Documenti di Didattica
Documenti di Professioni
Documenti di Cultura
275-276
SINCE the
p o i n t out that the frame o f the pic ture onsc reen is blac k, invisible, and n o t to
be c hanged - neither during the projec tion o f a film, n o r for l o n g stretc hes o f
film history. T h i s also separates the filmic
history, where there are c ountless types and formats o f frame. In film the stan
dard ratio o f 1:1.37 remained unc hanged for a l o n g time after the 1920s. T h e
tendenc y to j u g g l e this relationship was pursued by suc h unlikely bedfellows
as the film industry and a film aesthetic s ac ting in the n a m e o f the n e w
m e d i u m . W i t h respec t to the latter, the speec h given by Sergei Eisenstein i n
14
Wolfgang K e m p
'
o u
c a n
'so
te
ta
^es
a D o u t
narrative
j u s t i f ic a t i o n i n t h e t e m p o r a l aspec ts o f p l o t m o t i v a t i o n . T h r o u g h v i s u a l f i e l d s o f
v a r y i n g size proc esses o f a c c e l e r a t i o n a n d d e c e l e r a t i o n are e x p r e s s e d , a n d , as i n
o u r e x a m p l e , a c t i o n s o r p e r s o n s are e m p h a s i z e d o r a d d e d w i t h a n a t t r i b u t i v e
f u n c t i o n : large fields f o r J a b o t a n d t h e m a r c h i o n e s s , s m a l l f i e l d s f o r t h e d o g s
first t h e p e o p l e , t h e n t h e d o g s . E i s e n s t e i n w o u l d h a v e l e n t o n l y p a r t i a l e n d o r s e
m e n t t o this s o l u t i o n , s i n c e b e y o n d t h e f i l m i c c o n s t r u c t i o n o f t h e d e v e l o p m e n t
o f a n e v e n t o u t o f i n d i v i d u a l p i c t u r e s o r f r a m e s ( h e c alls this " c o u p l i n g " )
he
a s s oc i a t i o n
of
more
w i d e - r a n g i n g c o nc e p t s
is s u p p o s e d
to
originate:
h u n g e r , h a t r e d , l o v e , r e v o l u t i o n . E i s e n s t e i n ' s aesthetic s o f f i l m a n d f i l m f o r m a t s
is t h e m a t i c r a t h e r t h a n n a r r a t i v e .
E s t a b l i s h i n g t h i s s c e n a r i o e n a b l e s a s m o o t h p r o g r e s s i o n t o a n e a r l i e r art
that e m p l o y s a c o n s c i o u s c h a n g e o f f o r m a t , n a m e l y C h r i s t i a n , or m o r e ac c u
r a t e l y p o s t - C o n s t a n t i n e art. F o r r o u g h l y a t h o u s a n d y e a r s , f r o m 4 0 0 A . D . u n t i l
1400, the inversion
work
o f Friedric h
o f art b r i n g s its o w n
Sc h l e g e l ' s
frame into
dic tum
w a s a p p l ic a b l e : " E v e r y
e x i s t e nc e , " 1 0 b e c o m e s " T h e
frame
b r i n g s t h e w o r k o f art i n t o e x i s t e n c e . " W i t h r e s p e c t t o t h e a e s t h e t i c s o f p r o
d u c t i o n this m e a n s t h e f a m i l i a r p h e n o m e n o n that, f o r e x a m p l e i n t h e
pro
d u c t i o n o f a l t a r p i e c e s , t h e m a k e r s o f f r a m e s w e r e o f t e n t h e l e a d i n g artists, t h a t
f r a m e s c o s t m o r e t h a n t h e w o r k s o f art t h e y e n c l o s e d , a n d t h a t t h e y
often
m a d e m o r e o f a n i m p r e s s i o n t h a n t h e w o r k s o f art. 1 1 B u t i n t e r m s o f t h e p r i
o r i t y o f t h e f r a m e i n p i c t o r i a l a e s t h e t i c s , it f u n c t i o n e d u n d e r t h e s e c o n d i t i o n s
n e i t h e r as a n e x c e r p t , as i n t h e c i n e m a , n o r as t h e a e s t h e t i c b o r d e r o f t h e p i c
t u r e , as i n a u t o n o m o u s art. Its task w a s t h e o r g a n i z a t i o n o f t h e p i c t o r i a l m a t e
rial. T h e f r a m e is t h e n e c e s s a r y p r e s u p p o s i t i o n f o r a c o m p o s i t e art, a n art o f
m a n y pic tures a n d o f "figures de relation" (Valery).12 H e r e I w o u l d b e
in
c l i n e d t o s p e a k o f a n a g g r e g a t e stage o f v i s u a l c o m m u n i c a t i o n , t h a t a c t u a l l y
c o n t r a v e n e s e v e r y t h i n g t h a t later e s t a b l i s h e d i t s e l f as t h e m a i n t e n d e n c y
of
W e s t e r n art p r o d u c t i o n a n d e v e r y t h i n g t h a t f i l m i n t h e literal s e n s e i n t e r n a l
ized: the integrative, c o n t i n u o u s , u n i f i e d nature o f the single pic ture.13
In
C h r i s t i a n art o f late a n t i q u i t y a n d t h e M i d d l e A g e s t h e f r a m e t h u s h o l d s t h e
e l e m e n t s t o g e t h e r n o t j u s t i n a m a t e r i a l sense l i k e a s c a f f o l d , b u t also g u a r a n
tees t h e i r c o n n e c t e d n e s s . U n d e r s u c h c o n d i t i o n s o f v i e w i n g it is i n c o n c e i v
a b l e t h a t t h e o b s e r v e r m i g h t p r e f e r n o t t o see t h e f r a m e s o as t o b e l o s t i n t h e
p i c t u r e . T h e f r a m e is t h e n e c e s s a r y c o n d i t i o n f o r p e r c e p t i o n b e i n g p o s s i b l e ,
for a n y k i n d o f struc tural p e r c e p t i o n . F r o m o u r perspec tive, o f c ourse, the
q u e s t i o n a u t o m a t i c a l l y arises as t o h o w p i c t o r i a l n a r r a t i v e s c a n b e f i t t e d i n
here - narratives that we probably far too readily assume to have an egalitar
ian aspect innate to their law of motion, to their unfolding in time, an aspect
pressing for uniform segmentation.
I shall endeavor to illustrate this thesis with just two works of Christian art of
late antiquity and the Middle Ages. A glance at the door of Santa Sabina in
R o m e , which originated in the first half of the fifth century A.D., proves that
questions of format and structure are approached in new, intelligent ways
very early in the piece (Fig. 2).14 The wooden frame is secured in its structure
(and not j ust materially). What is striking about it is the prominence, in a
quite literal sense, of the frame. The reliefs look like smooth, flat pictures posi
tioned between the broad sculptured outgrowth of vine leaves and sur
rounded by three further framing elements. Two orders of framing can be
made out: an inner, secondary one that relates to the pictorial field of individ
ual panels, and an external, primary one, which defines each of the four verti
cal sections by virtue of the columns that rise from bottom to top of the
door. This vertical arrangement can be explained in a practical sense by the
fact that it is a folding door, so that not just two wings are involved, but four
mobile elements. At the same time, of course, the question arises as to the or
dering capacity of this arrangement.
Our second obj ect of attention is the distinctly different formats of the
pictorial fields and their combination in alternating horizontal rows. The
frame of the door accommodates twenty-eight panels in seven horizontal
rows, with four rows of four small and horizontally formatted panels alternat
ing with three rows of four large, vertically formatted panels. It is easy to underestimate the effect of this rhythmical constellation, but the alternation
15
16
Wolfgang Kemp
i
I
Portal of Santa
Sabina.
R o m e , c. 430. C o u r
tesy o f Bildar chiv
Foto Mar bur g i m
Kunstgeschichtlichen
achieves the effect of the hor izontal str uctur e also being per ceived in a struc
tural sense. (If panels of equal size wer e to over lap, the expr essive potential of
the horizontal disposition could easily be limited by the pregnant ver tical ele
ments of the prominently fr amed sections.) But as things stand, there is a con
trast at the level of the syntagmatic, a vying between axis and line, and this
contr ast continues in the differ ent for mats of the r eliefs, which involves mor e
than just a differ ence in magnitude by cr eating a var iety of senses of dir ec
tion. This in tur n is a highly effective structural tool, for it points to both hor
izontal and vertical capacities for linkage.
17
VII
VI
rv
Christ Appears to
the Three Women
[V,2}
Christ Appears to
His Disciples
[V , l ]
Th e
Narrativity
o f th e
Frame
Advent of Christ
[VI, 4]
Acclamation (?)
[IV, 2)
Christ Prophesying
Peter's Denial
[V,3]
Christ Before
Caiaphas
[III, 4]
Christ Before
Pilate and
Carrying the Cross
[III, 1]
Crucifixion
[ VII, 1]
(Nativity Scene)
(Baptism of Christ)
Miracles of Christ
[VI, 1]
Ascension of
Christ
[VI, 3]
FIGURE 3
Adoration of the
Magi (?)
[VII, 3]
Diagrammatic
reconstruction o f th e
original placing o f
th e panels o f th e
Calling of Moses
[IV, 1]
Miracles of Moses
[VI, 2]
Ascension of
Elijah
[IV, 4]
portal o f Santa
Sabina, R o m e .
Key:
(?) = t h e o r i g i n a l
position o f th e relief
is u n c e r t a i n . ( ) = t h e
r e l i e f h as n o t b e e n
preserved, but can b e
(Jonah Cast into
the Sea) (?)
(Jonah Disgorged
by the Whale) (?)
Rescue of
Habakkuk (?)
(Daniel in the
Lions' Den) (?)
[V.4]
reconstructed w i t h a
fair d e g r e e o f
certainty. [ ] = t h e
position o f th e relief
today.
From observing the framework alone we thus proceed with the follow
ing premises to testing th e relationsh ip between th e door itself and th e struc
ture. We sh all need to consider th e claims of two forms of organization, th e
line and th e axis. And we h ave to see how we can accommodate th e two for
mats, how we can approach th e question of conceiving th em independently,
or in relation to one anoth er.
Th e issue of reconstructing th e pictorial program h as never been seri
ously approach ed. Without becoming immersed in a long discussion of ques
tions of detail, I base my analysis h ere on an argument I h ave elaborated else
wh ere.15 A n Old Testament representation and nine N e w Testament stories
18
are preserv ed as exemplars of the small panels. A written tradition has docu-
Wolfgang Kemp
mented the earlier existence of one further small panel ofJonah and the Wliale.
In the case of the large panels we still hav e four reliefs with themes from the
Old Testament and two with themes from the New, as well as two depictions
of a representativ e or thematic nature. So from the outset, the notion of a ty
pological structuring is present. The existence among the large panels of two
pairs of pictures that are both theologically and formally related (the Miracles
of Moses / Miracles of Christ, and the Ascension of Elijah / Ascension of Christ),
cries out for a continuation of the quest to complete the reconstruction.
M y reconstruction starts with a dualism that is not simply preestablished
by the configuration of the panels that is, the two door wings equal the two
testaments but arises through the interaction between the framework and
the door itself. The hypothesis continues in the direction of a dual pictorial
program being formulated with two formats and directions, a program con
sisting of two narratives, or rather two ways of molding a (hi)story with
Christian intent. One order articulates the linear and consecutive aspects of
the narrative the story of salvation as a syntagm. Its form comprises the
panels in horizontal format that form a sequence. The other order addition
ally gives expression to the vertical and relational aspects of the model the
story of salvation as syntagm and paradigm. Its form comprises the panels in
vertical format, which are read in two directions. They are positioned under
neath each other in terms of their axes, and through an additive effect be
come narrative sequences.
From the scheme in Figure 3 it becomes evident how I conceive the dis
tribution of narrative. If we pair the Rescu e of Habakku k
with Daniel in the Li
ons' Den, and the scripturally attested Jonah Cast into the Sea with his equally
necessary evacuation (Jonah Disgorged by the Wliale), we have filled in the posi
tions of the lowest line (I) with two paradigms of Old Testament salvation
that predestine the New. This observation does not necessarily entail struc
tural consequences; that is, it does not require overarching connections and
the harmonization of individual elements, as does the other ordering. The
Old and the New Testament bear a relationship of sequence, not of figura
tion. Above this line, which forms a kind of predella to the door, the life of
Christ is narrated in rows III, V, and VII. O f the third line, which would re
quire the caption Childhood
and Public Ministry , we have only the Adoration of
the Magi; the fifth, with its four Passion scenes, is most probably complete; the
seventh, which is likewise complete, would then have as its theme the Resur
rection and its consequences.
Rows II, IV, and VI, with their vertical-format reliefs, may then be read
horizontally. Four scenes from the story of Moses and Elijah (II), four stages
in the life of Christ (IV), four states probably the best way of putting it of
the age of perfected salvation (VI). But additionally these reliefs have a verti
cal connection, as is suggested by their format and the essential framing ele
ments. The Old Testament prefigures the scenes of the New, and these in turn
give an inkling of the supratemporal relationships, of the ultimate k ingdom of
the Lord (a relationship that cannot be established so easily through the other
temporal stages because the quality o f sequentiality is missing). C a r r y i n g both
orders through to their logical conclusion requires that an element or a line
o f the other order has to be disregarded to progress w i t h reading or to m o v e
up or d o w n the typological axes. T o rephrase that in positive terms: b o t h nar
rative complexes b egin to cross over and to f o r m a k i n d o f texture in the
course o f reading. T h e t w o orders reconstructed here exist in their o w n right,
b ut they also s h o w solidarity w i t h each other. T h e y share the story o f salva
tion, so that there are n o repetitions, b ut instead the t w o f o l d development
demonstrates that this material has the potential for m a n y narrative versions,
each m a k i n g sense in its o w n right, and all w i t h the capacity to b e correlated,
a trib ute to the logos " p o l y m e r o s kai p o l y t r o p o s " to the W o r d proclaimed
" i n m a n y and various ways" (Heb . 1:1). In terms o f shared structural features
it is w o r t h emphasizing that the linearity followed b y b o t h narrative orders is
not w i t h o u t the higher seal o f approval o f the systematic order: each r o w is
tantamount to b eing a sectional or strophic division o f the narrative into
chapters or b o o k s .
T o summarize these thoughts, the c o m p l e x pictorial system, determined
in equal measure b y framing and change o f format, does indeed have an i n
v o l v e m e n t w i t h time, b ut n o t in the sense o f those narrative properties that
the nineteenth and twentieth centuries cultivated sequentiality and acceler
ation (Toepffer) a n d / o r simultaneity and contrastive value (Eisenstein). T h i s
portal is, rather, i m b u e d w i t h the Christian n o t i o n o f ranging across all t e m
poral levels ( O l d Testament, N e w Testament, the eschatological future), o f
their vertical correlation and horizontal logic. T h e
configuration o f the
framework is b o t h the expression and the means o f a theology that finds its
revelation in history. O n e c o u l d say that the i m m a n e n t aim o f such achieve
ments in structuration is not the temporal figure (Toepffer, Eisenstein), b ut
the historical one.
*
In the last section I turn m y attention to the G o t h i c stained-glass w i n d o w s o f
northern France, w h i c h just after 1200 A.D. developed a previously u n k n o w n
c o m p l e x i t y in their m e d i u m and i n the art o f ordering. For a relatively short
time stained-glass w i n d o w s in the cathedral emb race a w h o l e , u n d i v i d e d w i n
d o w opening. A s early as 1215 the era o f the architectural w i n d o w b egins,
m e a n i n g that the o p e n i n g is sub divided b y stone pillars or tracery into rela
tively narrow fields or complicated forms. 1 6 Before that it had b een in the
p o w e r o f the dispositores
shapes through armatures o f iron, lead settings and fields o f various stars, b los
soms and quatrefoil compositions that appear o n c e or repeatedly. T h e s e larger
forms, w h i c h constitute the primary framing system, are in turn sub divided
into fields that serve as frames for a narrative scene or part scene. W e are deal
ing w i t h an age that feels the manic c o m p u l s i o n to divide and sub divide.' 7
20
Wolfgang Kemp
with
fifteen to th irty
of
as
and th irteenth
and
FIGURE 4
(Far left) P r o d i g a l S o n
W i n d o w , Bourges
Cathedral.
FIGURE 5
Diagrammatic
represen tation
o f the
Prodigal S o n
W i n d o w , Bourges
Cathedral. Key: 1 , 2 ,
3 , sign atories o f t h e
Tan n ers' G u i l d ; 4, the
prodigal son deman ds
his i n h e r i t a n c e f r o m
his f a t h e r ; 5, h e
receives his i n h e r
i t a n c e ; 6, t h e elder
s o n i n t h e fields ; 7,
the prodigal s on
leaves his father's
h o u s e ; 8, arrival at t h e
t a v e r n ; 9, p r o d i g a l s o n
j?
mk
m e t b y t h e harlots ;
10, c r o w n i n g o f t h e
p r o d i g a l s o n ; 11, h e is
cas t o u t ; 12, h e
g a m b l e s a w a y his
i n h e r i t a n c e ; 13, h e is
cas t o u t a s e c o n d
t i m e ; 14, h e hires
h i m s e l f o u t as a
s w i n e h e r d ; 15, h e
experiences remors e;
16, h e r e t u r n s
home
in clothing o f a
s w i n e h e r d ; 17,
s laughtering o f the
r e u n i t e d w i t h his
father and brother.
21
22
Wolf gang Kemp
I cl ose with a final excursion into fil m history, to the year 1953. Although
the wide-screen technique of CinemaScope was first used in the fil m How to
Marry a Millionaire (directed by Jean Negul esco), Twentieth-Century Fox hel d
this film back so as to bring out first the film version of the Passion of Christ
titl ed The Robe (directed by Henry Koster). The era of the big fil ms was to be
ushered in by the biggest theme of all.
N o t e s to Pages
4-14
of Cinema
2. Ibid.
3. S ergei Eisenstein.'The Dynamic S quare," a lecture given to the Technicians Branch o f the
Academy o f Motion Picture Arts and S ciences, Fox Hill S tudios, Hollywood, 17 S eptem
ber 1930, published in Cl ose
stein, Das dynamische
Quadrat:
der Fotografie,
vol. 2, 1 9 1 2 - 4 5
see idem.,
Foto-Essays:
Zur
Gesc
l iichte
und Theorie
der Fotografie
(Munich:
Schirmer/Mosel, 1978).
5. Eisenstein, Das dynamische
Quadrat,
p. 162.
6. Ibid., p. 176.
7. David K unzle, The History
of the Comic
Century
Memoria:
9. R o d o l p h e Toepffer, Histoire
de M.Jabot
zur Poesie
und Literatur,
de
VArt,
37 (1977), p. 44.
12. O n the com posite character o f m edieval art see Wolfgang Kem p, "Medieval Pictorial Sys
tems," in B. Cassidy (ed.), Ico no graphy
der Basilika
Kunst:
S. Sabina
Ihre Anfange,
ihre Strukturen
(Munich: Schirmer/Mosel,
1994).
16. O n the relationship between w i n d o w opening, ornamentation and glass painting see W o l f
gang Kemp, "Parallelismus als Formprinzip: Z u m Bibelfenster der Dreikonigskapelle des
Kolner Doms," Kblner
o
D mblatt,
56 (1991), p. 259.
17. A t that time it was possible for a theologian to define the art o f proclamation in church namely the sermon - in the terms, "the interpretation o f H o l y Scripture by division and
subdivision." Cited in R a y m o n d F. Howes, Histo rical
and
Rhet
o ricians
in der Kunst
des Mittelalters
(BonnL eipzig:
Kurt
Schroder, 1919-22).
19. S. G. Nichols, Ro manesque
Signs:
Early
Medieval
Narratives
(New Haven,
der mittelalterlichen
Glasfenster
oc rp
o reus:
Die
21. In a favorite book o f the Middle Ages devoted to the sayings o f Solomon, there is a tale
about a "foolish lad" w h o falls for a wench dressed up as a prostitute: " H e immediately fol
lows her, like an ox to the slaughter."