The Last Judgment in San Giovanni
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Name: The Last Judgment in San Giovanni
Artists: Unknown
Location: Battistero di San Giovanni, Florence, Italy.
Date: 13th century
Medium: Mosaic
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Various artists throughout the 13th to 14th century made the Ceiling Mosaic of San Giovanni in Florence Italy. The mosaic is very unique in structure as it is partitioned into seven different themes. The first being titled, “The Final Judgment” is the most admired as it includes the large image of Jesus on the bottom panel. “The Final Judgment” also includes the panels directly bordering Jesus on the left and right. It was planned and cartooned by Coppo da Marcovaldo but actually made by several unknown artists. The five uppermost panels are divided by their rings that circle around the entire ceiling. The whole mosaic is a marvelous piece of art but I am going to focus solely on “The Final Judgment”.
In “The Final Judgment”, it is important to realize that on the left of Jesus (our right) Hell is being represented while on Jesus’ right Heaven is being portrayed. Right underneath Jesus are six coffins. On the one side people are emerging to be greeted by Angels. They all appear eager to enter into heaven as they gracefully leave their tombs under their own will. One the other side, however, the people are waking up in Hell. None of them are leaving their tombs except for he ones that are being pulled out by the demons. Looking further into Hell there is complete chaos as demons are devouring the humans. If you look closely enough you can even see humans being roasted on spits. In the center of Hell there is a much larger demon, Satan himself, with horns holding two humans with a third in his mouth already. This is a representation of Lucifer as there are serpents coming from him also eating away at the damned souls. If this scene sounds all too familiar it may be because these are details that are also described in Dante’s description of Hell in his book, “The Inferno of Dante.” Dante grew up not far from San Giovanni and it is clear that this mosaic had a huge impact on him and his writings. If you look back over at Heaven you will see the exact opposite of Hell. There is a crowd forming a choir looking up at the large central image of Christ rejoicing. Beyond them you can see a door opening into paradise and on the other side there are three figures sitting in thrones representing the trinity. On their lap they are holding people to portray God’s fatherly love for us.
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“The Final Judgment”.The most important piece of the mosaic, which you can tell because it is the largest image on the ceiling, is the central image of Jesus. What the artist was doing here was placing Jesus in between Heaven and Hell because he is the only way we can be saved from eternal damnation. There are still nail piercings on his hands and feet signifying the importance of the crucifixion and because he took the nails on the cross we are able to enter the kingdom of heaven. Jesus’ hands are also in awkward positions. His right hand is facing upwards, glorifying Heaven, while his left hand is facing downwards, condemning Hell. This mosaic is a very compelling piece of art, as it not only shows the glorious side of the crucifixion but it also shows us Hell from which we have been saved.
The Crucifixion of Christ 
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