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(Re-)constructing a passion: the pontile of Modena Cathedral

Cunningham, Dawn K.
http://rave.ohiolink.edu/etdc/view?acc_num=osu1058618800

Abstract Details

2004, Doctor of Philosophy, Ohio State University, History of Art.
The late twelfth-century choir screen, or pontile, erected by the Campionesi in Modena Cathedral is a masterpiece of Italian Romanesque sculpture. The pontile separated the faithful in the nave from the clergy in the sanctuary. It served as a backdrop for liturgical dramas while the Eucharistic rite took place behind its balustrade carved with images of Christs Passion. Similar to other pieces of medieval church furniture, Modenas screen was subject to alterations, removal, and reconstruction during its long history. Although discussed in general publications and in local studies of the cathedral, the pontiles original form and its modern reconstruction have never received a detailed analysis. This in-depth study will provide new insight into one of the most complete and important of these Romanesque liturgical furnishings to survive. My dissertation focuses on reconstructing the pontiles original narrative program by relating the images to their religious and liturgical context and setting them against the background of the secular concerns faced by the bishop during his loss of power to the emerging city-state. Moreover, I examine Modenas pontile in conjunction with the fragments of other screens in Northern Italy, Romanesque pulpits in the nearby region of Tuscany, and Gothic screens in Northern Europe. These studies are supplemented by comparisons with other Romanesque Passion cycles that may have informed the choice of images found on the pontile. By studying primary liturgical sources, like a contemporary sacramentary from Modena, and examining secondary sources, completing a catalogue of the existing fragments of the original structure, recording the monuments complex history, and analyzing the issues and rites addressed by the images, I provide a new reconstruction of the pontile as it stood in the late twelfth century. Our understanding of the clergys perception of this structure is further enhanced by a discussion and reconstruction of the first choir screen erected by Wiligelmo in this building and replaced by the Campionesis work. This analysis of successive change within the cathedral will pave the way for a better understanding of the transition from these large carved ensembles in stone to the painted wooden Passion altarpieces of the Renaissance.
Christine Verzar (Advisor)
298 p.
Art History
pontile; Modena Cathedral; Campionesi; passion

Recommended Citations

Citations

  • Cunningham, D. K. (2004). (Re-)constructing a passion: the pontile of Modena Cathedral [Doctoral dissertation, Ohio State University]. OhioLINK Electronic Theses and Dissertations Center. http://rave.ohiolink.edu/etdc/view?acc_num=osu1058618800

    APA Style (7th edition)

  • Cunningham, Dawn. (Re-)constructing a passion: the pontile of Modena Cathedral. 2004. Ohio State University, Doctoral dissertation. OhioLINK Electronic Theses and Dissertations Center, http://rave.ohiolink.edu/etdc/view?acc_num=osu1058618800.

    MLA Style (8th edition)

  • Cunningham, Dawn. "(Re-)constructing a passion: the pontile of Modena Cathedral." Doctoral dissertation, Ohio State University, 2004. http://rave.ohiolink.edu/etdc/view?acc_num=osu1058618800

    Chicago Manual of Style (17th edition)

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© 2004, all rights reserved.
This open access ETD is published by The Ohio State University and OhioLINK.