Medieval Religious Iconography

The foundation of the Christian faith is cradled within truth of the virgin birth, life, and resurrection of Jesus Christ. As diverse as the world-wide Christian culture is, the truth in the birth and life of Jesus stands without border and language limitations. Just as each individual life story can be adapted to be relevant for a variety of audiences, the birth story of the Messiah was also. The Gospels of Matthew and Luke are an example of the well-rounded and diverse narration of the birth story of Jesus—Matthew’s narration spoke to the history of the Jewish people and Luke presented to the citizen of Rome.

In Artwork 1, Mary is placed in the centre of the image between Christ who is on the left and God who is on the right. The Holy Spirit is between the two which forms the Holy Trinity. The composition can be viewed as forming an inverted triangle or heart shape. Mary is the focal figure with an attitude of modesty, reverence and tranquil emotion with her right hand placed upon her heart in which reinforces this. God is expressed as a picture of wisdom as He is crowning the head of Mary with a garland of roses, along side Jesus. The Holy Spirit is present in the image above Mary and is portrayed in the traditional form of a white dove. Cherubs, angelic beings, are visible at the base of the painting which can be interpreted as guards. The use of blue in their garments symbolising heavenly grace in

This painting consists of two small panels in which one panel depicts the crucifixion of Jesus and the other portrays scenes that associate themselves with the Last Judgement. In the first panel you can see a crowd surround Jesus during his crucifixion. In the background, you can see a clear picture of Jerusalem. On the bottom you can you see five people that appear to be

He suggests that thorough launguage given—such as the cross bleeding from its side—further imply that the crucifix is used as if a warrior would use his sword. Furthermore, he employs a brilliant way of comparing the epitaphs to biblical scriptures. His article is significant for future research because he explains the importance of the poem—as it would have been interpreted for its time. Furthermore, his references are impeccable. He uses direct biblical scriptures [from The New American Bible published by Catholic Book Publishing] to compare the version of the poem from The Norton Anthology English Literature text

Mystery image number two has a strong focus on greek mythology. However, the artist creates a link between greek mythology and the Christian religion. Through utilizing techniques such as foreshortening and visual manipulation, the artist is able to illustrate the story of Adonis and relate it to the story of Jesus Christ. The image appears to be influenced by “The lamentation over the dead Christ”(Fig.1) which was painted by the Italian artist Andrea Mantegna. The style of the painting seems to resemble the painting “The liberation of Achior”(Fig. 2), painted by Cornelis van Haarlem in the 17th century.

Throughout history religion has been taught by art. The Christian religion especially, teaches about their religion through stories or parables. Some of these stories have been turned into art to further the understanding of the story. Many Christian artists have showed Christ’s life through paintings. Carl Bloch had the opportunity to paint the life of Christ for the Frederiksborg Castle church. They showed his birth to the Virgin Mary and his death on the cross. These paintings also show what he did on earth. Christ taught and healed many people. Some of his paintings are alter pieces for the church. The size of these paintings invites its viewers to experience the story in the painting and apply it to themselves. In the painting Christ Healing at the Pool of Bethesda by Carl Bloch, it is portrayed that even in times of darkness and despair Christ is there to help people.

This paper will argue the misconceptions pertaining to the description of Jesus Christ’s race transcribing as Caucasian or European in different perceptions of artwork using his origin, characteristics that appearing from his region, and the word written in the holy text. Furthermore this paper will argue how the improper depiction of Jesus Christ created numerous ongoing equality complications with previous generations up until present day, thus fabricating my argument that the depiction of Jesus Christ in the Christian Religion should be banned.

Through Pagan and Early Christian Art, biblical scenes were used to decorate the surface of several artifacts, especially the Brescia Casket. Also, known as the Brescia Lipsanotheca, this ivory casket, estimated to have been created in the 380s AD or the late-fourth century in northern Italy, is exquisitely carved. The actual use of the box is questionable, where in some cases people have argued that it was of domestic use , or reliquary or a pyxis. Where it held relics or the body of Christ, the container is far too glorified to be used for burial purpose, which leads many to believed it was used in a context of worship. All sides, excluding the bottom, of the casket portrays several biblical characters, such as Susanna, Moses, Daniel, Jonah, and more. In some of these characters’ cases, they are being shown more than one on either the same side or a continuation on another panel. The purpose of this paper is to be able to identify if the portrayal of the scenes differs from the parable told in the Bible, and to link the smaller images on the back and front of the casket to the main scene on each side.

The iconography painting features Saint Luke on the right and the Virgin Mary and Christ on the left (Ishikawa). Christ is shown being nursed by the Virgin Mary. Saint Luke is studying the Virgin Mary and Christ, and is drawing a

The Crucifixion With The Virgin and St. John the Evangelist by Rogier van der Weyden, is a painting that includes the characters: Jesus, Virgin Mary and St. John. It includes two panels that relate to each other. The left panel illustrates Mary, as if falling with grief, has her hands together, and her legs bent like they have given up on her, and her body leaning backwards. St.John is also in the same panel, leaning forwards to help support Mary but his face seems distracted by the crucifixion of Jesus in the right panel. Jesus is crucified on a cross in front of a red cloth hanging over a grey stone wall.

Saint Jerome on the right and Job on the left, are vivid images of the epitome of true devotion and worship to Jesus. As they both have a contemplating stare in their eyes, evoking the acceptance of the death of Jesus Christ. Following their eyes out, it’s clear Carpaccio directed them towards the viewer to evoke the invitational feeling of devotion and respect towards the deceased image of christ. Even

Beginning with the hands, you can see how most apostles to the left of Christ are pointing to his direction, this gives the viewer hints of how the handing off of the keys to the Kingdom of Heaven is the focus of this painting. Moreover, it can also be seen how Saint Andrew who is behind Jesus Christ on the left, has his hands crossed like an X. The way Saint Andrew has his arms crossed and how head tilts slightly to the left with his eyes closed shows how the cause of his death was through crucifixion on an X shaped cross. Additionally, the fifth person to Christ’s left, the man with a purple gown and darker skin holding his hand inside his purse is believed to be Saint Judas since he betrayed Jesus Christ for 30 pieces of silver. It can be seen how the facial expression belonging to Judas possesses an air of unpleasantry compared to the ones of the other apostles. All of the apostles including Jesus Christ have halos on their heads, this is used to demonstrate who has been canonized as a saint. Furthermore, Perugino portrayed the men at the ends of the fresco with their backs turned towards the ends of the painting in order to force the viewer into scanning all of the apostles and while being able to easily look back to Christ and Peter without losing

This essay starts with the use of Roman architecture to practice Christianity. Then I will write about how the image of the Roman emperors became the inspiration for the image of the Jesus. Finally I will discuss the way Romans used the same iconography and narrative they already had as a formula to image the bible.

The ‘Christ in Majesty’ page (fol. 796v) has attracted a great deal of scholarly attention over the years. Given that it shows Christ flanked by two angels, surrounded by circular bands and enclosed within a ‘jewelled’ border, there are many elements for the art historian to consider. Unfortunately, the portraits and symbols of Matthew, Mark, Luke and John have not been furnished with the attention they so rightly deserve. This paper will revisit these images and attempt to place them into a wider artistic context, thereby suggesting further theological meanings to the contemporary religious. It will also highlight the result of recent photographic work on the page, conducted under ultraviolet light, which has uncovered much more about the design of these portraits than has previously been known.

The painting depicts the scene prior to Jesus’ crucifixion, there are four men present, three of the men are surrounding Jesus, who is the centre of the piece. Two of them men, dressed in rags, are forcing the crown of thorns on to Jesus’ head, one of the men is sitting in front of Jesus observing the damage occurring. The man watching appears to have authority and control over the event unfolding. Throughout this painting there is a clear theme of darkness and torment, the man controlling the situation is in total darkness, symbolising the sinner act that he is committing. Jesus, central in the painting, has a glowing ora bouncing off his skin, the light in this painting is a reminder that God is the light within us all and although Jesus endures torture and suffering the outcome will prevail peace. Spirituality is a key element within this painting, Jesus must withstand anguish to be the saviour. According to the Gospel of John 19:2, “the soldiers twisted together a crown of thorns and put it on His head, and put a purple robe on Him”, this passage from the bible is a representation of the ritual dimension, whilst the symbol of the crown of thorns illustrates the material dimension. Additionally, the torture and suffering that is displayed in this artwork helps society to develop an understanding of not only the physical torture but the adversity Jesus encountered. In today's