--The Arena Chapel was built by an unknown architect over an ancient Roman arena– hence the name -It is also the Scrovegni Chapel after the name of the patron, Enrico Scrovengi -It was built to expiate the sin of usury through which Scrovegni’s father amassed a fortune; showing the rise of patronage from the European business class -Some narrative scenes illustrate biblical episodes of ill-gotten gains -The life of Christ appears on one side of the chapel, the life of Mary on the other
--Christ as judge, coming at the end of the world -Heavenly powers are arranged in an organized chorus; heads aligned in a row -Twelve apostles are arranged symmetrically around Christ -Cross at the bottom center divides the saved from the damned -On the side of the saved is Enrico Scrovengi in his role as donor presenting a model of the church to angels -At right is the devil, who eats and excretes sinners -Those guilty of usury or money-related sins like prostitution are particularly noted.
Shallow stage; figures occupy a palpable space pushed forward toward the picture plane -Diagonal cliff formation points to the main action daringly placed in the lower left-hand corner -Modeling indicates the direction of light; light falls from above right -Figures seen from the back isolate the main action
--Lamentation shows scenes of Jesus’s followers mourning his death. Usually, the scene contains Mary, Saint John, and Mary Magdalene - Saint John throws his hands back – recalling his iconographic symbol as an eagle; Mary Magdalene cradles Jesus’s feet; Mary holds Jesus’s head. -At left is the Old Testament scene of Jonah being swallowed by the whale and returning to life, a parallel with the New Testament acne of Christ dying and rising from the dead -Rage of emotions: heavy sadness, quiet resignation, flaming outbursts, despair -Sadness of the scene emphasized by grieving angles -Leafless tree echoes the theme of death in the painting; also represents the tree of the knowledge of good and evil in the Garden of Eden, which dies after Adam and Eve are expelled; a dead tree also symbolizes the wood of the cross Jesus was crucified on. -Christians believe Jesus sacrificed himself. In part, to expiate the expulsion from the Garden of Eden.