Hovak Najarian – Page 16 – Hear what the Spirit is saying

The Tabernacle of Peretola, 1442, Marble, Glazed Terra cotta, and Bronze, Luca della Robbia (1400-1482)

Commentary by Hovak Najarian

During his lifetime, Luca della Robbia was said to be among the finest artists of the early Renaissance. Critics continue to hold him in high regard but they are mixed in their appraisal. It is believed he could have grown much more as a sculptor if he had worked only in stone or bronze. Yet his relief work in terra cotta was of such remarkable quality that his name and fame has been linked with it forever. In his “Tabernacle,” della Robbia includes terra cotta alongside marble and bronze, and the figures are surrounded by an architectural frame that is carved in relief and is part of the sculpture itself. The subject of each section is part of the overall trinity theme.

The uppermost section is a pediment in marble with a figure of God the Father being represented as an old man with a long beard. He is giving a blessing with his right hand while his left hand is holding a tablet with the first and last letters of the Greek alphabet; a reference to a statement in the Book of Revelation (22:13), “I am Alpha and Omega, the beginning and the end.”

The central section of the tabernacle is a lamentation in a lunette made of terra cotta. The figures include an angel with an anguished expression holding up the figure of the crucified Christ. His grieving mother, Mary, is on the left side and St. John with his head bowed is on the right. At the time this sculpture was commissioned, della Robbia had been experimenting with clay and glazes and this tabernacle is the first piece in which he used glazed terra cotta. Even after being fired, terra cotta is not as dense as marble; the white glaze that della Robbia formulated and used extensively added hardness to its the surface. He often used blue glaze as a background for the white figures.

The lower section of the sculpture is carved in marble and contains two bronze elements within it. The dove, representing the Holy Spirit, was cast in bronze by della Robbia himself. It is surrounded by a laurel wreath that is being held at the top and bottom by an angel on each side. Under the arms of the two angels is a bronze door to the locked tabernacle where the consecrated wine is kept. From a compositional standpoint, the bronze door at this location seems out of place and it is speculated a white door was there originally; this would have allowed the dove to be a central focal point as seems to have been the intent. The door was changed to its present form in the eighteenth century. The relief on the bronze door depicts a standing Christ holding a cross in his left arm. On the floor is a large chalice to receive blood being shed from his right hand.

Note

Terra cotta (Italian for “cooked earth”): This is red clay that is hardened by firing in a kiln. It is also used for bricks, pavers, and flower pots.

Relief Sculpture: This is the term for sculpture that is not “in the round.” It is raised from a surface (like a relief map) and usually attached to a wall. Three types of relief are: Bas relief (low): Sculpture that is raised from a surface but not very much. [Bas is pronounced “bah.”] Metzo relief (middle): Sculpture that is raised from a surface but not high. Alto relief (high): Sculpture that is elevated from the surface and, at times, almost in the round. [In music the terms bas(s), metzo and alto are used also. Since “alto” means high it may seem odd that in music it refers to the low female voice. This comes from a time when choirs were all male; “alto” was the high male voice. When women began singing in choirs, the ones with lower voices sang the “alto” part.]

Pediment: This is a gable formed when two roofs meet. In Greek and Roman temples, this triangular area was filled with relief sculpture.

Lunette: In architecture, a semicircular opening or surface as under an arch.

Lamentation: This is an expanded version of a pieta (Italian for “pity”). In a pieta, only the crucified Christ and his mother Mary are depicted; in a “lamentation,” additional figures are included.

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Herod and Salome | Art for B Proper 10

Mark 6:25 At once the girl hurried in to the king with the request: “I want you to give me right now the head of John the Baptist on a platter.”

Commentary by Hovak Najarian
(Previous post July 15, 2012)

The word capital is known to us as both a monetary term and as the location of a seat of government. Unless a person is familiar with architecture, the head of a column may not come to mind. Stone columns were at first replacements for tree trunks but as architectural forms developed, psychological as well as physical factors came into play. At the bottom of a column a supporting base gives it the appearance of resting on the floor, not growing out of it. The “capital,” an embellishment at the top of a column, gives it a sense of completeness. Capitals of Egyptian columns were often in the form of lotus blossoms. Doric, Ionic, and Corinthian are names given to capitals used by the Greeks; these are familiar to us today because we continue to see them in classical revival architecture. In Romanesque church architecture, capitals of basket weave and intertwining vines were often carved but also they depicted biblical events. In Herod and Salome we see a detail from a capital that was once in the cloister of Saint Etienne, Toulouse, France. [The cloister was destroyed completely and this relief is now in a museum in Toulouse.]

In the familiar biblical story, Herod was attracted to his brother’s wife, Herodias. She decided to divorce her husband and marry Herod. John the Baptist was quite vocal in stating this marriage was unlawful; this angered Herodias so she asked Herod to imprison him. When Herodias’ daughter danced at Herod’s birthday banquet, Herod was pleased immensely and promised her anything she would ask. Her mother, who despised John for criticizing her marriage, told her to ask for the head of John the Baptist. Herod felt he could not go back on his word and granted the wish.

This relief of Herod and Salome is on a capital that was placed on double columns next to a wall. On the front (not shown) is a scene of a table set with food and people are gathered there to celebrate Herod’s birthday. Around the corner on the left side (pictured here) we see Herod seated with his step-daughter standing next to him; her feet are crossed at the ankles in a dance position. Herod’s left hand is placed gently under her chin in a tender moment as he looks at her in admiration. In this relief, she is child-like and unlike the “Salome” depicted usually as a seductive symbol of wickedness. This event is given in narrative form and is completed on the opposite side. On the right side of the capital, (around the corner from the banquet scene), John the Baptist is leaning over being beheaded.

Note

In the Gospel of St. Mark the name of Herodias’ daughter’s is not given. Historian Flavius Josephus, in his Antiquities of the Jews, supplied us with the name “Salome.” The “Dance of the Seven Veils,” said to have been performed by her, also is not mentioned. This dance is likely the result of transferring and embellishing the story of Assyrian and Babylonian fertility goddess Ishtar’s visit to the underworld. On her way she shed a piece of clothing as she passed through each of seven gates. Because of its emotional content, the story of Herod and Salome often is told with vivid imagination and has been exploited in all of the arts.

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Herod and Salome (detail from The Feast of Herod capital) c.1120, Limestone, Gilabertus de Toulouse (12th century)

Commentary by Hovak Najarian

Note

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The Ecstasy of St. Paul, 1649-50, Oil on Canvas, Nicolas Poussin (1594- 1665)

Commentary by Hovak Najarian

Hovak Najarian

At the end of the fifteenth century, Renaissance artists had opened the way for an expansion of ideas but the direction art would take was not clear until the latter part of the century that followed. Whereas Renaissance artists retained a connection to classicism, the art that began in the late sixteenth century and lasted until mid-eighteenth century – referred to collectively as “Baroque” – moved beyond classicism into an area of drama and fantasy. During this time the boundaries of art were pushed and the classical images of the Renaissance gave way to exuberant and ornate forms. Often painting, architecture and sculpture were coordinated for dramatic effects that tended to overwhelm the senses. It was a time when technical difficulties did not stand in the way of artists. Light and shadow, perspective, foreshortening, and virtually all other problems dealing with the creation of an illusion of three dimensions on a surface had been overcome. Artists could give free reign to their ideas and imagination.

In 1624, Nicolas Poussin, left Paris to settle in Rome and through his work became the most renowned French artist of the seventeenth century. In subject matter, he became attracted to mythological as well as real life heroes of ancient Rome and although it was a time when art tended to be full of unbridled activity, his work tended to be restrained; his working methods were deliberate. When asked about his well thought out compositions, he said, “I am forced by my nature towards the orderly.” During the mid-1630s, in addition to painting subjects from mythology and history, Poussin turned his attention to subjects from the Bible.

In The Ecstasy of St. Paul, Poussin depicts Paul being escorted by three angels as he starts his journey heavenward. The lead angel is pointing the way. In organizing this composition, Poussin was faced with a problem of how to deal with so many arms, legs, and angel’s wings. He resolved the problem by having some of the limbs out of sight and connecting others by touch. Paul, in the center of what seems to be an entangled scene, is in a laid-back position with arms raised. The angel on the left has a hand under the knee of his right leg. The angel on the right, whose face is in shadow, has a hand on the ankle of Paul’s left leg. The uppermost angel is touching his left hand lightly as if to guide him upward but no real lifting is being done. The angels are there primarily to accompany Paul while a sweeping landscape and billowing clouds serve as a backdrop. Below them are the symbols associated with Paul; a book that represents the word of God and a sword. The sword indicates he was at one time a persecutor of the Church and then, after his conversion, took up the Sword of the Spirit; the bound book refers to his epistles.

Note

“Baroque” first came into use as a somewhat derisive term. It was used in France to mean something unusual, bizarre, or even poorly made, but the source of the word is unclear. It may have come from the Spanish word berrucco for an irregular (uncultured) pearl or from the Portuguese barroco for hilly or uneven ground. The root of these words may be from the Latin verruca meaning a slight flaw. In view of the turning, undulating, and convoluted shapes found in a great deal of Baroque art, any of these suggested origins are plausible.

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Christ Resurrects the Daughter of Jairus, 1815, Pen/ink and Watercolor, Friedrich Overbeck (1789-1869)

Commentary by Hovak Najarian

In the early nineteenth century there were two, often opposing, stylistic directions in art; Neoclassicism and Romanticism. Neoclassicists turned to the works of the Greeks, Romans, and the Renaissance as the basis for their work and made art an intellectual pursuit. It was the official art of the academies in France but the romanticists of this time preferred to follow their hearts and often painted subjects having dramatic content. Friedrich Overbeck was born in Germany where a tendency toward romanticism was strong. As a mature painter his subjects were usually Biblical and like the romanticists, they contained emotional content but he lived in Rome and as seen in Christ Resurrects the Daughter of Jairus, he was influenced greatly by the classicism found in Renaissance painting.

As a young man, Overbeck studied art at the Vienna Academy and it was during this time that he recognized his desire to bring a spiritual quality back into art. In 1909, while still a student, he and others of likeminded values founded a group called, “The Brotherhood of Saint Luke,” and imagined being like medieval guild painters. A year later he and his friends went to Rome where they decided to live in a former monastery and remain somewhat in seclusion like monks. They were joined by several other German artists who shared Overbeck’s desire for spirituality in art. Because they affected Biblical manners in their clothes and hair styles, they soon were dubbed, “Nazarenes.” Rome became Overbeck’s adopted home and he lived there for the remainder of his life.

Overbeck had long admired the work of Albrecht Durer and when he arrived in Rome he studied the works of Raphael as well. The influence of both of these artists is evident in Christ Resurrects the Daughter of Jairus. The robes are very much in the style of Raphael and, in the tableau-like dramatic setting and composition it has elements in common with Durer’s woodcuts. Overbeck’s subject for this painting (which is primarily a drawing with added watercolors) is based on accounts in the Gospels in which a patron of the synagogue, Jairus, asks Jesus to come to heal his dying daughter. By the time Jesus was asked, however, his daughter may have been already dead. When Jesus arrived at Jairus’ home, a wailing crowed was there and they laughed when they were told the girl is not dead but asleep. Jesus sent them out and took the girl’s hand saying, “Little girl, I say to you, get up!” Overbeck’s painting depicts the moment when the girl rises up in bed looking pale and gaunt. Her eyes are still closed.

In this painting, the figure of Christ gets our attention immediately; he is in a dark blue robe and placed in the center of the painting. The figure of Christ also serves as a visual barrier that keeps our focus on the left half of the painting where the miraculous event is occurring. Jesus is holding the girl’s hand and at the same time he is looking directly at her face. Behind the girl with his hands clasped is Jairus and off to the right and away from the immediate action is a passive group of figures that came with Jesus; they are waiting quietly as Christ takes the girl’s hand and asks her to get up. Farther back are figures leaving as they exit through an arched opening; it is likely these are the last of the people told by Jesus to leave. Like the neoclassicists, Overbeck has kept his composition cool and uncluttered; our eyes move to different areas of this painting with ease but we always return to the interaction between Jesus and the girl.

This exceptionally well-balanced composition does not break new ground in art, yet in Overbeck’s painting there is subdued color that gives it serenity. It gives us a story without overwhelming us with details. There is a sense that he wanted to depict this event simply and honestly without taking attention away from it with excessive visual effects.
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David Playing the Harp before Saul, 1530, Engraving, Lucas van Leyden (1494-1533)

Commentary by Hovak Najarian

Dutch artist, Lucas van Leyden, was an extraordinary printmaker; only Albrecht Durer, whom he met and admired, was better known in his time. Like Durer, he was a master engraver and he too used Biblical stories as subject matter in his works. The engraving, David Playing the Harp before Saul, gives us an example of Lucas’ exceptional technical skill.

In the First Book of Samuel (16:23) we are given an account of the calming affect David’s music had on King Saul: “And it came to pass, when the evil spirit from God was upon Saul, that David took a harp, and played with his hand: so Saul was refreshed, and was well, and the evil spirit departed from him.”

In Lucas’ engraving, Saul is in a troubled state. David is standing to the left with fingers on the strings of his harp and the seated Saul is slumped in his throne and motionless. His face is passive, his eyes are turned aside unfocused, and he seems to be unable to understand or deal with his depression. There is nothing regal about him and in a different setting he could be overlooked as simply an old man. Following our initial study of David and Saul, our attention is shifted to two men standing behind the right arm of the throne. One gentleman, likely the court physician, is gesturing as they discuss Saul’s condition. Soldiers and guards with their halberd and spears are behind them in the shadows. The source of light, being from the front, leaves the background in darkness. This keeps our focus on the principal characters in the foreground and also adds to the sense of gloom overshadowing the scene.

In this composition, David, standing to the left with his harp, is the first to receive our attention. Our eyes move up to see his face and then we are led visually back down as we follow the edge of the harp and pause briefly at David’s spread fingers. From there the downward line of the harp curves to the right and leads us directly to Saul. The staff in Saul’s hand then points us back toward the center to the two men observing his despair. The back part of Saul’s throne keeps our focus contained and limits this composition to a tightly knit scene.

Note

David Playing the Harp before Saul is an engraving on a copper plate. In terms of where ink is placed, an engraving is the opposite of a woodcut. In a woodcut (known as a relief print), ink is rolled onto the raised portion of a plate (a carved wooden surface). In a metal engraving the ink is carried below the surface of a plate. An engraver uses a small chisel-like hardened steel tool (called a burin) to carve shallow v-shaped grooves into a plate of softer metal (often copper). After a composition is completed to an artist’s satisfaction, ink is rubbed into the grooves and the surface of the plate is wiped clean; the ink however, being below the surface, remains in the grooves. A piece of slightly damp paper is laid over the plate and it is run through a press. As it goes through the press, the paper is forced against the plate and makes contact with the ink. When the paper is pulled off the plate, the ink is lifted out of the grooves. The print on the paper will be a mirror image of the composition. An artist must prepare the plate in reverse of the image seen in the print.

All editions pulled directly from a plate are “originals” and thousands could be printed potentially. Today, however, an artist makes usually a limited edition and then destroys or “cancels” the plate. The artist numbers and signs each edition by hand.

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The Tree of Jesse, Twelfth Century, Illumination on Parchment, Unknown Miniaturist, English (active 1140s), Lambeth Palace Library, London

Commentary by Hovak Najarian

During medieval times, light carried mystical and symbolic meaning as it passed through stained glass windows or was reflected from the surface of gold leafed icons. During this time, illuminated manuscripts were written painstakingly on parchment by hand with gold-leafed and vividly colored miniature paintings accompanying the text. Gold itself seemed magical and represented divine radiance; in its reflected light, images were “illuminated” literally.

In manuscripts, early Christian illustrators depicted usually the apostles and events in the life of Christ. During the eleventh century the range expanded to include the genealogy of Christ and from that time forward to the Renaissance, the “Tree of Jesse” remained a popular subject. Its source is found in Isaiah (11:1); “And there shall come forth a shoot from the stem of Jesse, and a Branch shall grow out of his roots.” Matthew at the outset of his gospel (1:1-16) gives us Christ’s genealogy and Luke (3:23-38) also gives us Christ’s ancestry. The subject is noted once again in the Book of Revelation (22:16); “…I am the root and the offspring of David, and the bright and shining star.”

In the Tree of Jesse from the Lambeth Bible, Jesse is seen lying at the bottom of the illumination. From his hip rises what may be interpreted as a trunk of a tree and its vine-like branches forms roundels. In the roundels at the bottom are four old prophets. Isaiah, on the left, holds the scroll of his prophesy and points upward. On the right, an old prophet also points upward as he looks toward the large central figure of Mary who is dressed in blue (the symbol of purity and heavenly grace). Branches move upward from Mary’s head to form a roundel containing a half figure of Christ; He is surrounded by seven doves that represent gifts of the Holy Spirit. In the upper left roundel two apostles are shown with a crowned female figure that represents the triumph of the Church. At the top right, the hand of God removes a veil (symbolizing blindness) from Synagoga, a figure representing the Jewish religion; Moses, depicted with horns on his forehead, is at her side. In the two center roundels are the four virtues noted in Psalm 85:10; “Mercy and Truth are met together; Righteousness [Justice] and Peace have kissed.” At the right, Justice holds scales as she and Peace embrace following a kiss. In the left roundel, Mercy, holding a vase, is with Truth. Mercy represents the Gentiles and Truth represents the Jews; they are holding hands to indicate the unity of the Old and New Testament.

Notes

Medieval describes life during the Middle Ages (from approximately 500A.D. to 1450 A.D.) The Middle Ages came after the fall of the Roman Empire and ended with the Renaissance of the fifteenth century.

Illuminated Manuscript is a term used loosely today to include all miniature book illustrations of the medieval period but true illuminations are only paintings on which gold leaf (or gold dust) has been applied.

Parchment is the surface used for illuminated manuscripts. It was made from calf, sheep, or goat skin. Vellum is a parchment of finer quality.

Lambeth Palace has been the official London residence of the Archbishops of Canterbury since the thirteenth century.

Moses Pictured with Horns is a result of a translator’s interpretation. When Moses returned from Mt. Sinai the second time with two tablets, his face was said to shine. When Jerome, the translator of the Bible into Latin in the fifth century interpreted the Hebrew verb karan, meaning to cast a glow, he took it to be the literal form of the noun keren which means horn. Henceforth, artists depicted Moses with horns. The most noted example is Michelangelo’s sculpture of Moses.

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Christ Taking Leave of His Mother, 1505, Woodcut, Albrecht Durer (1471-1528)

Commentary by Hovak Najarian

During the Renaissance, the German artist Albrecht Durer was the most acclaimed printmaker of Northern Europe and his well deserved reputation can be seen in two notable series of woodcuts. Both of them include the theme of Christ saying farewell to his mother before leaving for the events awaiting him during the Passion. The first series called Life of the Virgin was started in 1501 but not completed until after he returned from an extended visit to Italy. A second series called The Small Passion was started after his return to Germany.

In his woodcuts, Durer deals with a wide range of emotional moments; sometimes there are elements of joy, as in Christ Entry into Jerusalem, yet often there are sorrowful events such as the Crucifixion. Durer used Biblical accounts usually for the subject of his woodcuts but many activities in the life of Christ, as well as in his family and disciples, were not recorded in the scriptures. When direct accounts are not available, artists, novelists, and dramatists often turn to their imagination or go to other sources as they try to depict how events might have occurred.

During the thirteenth and early fourteenth century there was much devotional material written but the exact authorship was not always known. Many works that were at one time attributed incorrectly to St. Bonaventura now are called generally, Pseudo-Bonaventura. Durer’s source for Christ Taking Leave of His Mother is from one of the most popular of these works; “Meditations on the Life of Christ.” The thought of Christ’s farewell is emotionally heart wrenching, especially in view of the fate awaiting him in the days that were to come. This subject received much attention from artists in Northern Europe during the fifteenth and sixteenth centuries and numerous variations of this theme were painted.

In Christ Taking Leave of His Mother (from the Life of the Virgin), Durer lays out the composition in three divisions. Mary is on the left side seated on the edge of a covered porch; her dress is crumpled, her face shows sorrow, and her hands are clasped below her chin. Two women, also with sorrowful expressions, are standing behind her and are part of this group. Christ, near center and a few feet away to the right of them, raises his hand to bless his mother. Two strong vertical elements, the post of the porch and a dead tree suggesting gloom, serve to frame him and at the same time they tend to visually separate him from his mother and the two women. As our attention moves to the right beyond the figure of Jesus we see a third division; open space and a road that will lead Christ to the world beyond. On the road at mid-distance are the disciples waiting for Jesus to join them. In the background, looming over this sorrowful farewell – and possibly intending to suggest the presence and weight of the physical world – is a huge fortress-like cluster of buildings that is based probably on buildings in Nuremberg during Durer’s time.

This woodcut is not quite nine by twelve inches in size; about the size of a standard sheet of notebook paper. Yet Durer filled it with an incredible amount of detail. He presents the primary action in the foreground and then takes us back convincingly into an illusion of very deep space. Durer was a master of black and white values and he skillfully created “gray” tones; even though there are no actual gray tones in this print. The entire surface of the woodblock is of a “yes-no” nature. That is, the surface of the block is either all cut away (to give the white areas) or left uncut (for the dark lines). The various degrees of gray values are achieved by how near or apart the cuts are made to each other.

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Pentecost, 1484-1490, Tapestry, Lazzaro Bastiani, ca. A.D. 1430-1512

Commentary by Hovak Najarian

The importance attributed to artists by scholars can be determined usually by how many of their works are projected onto a screen in an art history class. Lazzaro Bastiani’s work is seldom shown or discussed and often he is left out entirely from textbooks. A reason for this is that his contemporaries were the major artists of his time; the fame of Renaissance artists such as Botticelli, Raphael, Leonardo, Michelangelo, and Durer continue to overshadow Bastiani to this day. Bastiani did not work for the Medici in Florence or the pope in Rome; even in Venice where he lived, the artists of the Bellini family were more widely known. Yet, like a good journeyman, he was employed steadily and produced respectable work.

Before the early Renaissance, there was no separation of the arts but in the fifteenth century, painting came to be regarded as being of a higher order. Craft workers were erroneously thought to be occupied only with repetitious handwork whereas the arts of painting, sculpture, and architecture were recognized as having intellectual content. Although the weaving process was associated with the crafts, tapestries in effect were akin to painting and were admired. Artists such as Bastiani, were commissioned to make cartoons (full scale preparatory designs) that were reproduced in woven form. The creator of a cartoon, however, did not participate in the weaving process; a tapestry was made usually by a guild or a family of weavers

In Bastiani’s Pentecost, the fine wool, silk and silver threads make up a richness of texture that differs from the surface of an oil painting. The materials are different yet, in style, the Pentecost is in keeping with fifteenth century Venetian painting. Because contacts through trade had been going on with the Near East for many centuries, the rebirth of classicism during the Renaissance was not as strong in Venice as it was in Florence and Rome. The influence of Greek sculpture in works such as The Birth of Venus by Florentine artist Sandro Botticelli gives his painting a neat, uncluttered effect. Bastiani on the other hand, seems to be determined to fill all spaces with ornate details. In the tapestry, symbols of rebirth, resurrection, immortality, and purity are found in the form of such fauna as a hare, peacock, and stag; in flowers we are reminded of the transient nature of life and eternal life is symbolized by a palm tree. Unlike the setting described in the Book of Acts (2:1-21), Bastiani does not place the apostles in a room but instead he presents the scene as if it were an outdoor stage with Mary enthroned in the center. He places the apostles in two groups but does not place a tongue of fire resting above them individually as described by Luke. Bastiani gives us simply an overall reddish glow above their heads.

The placement of Mary on a throne (an image derived from Byzantine sources) in the center of the tapestry has made her the focus of attention. She is noted in the Book of Acts (1:14) as being in the upper room prior to Pentecost and she was there apparently during the event but Luke does not single her out as being a central figure. Instead, Bastiani’s placement of Mary seems to be a result of the extraordinary growth in the veneration of Mary that started in the early thirteenth century and continued through the Renaissance.

Like information on Bastiani himself, the original setting for the Pentecost tapestry is obscure. At the present time it is on the altar of Santa Maria della Salute (Basilica of St. Mary of Health) but the church had not been built at the time the tapestry was woven.

Note:

When preparing to weave a tapestry, strong parallel threads are stretched close to each other and tied onto a loom. These are the warp threads through which the weft – the threads that cross over and under them – are passed. If warp and weft are equal in size, color, and texture the fabric will be uniform throughout. When making a tapestry, however, a wide range of colors are used for the weft as the weavers follow an image that was designed by a painter. The result is like a painting except instead of pigments being placed on a woven piece of cloth (a canvas), the pigments are in the threads themselves and are an integral part of the fabric.

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Pope Gregory the Great (?) and St. Mathias, 1428-29, Tempera and Oil on Wood, Masolino (Masolino da Panicale), A.D. 1383-1447

Commentary by Hovak Najarian

In the Book of Acts (1:23-26) we have an account of the disciples selecting Mathias by lot to replace Judas but no further information is provided in the New Testament. As often occurs, when facts are not available, the imagination and stories fill the void. Like the popular movie genre of the 1950s in which story lines were built around hypothetical events in the lives of Biblical figures, the accounts of Mathias’ life are not based on direct knowledge. Little is actually known about him.

According to tradition, the Apostle Mathias travelled extensively throughout the Near East, Africa, and Asia Minor. Sometimes he travelled with other apostles. He preached at various times in Judea, Jerusalem, Colchis, Syria, Ethiopia, and Macedonia. He was martyred by several means and buried in several places. He was speared to death in Southern Asia. He was stoned and then beheaded in Jerusalem – also, in Jerusalem, he died of old age and was buried there; He was crucified and buried in Colchis (modern day Georgia); In Syria he was burned to death. He died in Sebastoplis (modern day Sudan) and was buried there as well. There is yet another burial place. Empress Helena, mother of Constantine the Great, took what she believed were the remains of Mathias to Germany and they are now interred at the abbey of St. Mathias, Trier.

In music, a leitmotif – a recurring theme – is associated with a particular person or idea. Sometimes an instrument is used to identify a character, such as an oboe to represent the duck in Prokofiev’s Peter and the Wolf. In similar manner, identifying themes are used in art. A figure of a bearded man in a painting could represent almost any apostle but with an appropriate prop it could be interpreted as a specific person. Just as we associate a man in a white coat and stethoscope as a doctor or a man with a collar worn backwards as a priest, apostles in paintings were identified by objects associated with their lives. Sometimes Mathias is shown with a spear because one tradition has it he was killed with a lance in Asia Minor. He also is represented with a book or scroll to indicate he was an interpreter of judgments and prophecies. The object most often pictured with Mathias, however, is an axe or some version of it such as a battle axe, halberd or hatchet. The axe is associated with the tradition that he was martyred by being beheaded.

In art, a painter is not required to adhere to time. Just as people and events of different places and time periods, even hundreds of years apart, can exist simultaneously in our minds; in a painting they may exist also in a time realm that is separate from reality. Thus you will see a triptych with the donors standing in the wings looking across the ages and observing a scene of the nativity. Or, as we see in Masolino’s painting, a first century man, Mathias, conversing with a sixth century pope (believed to be Gregory the Great). It may be assumed they are meeting in heaven. It is not clear why Masolino brought these two men together. Perhaps it was because Mathias carried the gospel to non-believers, and Pope Gregory re-energized the missionary work of the Church. The pope made it a priority to evangelize the non-Christians among the Anglo-Saxons in England.

In its original form, the painting of Pope Gregory and St. Mathias (now at the National Gallery in London) was part of a polyptych, a multi-paneled painting. The painter, Masaccio, was called to Rome to work on this altarpiece for the church of Santa Maria Maggiore but completed only one panel before he died. The remaining panels, including The Pope and St. Mathias, were painted by Masolino. This polyptych is no longer in its original form. It has been disassembled and the panels are exhibited separately.
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