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Tag: Year B
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
Related post B Easter 7, Art for May 20,2012
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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© 2012 Hovak Najarian
B Easter 5, Art for May 6, 2012
UNKNOWN ICON PAINTER, Russian
(2nd half of 18th century in Palekh)
Related art commentary by Hovak Najarian.
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The Baptism of the Eunuch of the Ethiopian Queen by Philip, Egg Tempera, (ca. AD 1751-1800), Artist Unknown
Commentary by Hovak Najarian
Related post “B Easter 5, Art for May 6, 2012
Duration of time is a factor in many of the arts. In motion pictures and in the theater there is a passage of time as the audience is engaged from beginning to end. A period of time occurs also as the plot of a novel unfolds or as we listen to music. A painting differs from the above arts in that time is not an inherent part of how we experience it; we may choose to examine a painting at length but it is possible to see it in its entirety in a single moment.
When an artist wants to depict events that have taken place in time, they do so usually with a series. Each work depicts a particular event and stands on its own but taken collectively they encompass a period of time; as in Albrecht Durer’s Small Passion. A sequence, in which two or more events are shown in a single painting, however, is less common in the art of the Western World and is found more often in murals and relief sculpture. Michelangelo used a narrative sequence in several panels in the ceiling frescos of the Sistine Chapel; most notably, The Fall and Expulsion from the Garden of Eden. This device also was used by an unknown Russian artist in the icon, The Baptism of the Ethiopian Eunuch by Philip. Unlike the subject of a still-life or landscape (unless there is intentional symbolic content), the above paintings illustrate an event or story and it is necessary for a viewer to have prior knowledge of what is being depicted in order to understand the relationship of the images.
In the “Baptism of the Eunuch,” a carriage in which a high-ranking Ethiopian eunuch and Philip are seated is shown in the upper right side. Before Philip met him, the eunuch had been to Jerusalem to pray and had been reading the book of Isaiah but did not understand a particular passage. When Philip came to him and explained it, the eunuch expressed a desire to be baptized. They traveled together and when they reached a body of water, the baptism took place. In the sequence of events, the conversation between the two men and the carriage ride preceded the baptism but in this painting it is part of the background narrative and is included as a secondary subject. The baptism is the primary point of focus. The scene of the baptism is placed prominently in the foreground and Philip’s size dwarfs the eunuch. The artist may have been following the tradition of depicting a person’s size in accordance with their importance but it is also possible that the painter was somewhat unskilled and simply doing the best he could. In comparison to Philip, the eunuch is almost childlike in size and anatomically awkward. His light skin suggests the artist was not familiar with Ethiopians.
After the split in the Russian Orthodox Church during the seventeenth century, some icon painters became less traditional and by the eighteenth century European realism was a definite influence. “Baptism of the Eunuch,” is not in the style of Russian icons that developed out of Byzantine art. Yet, neither is there an indication the painter was aware of works by major European artists of the Renaissance, Baroque, or Rococo periods. The work has a folk art quality that lacks sophistication when compared to artists such as Rembrandt who also painted this subject. Regardless of this, there is a sense of sincerity and dedication in this artist’s work. Icons were not painted for personal glory but, instead, to enhance worship in a church or a private home.
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© 2012 Hovak Najarian
B Easter 4, Art for April 29, 2012
B Easter 3, Art for April 22, 2012
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B Easter 2, Art for April 15, 2012
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The Incredulity of St. Thomas, Woodcut, (1508-1510), Albrecht Durer (1471-1528)
Commentary by Hovak Najarian
Related post “Easter, April 8,2012′
After Jesus’ resurrection he made himself known to Mary Magdalene and then to two disciples while they dined in Emmaus. He also talked to disciples at a time when Thomas was not with them. When the disciples told Thomas that Christ had risen, he was skeptical. He said, “Unless I see the nail marks in his hands and put my finger where the nails were, and put my hand into his side, I will not believe it.” Jesus was again with the disciples eight days later. Thomas was with them and was invited by Jesus to touch his wounds. When he did, his doubts were erased and he exclaimed, “My Lord and my God!”
Durer treats this subject like a relief sculpture and gives the composition visual balance through bilateral symmetry. Each side is almost a mirror image of the other with Christ in the center flanked by two apostles. Thomas, on the left, leans slightly and receives our attention as we follow his arm to where he is touching Christ’s side. The three figures in the foreground close off pictorial depth while all other figures are relegated to the background; they are neither participating actively nor do they have a clear view of Christ being touched. Instead, Durer depicts this scene as though it is being presented to an audience – the audience being you, the viewer – as it would be if you were standing directly in front of Christ and Thomas.
In The Incredulity of Thomas, the influence of Italian Renaissance painting and sculpture is evident. During Durer’s extended visit to Italy shortly before working on the Small Passion, he immersed himself in the art of the Italian masters who, in turn, learned from the art of the ancient Greeks and Romans. In this woodcut, the garments worn by the apostles are flowing and the folds hang naturally like the garments found in Roman sculpture or in a painting such as Raphael’s The School of Athens. Christ, on the other hand, is almost garmentless as he stands in the center in a contrapposto (Italian for counterpose) position. This pose is one in which a standing person seems relaxed with the body’s weight on one leg. It was used widely by the Greeks and Romans and the pose was very popular again during the Renaissance as well as during the Mannerist period that followed. In form, the unclothed Jesus is standing very much in the manner of a Greek statue such as a Hermes or Apollo.
As Thomas is touching the wounded side, Christ guides Thomas’ arm with his right hand while his left arm is pointing heavenward. The upward pointing fingers are in the well known symbolic position found throughout Christian art. His thumb and first two fingers are extended and the other two fingers are closed. The extended fingers represent the trinity and the closed fingers symbolize the two-fold nature of Christ; God and man. Christ’s halo is depicted the same as in Durer’s Christ’s Entry into Jerusalem; it is again shown as an intense light. It is not contained as a disc or circle but instead radiates out to fill much of the upper quarter of the composition.
Although the Incredulity of Thomas is a small woodcut, Durer’s figures carry visual weight and a sense of solidity. Through the eyes of a German artist with an understanding of Italian Renaissance painting and sculpture, Albrecht Durer gives us his interpretation of how this event occurred.
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© 2012 Hovak Najarian
Hear what the Spirit is saying 