TORRITI, JACOPO. — Painter and musician, who lived in Rome at the end of the 13th century.
His certain works: the apse mosaic of the basilica of S. Giovanni in Laterano, signed by him in 1291 together with his assistant Jacopo da Camerino; the mosaic of the apse of S. Maria Maggiore, executed by T. in 1295. The first of these two works, having undergone alterations in the Lateran Basilica, is now only a pale reflection of the original composition, whereas the second, perfectly preserved, gives a measure of the greatness of the painter and the quality of his culture.
In the mosaic, which has in the center a roundel, surrounded by a flight of angels, in which the scene of the Coronation of the Virgin unfolds, the golden background is occupied above by the winding of acanthus scrolls while below are aligned figures of Saints. However, here and there, both in the scrolls and below along the river, appear images of wondrous flora and fauna. In this too the composition has connections with the art of ancient classical Rome, recalled by the plastic vigor with which the images are rendered and emphasized by the variation in the material of the tesserae. But no less effective in the typology and the dazzling richness of the precious hues are the references to Byzantine modes, which also clearly appear in the iconography of the scenes with the events of the life of the Virgin that are in the band beneath the apse.
Not entirely convincing are the attributions of other works to T., both in the same basilica of S. Maria Maggiore in Rome (apse chapels of the transept), and in the upper basilica of S. Francesco in Assisi, where some compositions have been assigned to him in the zones above Giotto’s frescoes. More probable is that of the apse chapel with the image of the Redeemer placed high on the façade of S. Giovanni in Laterano.