Entre terre et ciel. La coupole de l'Antiquité Tardive au haut moyen âge: structure, fonction, décoration

Merging built space with the cosmic realm, the dome emerges as a highly meaningful element in Late Antique and Early Medieval art. Sign of distinguished commission, the dome adorns important buildings (mausolea, martyria and memoria, baptisteries, imperial churches, and palatine chapels), providing a space where major architectural and decorative challenges were solved. The complexity of the problems they pose – structural, decorative, and ritual –, along with their use for spaces with various functions hindered the study of domed buildings as a group. In the past fifteen years, nevertheless, important studies enriched our knowledge of some of these buildings, and invite an attempt to propose a synoptic approach. The present anthology analyses the main Late Antique and Early Medieval domed buildings from a variety of perspectives, proposing new considerations regarding their structure, decoration, and functions.