Identifying and Re-Interpreting Joachim's Rejection in the Marian Cycle of the Apse in the Basilica of Saint Francis in Assisi

Sometime between 1273 and 1280 Cimabue painted the apse in the Basilica of San Francesco in Assisi.¹ Much has been written on his Life of the Virgin cycle depicted therein.² One point of disagreement among scholars concerns the left scene of the second register (Fig. 1). Some claim that this fresco represents Joachim's Rejection at the Temple, others interpret it as Mary's Presentation in the Temple, and still others, Mary's Suitors before the High Priest.

My thesis is that the disputed scene represents Joachim's Rejection at the Temple. Although Monica Chiellini and Peter Beye have claimed the same,³ neither provide evidence for their identification beyond the fact that the fresco now depicts Joachim's Rejection, which is definitely the minority opinion. Beda Kleinschmidt,⁴ Alfred Nicholson,⁵ James Stubblebine,⁶ Hans Belting,⁷ Irene Hueck,⁸ Joachim Poeschke,⁹ Alessio Monciatti,¹⁰ Gerhard Ruf,¹¹ and Marilyn Aronberg Lavin¹² all posit alternative attribution with most scholars favoring Mary's Presentation in the Temple.¹³ Even though the fresco now visible clearly represents Joachim's Rejection, these scholars claim that the fresco was completely recast by restorers.¹⁴ However, none of the studies provide direct evidence supporting the claim that the fresco was actually altered. (See the text of Joachim's Rejection in the Appendix, p. 527.)

To argue my thesis I will first present the apse's iconographic layout. Second, I will compare the disputed fresco to a drawing made by Johann Antoine Ramboux in 1836.¹⁵ Third, I will identify other Marian cycles in Italian churches up to 1400 to show that later pictorial representations consistently include Joachim's rejection. Fourth, I will examine the Legenda aura as the textual basis for the four frescoes of the upper two registers as well as the two demi-tiers to illustrate that Joachim's Rejection better fits that textual source. Fifth, I will end with an interpretation of the differently identified fresco within the Apse's Mariology according to Marilyn Arongerg-Lavin's research regarding the place of narrative in Italian churches.

I. Description of the Apse's Iconographic Layout (Fig. 2)

The basilica's wested apse is a shallow, pentagonal space containing an eight-scene narrative of Mary accompanied by two, three scene demi-tiers. Vertically, the first two facets (N and S) of the apse divide into 5 tiers: (1) two bifurcated scenes within lunettes comprise the two upper registers depicting four scenes that tell the story of Mary's conception and espousal (2 S, 2 N); (2) two demi-tiers containing six half figures (3 S, 3 N); (3) two three bay colonnaded galleries that contain walkways surmounted by six half figures (3 S, 3 N); (4) four large scenes of the lower register that wrap the apse's walls on each side of the papal throne, which portray the story of Mary's death and glorification (2 S, 2 N); (5) a decorative dado tier that is now covered by the choir stalls. Six stained glass windows occupy the upper three tiers of the three inner facets. Horizontally, all the images, both painted and glass, read from left to right according a scheme of "typological pairing."¹⁶ Thus, the Marian frescoes of the upper two registers communicate across the apse, which is divided by the stained glass, while the four scenes of the lower register communicate across the papal throne. Accordingly, the scenes communicate on at least three levels: (1) the stories of the isolated frescos, (2) their chronological sequence, and (3) the theological inference derived from typological pairing.

II. Identifying the Fresco: Johann Antoine Ramboux's Sketches of the Assisi Frescoes

As mentioned, modern scholars assert that the Joachim's Rejection fresco was drastically altered without providing any direct evidence supporting their claims: no erasure marks, no recast plaster, no exposed fresco from underneath, all of which are evidenced elsewhere in the apse. The only visible variance in the questioned scene is repainted plaster...