Christ enthroned with the Virgin and St John

Christ enthroned with the Virgin and St John (Italian: Cristo in trono tra la Vergine e san Giovanni) is a mosaic (385x223 cm) in the apse of Pisa Cathedral. It is famous for the depiction of John the Evangelist, the last work by the Italian medieval artist Cimabue. It is also the only work of his, which is dated and has historical documentation attributing it to Cimabue.[1]

Christ enthroned with the Virgin and St John
Artist	Cimabue, Francesco da Pisa, Vincino da Pistoia
Year	1301–1320
Medium	mosaic
Dimensions	385 cm × 223 cm (152 in × 88 in)
Location	Pisa Cathedral, Pisa

San Giovanni, the only documented work by Cimabue

Cimabue took over the work on the mosaic after Francesco da Pisa, who completed the figure of Christ. Cimabue worked on the mosaic for 94 days until 19 February 1302 and was specifically stated to have finished the figure of St. John by that date. The whole mosaic, including the figure of Virgin, was only completed by the third artist, Vincino da Pistoia in 1321,[2] almost 20 years after Cimabue's death.

The attribution to Cimabue is possible due to documented weekly payments of 10 soldi to the artist. The work eventually went through four renovations and survived the fire of 1595.

References

1. White, John (26 May 1993). Art and architecture in Italy 1250-1400 (3rd Revised ed.). Yale University Press. p. 175. ISBN 9707250208.
2. Spencer, John R. "Cimabue". Encyclopaedia Britannica. Retrieved 19 January 2017.