The Programme
A programme is a set of images arranged so that their layout makes an argument.
Programmes work through placement. Location itself conveys meaning:
| Position | Conventional significance |
|---|---|
| Apse | The most important image |
| West wall | The Last Judgement |
| Nave walls | Narrative cycles in sequence |
| Portal tympanum | Theme for those entering |
| Crypt | The saint's relics |
Reading a cycle
A Narrative cycle has a direction. It may run left to right, boustrophedon, or across registers. Cycles often pair scenes vertically. For instance, a scene from the Life of Christ might sit above its Old Testament type.
The Life of the Virgin
Key scenes from the life of Mary include:
- The Annunciation: codified with a lily, dove, and book
- The Assumption of the Virgin
- The Coronation of the Virgin
The Immaculate Conception means Mary was conceived without original sin, not the virgin birth of Christ. Its imagery derives from Revelation 12, showing a woman clothed with the sun.
Programmes as evidence
A programme is often checkable against a document, such as a written contract. As Gombrich argued, such records firmly constrain interpretation.
Common pitfall: interpreting an image without checking its original location.