Saint Petka's Chapel Reflection

Today in class we visited Saint Petka's Chapel. There were many beautiful mosaics covering the walls. The mosaic I chose to analyze depicted a scene with many people. The main focus in the mosaic was Jesus Christ, you can tell who he is because he has a golden circle around his head, his feet appear to be floating,  he is located in the center of the mosaic, and is wearing bright red robes that make him stand out. He is also sticking his hands out over a poor old man with a cane and bag on his back, wearing dull gray robes who is hunched over and is not floating, therefore you know he is not currently Christian. I think he is being baptized because he is standing next to a fountain with his eyes closed and kneeling before Jesus, whom has his hands above the old mans head. On the left side of the picture there is a group of men. They are grouped close together and are wearing colorful clothing. Since they overlap they are not the focus of the mosaic. Also you can tell the men in the front of the group are more important because they stand in front of the group so you can see them better. The entire group's feet appear to float, so you can tell they are Christians. I think this is a mosaic of Jesus Christ baptizing a person while surrounded by his followers.This picture features a lot of details that can be used to figure out the story of this mosaic.

Overall, this mosaic is a satisfactory example of Byzantine art. The mosaic is full of bright colors and the people have floating feet and are also shown complete, without being cut off by the boarders of the mosaic. Also, the location of the figures shows importance and the pictured is balanced. In addition, there is not much interest in the background and the main focus is on the people. While this mosaic follows many of the rules of the Byzantine art, it also breaks one. I noticed that there is a bit of shading around the fountain, while some of it might be marble, the cloth hanging above the fountain also uses shading to show depth and the folds of the cloth. In conclusion, you can use clues in the mosaic to easily decipher the story of the mosaic.