Medieval Religious Iconography

The Bible has been translated into 451 languages, sold over 6 billion times, and depicted in over 40 movies. The Bible and the crucifixion of the Messiah are prominent aspects in cultures all around the world today. The death, burial, and resurrection of Jesus Christ has been translated, dramatized, televised, adapted, and cartooned. In “The Dream of the Rood,” translated by R.M. Liuzza, the Biblical cross comes to life to tell its own version of Christ’s death and resurrection. The author recreated the Biblical account to appeal to the Anglo-Saxon warrior group to effectively convert them. However, the story from the cross’s perspective matches the crucial material of the Biblical account of the crucifixion without defaming Christ.

In the artwork, lilies are displayed to symbolise motherhood, which Mary is about to embark on and also symbolises purity and faith. The dove on the roof of the neighbor's house represents the Holy Spirit, showing that God is looking over her, awaiting her response. This is displayed in scripture as ”the Holy Spirit descended in bodily form, like a dove” (Luke 3:22). Mary is also holding the book “Prophet Isaiah” which states that a virgin will conceive a child. This foreshadows the events about to unfold. Under Mary’s feet, there is a welcoming mat which symbolises that Mary will welcome Gabriel’s news and the path God has chosen for her with open

This paper will analyze the iconography of the mosaic, Good Shepherd (lunette, Oratory of Galla Placidia, c. 425-26, Ravenna, Italy), that is located on the lunette over the north doorway of the Mausoleum of Galla Placidia, Ravenna. The iconography has been one of the most recognized and admired works of art since the 3rd century AD. In the mosaic, the artists present a depiction of Christ symbolic and traditional of Byzantine art during the conversion of Christianity in Roman provinces.

The ominous figure in the centre of the foreground - Jesus Christ hanging lifeless on the cross, in Luca di Tommè’s ‘The Crucifixion’, primarily catches the eye. The symmetrical arrangement of lamenting figures around the cross, as well as the gilded background, highlight him as the focal point of this artwork.

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

The art work Christ with the Symbols of the Passion, created by Italian artist Lavinia Fontana in 1576. This piece of art, Christ with the Symbols of the Passion, oil on wood, is currently on display in the El Paso Museum of Art. Trained by her father, artist Porspero Fontana. Fontana became an established artist best known for her strong reputation in Bologna for her devotional paintings and for portraiture. This piece of work depicts angels supporting the body of Christ, a scene in which is not represented in biblical scriptures. Symbols of the Suffering and Passion of Christ are illustrated in this painting, these symbols surround Christ. The symbols are the cross, the column in which Christ is tied to, the whip and the crown of thorns .

Here, Ryden humors the image and with displaying it in front of a young, innocent girl, takes away the seriousness and whatever reservation that is held when portraying Christ. Ryden takes away the surrounding religious aspect of the figure of Christ, as he is usually portrayed on a cross or in spiritual and holy positions and postures. He is associated with other saints, helping out the innocent or troubled and depicted in biblical stories. Although he paints Christ bleeding, beaten, and after the crucifixion, he disassociates Christ with the 1950s theme, American flags, and the activity he is doing. In this way, Ryden turns this icon into a child’s perspective.

The two main characters in the painting display elegant mannered poses and all the figures appear arranged in rather unnatural poses. There is a small scene at the foot of the Saint Catherine and Christ figures. This is thought to be the Christ child with the Virgin Mary and grandmother, Saint Anne. Below these two scenes are three smaller bordered scenes. The central one depicts two enemies reconciled by an archangel and the outer ones show Saints Michael and Margaret fighting demons. All these images show the triumph of good over evil, with the middle characters shedding their weapons and embracing. All these small pictures support that the painting was commissioned by Arigoi di Nero Arighetti to celebrate the end of a feud.

2. There are 18 people in the foreground of the image and an uncountable number in the background. Jesus and Peter both have halos indicating their divine status, while Judas doesn’t. The people have a sort of bulky feel to them as well as very vibrant colored clothes. The contrast of the kiss against the side of the painting where peter is on the verge of violence. The painting includes torches and spears. The darker background really contrast with the more vibrant colors of the clothes depicted. The sky is black fading into blue. One of the first things that stands out to me is the vibrant colors of the robes and the fact that Judas’s yellow robe almost completely obscures Jesus from the neck down. The colors used on the clothes also stand out to me because of what the certain colors are associated with. Such as yellow being a color associated with cowardice; which is the color of Judas’s robe, while Peters robe is blue and red, red is also the color of Jesus’s robe so maybe indicating the closeness of the relationship between Peter and Jesus. It appears as if Jesus and Peter’s robes are the inverse of each other, Jesus appears to have a red base robe with a blue overcoat, while Peter’s robe is blue with a red overcoat.

This extraordinary work by Carpaccio is a landmark in the history of devotional images. It is, in effect, a meditation on the them of Death and Resurrection. To the right, the Old Testament figure Job sits on a block inscribed in pseudo-Hebrew, while on the left, portrayed as a hermit, is Saint Jerome (ca. 347 -420), who wrote a commentary on the book of Job. Christ’s dead body is displayed on a broken throne, also inscribed in pseudo-Hebrew. A bird—symbol of the soul —flies upwards. The landscape, barren on the

Marc Chagall is the painter of The White Crucifixion. In 1938, Chagall’s this Jewish oil-on-canvas- painting has a contrasting depiction of Christ to that of Christian religions. In the Christian religion, it is found that Jesus is the absolver of the burdens of the world through his ultimate sacrifice at the cross. But in this Jewish painting, the burdens of the world are completely unaffected by his death. This underlined concept goes back to Jewish belief that Jesus was not the Savior, but the prophet. Scattered through the art piece are symbols of fire, darkness, thieves, destruction, Jewish tallith, and the seven-branched candle stick (Chagall).

After Christianity had become legalized in Rome, the position of the male in Orans would later on be mirrored by Christ in the works that showcased his crucifixion. The heavenly figure presented upon a crucifix was meant to showcase the “symbolic statement of Christian redemption” (Fiero 204).

Around the time of Byzantine art, Christianity was getting recognized as the official religion. The style that characterized Byzantine art was the overall concern with religious expression. They were able to innovate church theology into their own creative pictorial. Although one of the works is a crucifixion and in the other Christ was resurrected, the byzantine artworks explore a common theme: The miracle that is Christ’s victory over

It is a scene which is shown after Jesus was crucified, where his body has been removed from the cross and his friends and family mourn over his body. Many artists have focused this scene by just painting four people: the body of Christ, His mother, Saint Mary Magdalene and Joseph of Arimathea.

One notices that all of these symbols are from times nearing the end (or at the end) of Jesus' life. (Think of a point to do with this).