Publication Date
525-548/ 1131-1154
Type
Other
Language
Undetermined
Digital
Yes
Manuscript
No
Library
Museum With No Frontiers
Record ID
monument;ISL;it;Mon01;16;ar
Library Location
Cefalu, Italy
Date
525-548/ 1131-1154
Notes
This ceiling in the Cathedral of Cefalu is composed of colored wooden panels, on which appear non-religious drawings and decorations, representing themes (the life of the king’s courtiers, nature, and imagination). The drawings were executed with great taste and skill. Her colors were studied and blended skillfully, and she used her brush to give a clear impression of facial intersections and lines that highlight body movements. The colors were precious (lapis lazuli and gold leaf), and only a very small trace of them remains, which makes this work fall within the works carried out for the benefit of royal authorities. These drawings, decorations, and colors that reached extreme beauty are very similar to the drawings of the ceiling of the Palatina Church. However, the latter contains drawings of eyes with a strong expression, knights, musicians, and drinkers. There is a drawing of a lion, which was the emblem of the family of the builder, Rogero II, and drawings of other animals such as the sickle bird, the peacock, the falcon, the eagle, the ibex, the deer, the elephant, and the camel. There are drawings representing a struggle between animals, hunting scenes, and imaginary creatures such as mermaids, half human and half fish. They are traditional Egyptian drawings, proven by comparison by the Origima Institute (2004) from part of a wooden piece that was in the palace that the Second Fatimid Caliph (364/975-386/996) had ordered to be built for his daughter in Cairo, where it was later included in the palace of the Mamluk Sultan Qalawun (678-687/1279-1290). As for Cefalù, the drawings include more shapes. Diversity and freedom: It was executed by craftsmen with a cultural level comparable to that of the craftsmen of the Palatina Church, and with a Byzantine culture, and it is possible that they were craftsmen who came from Egypt and the regions of the Mediterranean basin for various tasks. People exchanged pieces made of ivory, metal, and ceramics (in their many ancient forms) between the Norman and Fatimid kingdoms. This resulted in new perceptions of art and ceiling decorations in Sicily. These paintings and decorations in the Palatina Church were not of a religious nature or religious atmosphere and place, so they must be studied in a neutral manner, away from religious thinking, and interpreted as images of celebrations and situations, expressing pleasures and enjoyments during the reign of Rogero II. Cefalù Cathedral was founded in the year (525/1131) by order of Rogero II to be a royal burial place for members of the Alta Villa ruling family. For this reason, he ordered two coffins made of solid stone to be placed in the year 539/1145 AD in the church courtyard. Then Federico II Zveva in (611/1215) ordered their transfer to Palermo Cathedral.
Sample Text
Pier Paolo Racioppi “Painted wooden ceiling of the Cathedral of Cefalu” in Discover Islamic Art. Museum Without Borders, 2026. 2026. https://islamicart.museumwnf.org/database_item.php?id=monument;ISL;it;Mon01;16;ar
