Vault of the Evangelists

The Vault of the Evangelists is part of Cimabue's monumental fresco cycle in the Upper Basilica of San Francesco in Assisi, painted around 1277-1280. The vault depicts the four evangelists — Matthew, Mark, Luke, and John — enthroned with their symbolic creatures in the crossing vault above the main altar. These frescoes are among the most damaged in the basilica, having suffered severe deterioration due to the oxidation of the white lead pigment, which has turned the light areas dark and the dark areas light, creating an eerie photographic-negative effect. The 1997 earthquake caused further catastrophic damage.

Even in their severely deteriorated state, the frescoes reveal Cimabue's monumental approach to fresco painting, with the four evangelists arranged in a symmetrical program that fills the architectural vault. The figures display a new sense of physical weight and three-dimensional presence compared to earlier Byzantine decorative programs. The use of white lead, which has oxidized to black over the centuries, has tragically reversed the original tonal relationships while preserving the powerful compositional structure.