Ad Imaginem Dei: O Wisdom, O Holy Word of God!

Sunday, December 18, 2011

O Wisdom, O Holy Word of God!

Christ Pantocrator
Byzantine, 1145-1160
Cefalu, Cathedral

In the week before Christmas, the Liturgy of the Hours (the official daily prayer of the Church) includes a series of special antiphons preceeding the recitation of the Magnificat (Luke 1: 46-55), collectively called the O Antiphons. In the English-speaking world we are most familiar with them as they are paraphrased in the well-known Advent hymn "O Come, O Come Emmanuel".

The antiphon for December 17th is "O Wisdom, O holy Word of God, you govern all creation with your strong yet tender care. Come and show your people the way to salvation."

The image which this antiphon brings to mind is the image of Christ Pantocrator. This is an image most common in the Byzantine tradition, although it is known in the West, especially in the great medieval cathedrals of Sicily. Traditionally, Christ is shown in this image as the Divine Lawgiver and Ruler, one hand raised in blessing, the other holding a book, whether open or shut. The book alludes to the Word of God, which He Is.

The image developed first in the late Roman Empire as it became a Christian empire. Initially its appearance is tied to projects undertaken for the Imperial family itself.

Christ in Majesty
Roman, c. 350
Rome, Church of Santa Costanza

Santa Costanza was built as a tomb for the Constantina, daughter of Constantine, the Emperor who recognized Christianity as a valid religion and then embraced it himself, making it not just a recognized religion, but the religion of the empire.

Christ in Majesty
Roman, c. 400
Rome, Church of Santa Pudenziana

Christ in Majesty
Byzantine, c. 526-547
Ravenna, Church of San Vitale

In the south of Europe (Greece, Italy and Sicily) this Imperial-based figure developed into the image of the Christ Pantocrater.

In northern Europe it took a slightly less dramatic turn and developed into the Christ in Majesty figure which remained popular for many centuries. It saw its first development in manuscript painting (illumination) under the Carolingian and Ottonian Emperors of the Holy Roman Empire, from the eighth century.

Christ in Majesty
From the Codex Aureus of Lorsch
German, c. 778-830
Vatican City, Biblioteca Apostolica Vaticana
MS , fol. 72v

Christ in Majesty
From the Fulda Sacramentary
French (Corvey), c. 960-1000
Munich, Bayerisches Staatsbibliothek
MS Clm 10077, fol. 11v

Christ in Majesty
From a Gospel Lectionary
German (Possibly Echternach), c. 1000-1033
Munich, Bayerische Staats
MS Clm 11327, fol. 2

Christ in Majesty
From a Gospel Book
German (Ottobeuren), c. 1165
Munich, Bayerisches Staatsbibliothek
MS Clm 21255, fol. 20v

Christ in Majesty
From the Melk Missal
Austrian (Melk or Seitenstetten), Late 12th-Early 13th Century
Baltimore, Walters Art Museum
MS W.33, fol. 1v

Later, it received broader development in the developing nation states of the later Middle Ages.

Christ in Majesty
Enameled Book Cover
French (Limoges), Early 13th Century
New York, Metropolitan Museum of Art

Christ in Majesty
From the Psalter of St. Louis and Blanche of Castille
French c. 1225
Paris, Bibliotheque nationale de France
MS Arsenal 1186, fol.28

Christ in Majesty
From the Livre d’images de Madame Marie
Flemish (Hainaut), c. 1275-1300
Paris, Bibliotheque nationale de France
MS Nouvelle acquisition francaise 16251, fol. 51v

The Rohan Master, Christ in Majesty
From the Hours of Rene of Anjou
French (Paris), c. 1435-1436
Paris, Bibliotheque nationale de France
MS Lat 1156 A, fol. 97

Hans Memling, Christ Surrounded by Angels
Center of a Triptych
Flemish, 1480s
Antwerp, Koninklijk Museum voor Schone Kunsten

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Uniquely among the monotheistic religions Christianity permits the use of images of God. Why? The answer lies in the Christian belief in the reality of the Incarnation. Since God has assumed human nature and form the Biblical prohibition against making images of God ceases to apply. As the second Council of Nicea declared in 787 "Following the divinely inspired teaching of our holy Fathers and the tradition of the Catholic Church (for we know that this tradition comes from the Holy Spirit who dwells in her) we rightly define with full certainty and correctness that, like the figure of the precious and life-giving cross, venerable and holy images of our Lord and God and Savior, Jesus Christ, our inviolate Lady, the holy Mother of God, and the venerated angels, all the saints and the just, whether painted or made of mosaic or another suitable material, are to be exhibited in the holy churches of God, on sacred vessels and vestments, walls and panels, in houses and on streets."
(Council of Nicaea II: DS 600)

This decree of Nicea II was promulgated for the entire church, both Greek and Latin speaking, and was a response to the strongly held beliefs of the iconoclasts, who wished to suppress the use of images, which had convulsed the Byzantine Empire and the eastern churches for almost 100 years. In addition, St. John Damascene, last of the Greek Fathers and a staunch defender of images, had written in De imagine ("In Defense of Images") "Of old, God the incorporeal and uncircumscribed was never depicted. Now, however, when God is seen clothed in flesh, and conversing with men, (Bar. 3.38) I make an image of the God whom I see. I do not worship matter, I worship the God of matter, who became matter for my sake, and deigned to inhabit matter, who worked out my salvation through matter." (St. John Damascene, De Imagine, Part I, 15-16, from Internet Medieival Sourcebook.)

The ways in which this imaging of the divine has been accomplished in the course of time is the subject of Christian iconography. To quote from the Merriam-Webster dictionary, iconography is "1: pictorial material relating to or illustrating a subject; 2: the traditional or conventional images or symbols associated with a subject and especially a religious or legendary subject; 3: the imagery or symbolism of a work of art, an artist, or a body of art".

The iconography of any subject develops and changes over time. Christian iconography develops and changes too, as reflection on the Gospels and Tradition develops over time and as the act of making art develops and changes as well. This is the background for this blog.

Ad Imaginem Dei

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Sunday, December 18, 2011

O Wisdom, O Holy Word of God!

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