from the Gospels with unrivalled artistry.
The church of Saint Martin, one of the oldest complexes of religious art in Europe, preserves 153 magnificent panels depicting episodes from the Gospels. As if it were a Sunday sermon, the painter depicts the events dearests to the hearts of the faithful, devoting several panels to specific episodes (for example, fifteen to the story of the Wise Men). However, though the simplicity of this portrayal brings to mind a film or photo story meant for the farmers and shepherds of Zillis, the symbology and semiotics of the cycle are related to the highest cultural traditions of the Middle Ages.
In these two volumes, the frescoes are introduced by a historical-critical essay by Professor Ernst Murbach and accompanied by the Latin text of the Gospels in the Oxonian critical edition by J. Wordsworth and H. White, as well as by an Italian translation by Niccolò Tommaseo.