Mosaics and Wallpaintings in Roman Churches

Catalogued and illustrated here are 162 drawings and watercolours of mosaics and wallpaintings in Roman churches, now in the Mosaici Antichi albums which are housed in the Royal Library at Windsor Castle. Among the churches represented, S. Lorenzo fuori le mura and S. Maria in Trastevere feature in the greatest number of drawings, but detailed representations of the decoration in other churches, such as S. Andrea cata Barbara, S. Giovanni in Laterano, S. Clemente and S. Prassede, are also included.The Catalogue Raisonne analyzes each drawing in the greatest detail, including information on watermarks, annotations and types of mount. Literature is given both for the drawings and the subjects they portray. Every work catalogued is also illustrated, mostly in full colour, and frequently juxtaposed with examples of the actual mosaics or wallpaintings in situ.The introductory essays outline the important phases of Cassiano dal Pozzo's career, discuss the history and significance of the Paper Museum and explore the background to the study of the Early Christian Church in seventeenth-century Rome.As well as shedding light on the nature and scope of antiquarianism in Counter-Reformation Italy, this volume will be of special interest to archaeologists and medievalists engaged in the study of Rome's Early Christian churches.