Friday, August 14, 2020

The Assumption of the Virgin Mary -- The Story of the Virgin's Belt



+Bernardo Daddi and Workshop, The Virgin Dropping Her Belt to Saint Thomas
Italian, c. 1337-1339
New York, Metropolitan Museum of Art, Robert Lehman Collection














Some Medieval and Renaissance images of the Assumption of the Virgin Mary include the legendary detail of the Virgin’s belt or girdle. 






In this legend, Saint Thomas was late in joining the other Apostles at Mary's deathbed. You will remember that Thomas was the one who missed the appearance of the Risen Christ to the Apostles and refused to believe in the reality of the Resurrection until he had seen and touched the Risen Christ, Possibly, like many of us, he had time management issues!

Donato and Gregoria d'Arezzo, The Incident of the Girdle
Italian, c. 1315-1325
Viterbo, Santa Maria Maggiore





Saint Thomas Receives the Virgin's Belt
From the De Lisle Hours
English (possibly York), c. 1316-1331
New York, Pierpont Morgan Library
MS G 50, 162v





+Saint Thomas Receives the Virgin's Belt
English, c. 1325-1350
Beckley, Oxfordshire, Church of the Assumption of Saint Mary the Virgin





Whatever his reason, Thomas missed the death and funeral of Mary. Apparently, it was his request to see her again that caused her tomb to be opened.  Its flower-filled, but bodyless interior revealed the Assumption.  Again he refused to believe without proof. So, Mary appeared to him, removed the belt (sometimes called a girdle) she wore around her waist and dropped it to him from heaven. This putative relic is kept in the Cathedral of Prato, where it is solemnly displayed five times a year.  



+Maso di Banco, Saint Thomas Receives the Virgin's Girdle
Italian, c. 1337-1339
Berlin, Gemäldegalerie der Staatliche Museen zu Berliln





+Bartolomeo Bulgarini, Saint Thomas Receives the Virgin's Belt
Italian, c. 1360s
Siena, Pinacoteca Nazionale






Saint Thomas Receives the Virgin's Belt
Cutting from a Choir Book
Italian (Lombardy), c. 1400-1425
London, British Museum
MS Additional 38897B





+Benozzo Gozzoli, The Madonna of the Girdle
Italian, c. 1450-1452
Vatican City, Pinacoteca Vaticana






Saint Thomas Receives the Virgin's Belt
Italian (Venetian), c. 1450-1475
Chicago, Art Institute





*Lorenzo di Pietro Vecchietta, The Virgin Dropping Her Belt to Saint Thomas
Italian, c. 1457
Montemerano di Manciano, Church of San Giorgio






*Pietro d'Antonio Dei, The Virgin Dropping Her Girdle to Saint Thomas 
Italian, c. 1470-1475
Cortona, Museo Diocesano






This charming story provided some artists with an alternative iconographic image to use as a reference to the Assumption of the Blessed Virgin.  It appears most frequently in paintings of Italian origin, though not exclusively.  The greater frequency in Italian painting is probably due to the Prato tradition of displaying the belt at the cathedral.





+The Incident of the Girdle
From a Book of Hours
Italian (Naples), c. 1460
Los Angeles, J. Paul Getty Museum
MA Ludwig IX 12, fol. 268v






+Matteo di Giovanni, Saint Thomas Receives the Virgin's Girdle
Italian, c. 1474
London, National Gallery





Andrea della Robbia, Saint Thomas Receives the Virgin's Girdle
Italian, c. 1485-1500
London, Victoria and Albert Museum





+Master of the Eleven Thousand Virgins, Saint Thomas Receives the Virgin's Belt
Spanish, c. 1490
Madrid, Museo Nacional del Prado







*Girolamo di Benvenuto di Giovanni del Guasta, Saint Thomas Receiving the Virgin's Girdle
Italian, c. 1500
Torita di Siena, Oratory of the Madonna della Nevi






+Jacopo Palma the Elder, The Virgin Mary Drops Her Belt to Saint Thomas
Italian, c. 1513
Venice, Gallerie dell'Accademia






+Cola dell'Amatrice, The Miracle of the Girdle
Italian, 1515
Vatican City State, Pinacoteca Vatica





+Cristoforo Allori, Incident with the Girdle
Italian, c. 1600
Cortona, Cattedrale di Santa Maria





*Johann Baptist Zimmermann
German, c. 1741-1454
Andechs, Benedictine Monastery Church


Although the tradition of displaying the girdle continues in Prato today,1 the image of this story appears to have died out in the iconographic tradition during the sixteenth century.

M. Duffy, 2020. Select images updated and new images added 2024.
+Indicates an updated image
*Indicates a new image.

Sunday, August 2, 2020

Illustrating Miracles – Multiplication of the Loaves and Fish

The Limbourg Brothers, Multiplication of the Loaves
and Fish
From the Tres riches heures du Duc de Berry
Flemish, c. 1411-1415
Chantilly, Musée Condé  
MS 65, fol. 168v
"Jesus went across the Sea of Galilee.
A large crowd followed him,
because they saw the signs he was performing on the sick.
Jesus went up on the mountain,
and there he sat down with his disciples.
The Jewish feast of Passover was near.
When Jesus raised his eyes
and saw that a large crowd was coming to him,
he said to Philip,
"Where can we buy enough food for them to eat?"
He said this to test him,
because he himself knew what he was going to do.
Philip answered him,
"Two hundred days' wages worth of food would not be enough
for each of them to have a little."
One of his disciples,
Andrew, the brother of Simon Peter, said to him,
"There is a boy here who has five barley loaves and two fish;
but what good are these for so many?"
Jesus said, "Have the people recline."
Now there was a great deal of grass in that place.
So the men reclined, about five thousand in number.
Then Jesus took the loaves, gave thanks,
and distributed them to those who were reclining,
and also as much of the fish as they wanted.
When they had had their fill, he said to his disciples,
"Gather the fragments left over,
so that nothing will be wasted."
So they collected them,
and filled twelve wicker baskets with fragments
from the five barley loaves
that had been more than they could eat.
When the people saw the sign he had done, they said,
"This is truly the Prophet, the one who is to come into the world."
Since Jesus knew that they were going to come and carry him off
to make him king,
he withdrew again to the mountain alone."

John 6:1-15 Gospel for the Seventeenth Sunday in Ordinary Time, Year B

Of all the miracles Jesus performed during his public ministry this is the only one which all four evangelists include in their Gospels.  Matthew and Mark actually mention two such incidents, Luke and John mention one.1 Consequently, the Evangelists must have considered that it contains something which it is important for people to know.  

In recent years there has been a rather silly attempt to reinterpret it as a non-miraculous event by some preachers who apparently feel uncomfortable with the concept of a miracle, especially if it involves creating a mysterious physical abundance from scanty resources.  So, I have been told in more than one homily that the bread and fish didn’t really multiply, but that the gesture of trying to distribute the few loaves and fish shamed people into bringing out and sharing the picnic items that the crowd had been hiding and so the “real” miracle was that people shared the food.2 Besides sounding ridiculous, this attitude completely misses the fact that the FOUR Evangelists decided that the incident was important for their individual audiences to pay attention to.  This suggests that they believed it had something important to convey. 

Throughout the centuries it has generally been understood that the multiplication of the loaves and fish has some very specific resonances.  One resounds with the Old Testament story of the Manna in the desert.  During their sojourn in the wilderness, the Israelites complained to Moses about their lack of food in a desolate region.  In response to Moses’ prayer God sent down a substance called manna, which appeared on the ground every morning.  The Israelites were able to collect and store this food which sustained them for their wanderings. 

The other resonance is to the new bread of the New Testament, that bread which is the Body of Christ and which is “real food” and “living bread”. 

The link between these two is the person of Jesus, the new Moses.  It is his actions and his prayers that make the miracle happen.  And, the miracle identifies him as the more-than-human Person and points the way to the even greater miracles of the Resurrection and the Eucharist.3

That this is the case is shown clearly in the early depiction of the multiplication of the loaves and fish in Christian art.4 

The Early Images

The earliest images come from a very early period in Christian art, both in the Holy Land and in Rome.  The earliest that we know of comes to us from the Catacomb of Saint Callixtus, used as a Christian cemetery from the Third Century.  It presents a picture of the elements of the story, a fish and a basket of five loaves of bread, a detail that has obvious references to this miracle.  Therefore, we know that by the Third Century this miracle was well known and could be referenced with this visual shorthand. 
 
Bread and fish
Roman, Third Century
Rome, Catacomb of Saint Callixtus


A strikingly related mosaic in what has become known as the Church of the Multiplication at Tabgha, Israel on the Sea of Galilee, was executed in the late Fifth Century when an earlier (Fourth Century) church was remodeled. 
 
Mosaic of Bread and Fish
Late Antique (Israel), c. 480
Tabgha, Church of the Loaves and Fishes



By the time that Constantine I legalized Christian worship and began the construction of the first great Christian basilicas to serve as churches, wealthier Christians were already incorporating this miracle into the decoration of their funeral sarcophagi. 

Sarcophagus Frontal with Jesus blessing bread and fish
Roman, 3rd-4th Century
Vatican City, Vatican Museums, Pio-Clemintino Museum
The beardless, youthful, curly-haired Jesus blesses the bread and fish, while at his feet stand six baskets filled with the leftovers, while a man and woman knee in adoration.  The heads of two disciples also appear in this detail.


Sarcophagus frontal with Jesus blessing the loaves and fish
Roman, Late 3rd-Early 4th Century
Vatican City, Vatican Museums, Museo Pio-Clementino


Sarcophagus frontal with Jesus Blessing the Loaves and Fish
Roman, Late 3rd-Early 4th Century
Vatican City, Vatican Museums, Museo Pio-Clementino


Sarcophagus frontal with Jesus Blessing the Loaves and Fish
Roman, Late 3rd-Early 4th Century
Vatican City, Vatican Museums, Museo Pio-Clementino



In the second half of the Fourth Century, the miracle was appearing on luxury items like this gold-figured glass plaque.
 
Gold Glass Medallion with Multiplication of the Loaves and Fish
Roman, Late Fourth Century
Vatican City, Vatican Museums, Museo Cristiano



In 432 the famous wooden doors of the church of Santa Sabina in Rome were decorated with the miracle. 
 
Detail of Doors of Basilica of Santa Sabina (showing from the top:
The Healing of the Blind Man, the Multiplication of the Loaves and Fishes, the Miracle of Cana)
Roman, 432
Rome, Church of Santa Sabina
Jesus is given a pointer to assist his blessing gesture, the fish are at his feet and the loaves are actually shown in baskets.



From the period around the year 500 the subject appears in many items made of ivory as well as mosaic.


Ivory Plaque with Christ Blessing the Bread and Fish
 From the Throne of Maximian (Bishop's Chair)
Byzantine, 6th Century
Ravenna, Museo Arcivescovile



A second image from the Throne of Maximian shows seated members of the crowd receiving bread.  One member may be a woman.  The figure appears to have some kind of veil like head covering.

Ivory Plaque with Members of the Crowd Receiving the Bread and Fish
 From the Throne of Maximian (Bishop's Chair)
Byzantine, 6th Century
Ravenna, Museo Arcivescovile



Mosaic with Christ Blessing the Bread and Fish
Late Antique, 6th Century
Ravenna, Church of Sant'Apollinare Nuovo


One of these items, a pyxis, probably has a strong association with the Eucharistic celebration and the consecrated bread, which is the Body of Christ.  A pyxis is used to store Hosts, the consecrated Bread itself.  Therefore, the subject chosen to decorate it would be understood as having a direct relationship with the Eucharist.   The pyxis now in the Metropolitan Museum depicts the story in some detail, with figures running all around the exterior.  For reasons of space I will show just three images from the continuous band. 


Pyxis with the Miracle of the Multiplication of the Loaves, Jesus Blesses the Bread and Fish
Byzantine (North Africa), 6th Century
New York, Metropolitan Museum of Art


Pyxis with the Miracle of the Multiplication of the Loaves, The Disciples Distributing the Bread
Byzantine (North Africa), 6th Century
New York, Metropolitan Museum of Art


Pyxis with the Miracle of the Multiplication of the Loaves, The Disciples Distributing the Bread While One Disciple Gathers the Fragments
Byzantine (North Africa), 6th Century
New York, Metropolitan Museum of Art


By the middle of the Sixth Century (ca. 550) it appears in early Byzantine manuscript illumination.
 
The Multiplication of the Loaves and Fish
From the Sinope Gospels
Byzantine (Syrian or Anatolian), Second Half of Sixth Century
Paris,Bibliotheque nationale de France
MS Supplement grec 1286, fol. 11



The Middle Ages

During the European Middle Ages, the subject appeared widely in all media from ivories, to manuscripts, to metalwork, to sculpture and to stained glass, mosaic and tapestry.
 
The Andrews Diptych
Italian, Early 9th Century
London, Victoria and Albert Museum



Ivory Plaque with Multiplication of the Loaves and Fish
German, End of the 10th Century
Paris, Musée du Louvre

This image includes the detail of the boy who provides the bread and fish, a detail found only in John's account of this miracle (John 6:5-14).




The Multiplication of the Loaves and Fish
From the Gospels of Otto III,
German (Reichenau), c. 1000
Munich, Bayerisches Staatsbibliothek
MS BSB Clm 4453, fol. 163



The Multiplication of the Loaves and Fish
From the Bernward Column
German, c. 1020
Hildesheim, Church of Saint Mary




Relief of the Multiplication of the Loaves and Fish
French (Romanesque) c. 116-1155
Issoire, Church of Saint-Austremoine



The Multiplication of the Loaves and Fish
From the Prayer Book of Hildegard of Bingen
German, c. 1180
Munich, Bayerische Staatsbibliothek
MS BSB Clm 935, fol. 24v



The Multiplication of the Loaves and Fish
From a Picture Bible
French (St. Omer), c. 1190-1200
The Hague, Koninklijke Bibliotheek
MS KB 76 F 5, fol. 14r



Bronze relief of the Multiplication of the Loaves and Fish
Italian, c. 1200-1250
Benevento, Church of Santa Sofia



The Multiplication of the Loaves and Fish
French, Late 12th-Early 13th Century
London, Victoria and Albert Museum



The Martyrdom of John the Baptist and the Miracle of Loaves
From a Psalter
English (Oxford), c. 1200-1225
London, British Library
MS Arundel 157, fol. 7

This illumination links the miracle with the death of John the Baptist, which is referred to in the opening line of Matthew's Gospel for today, as well as in Mark's Gospel (Mark 6).  This is also the first time we are seeing a table which, though illogical, begins to appear in some images.




Queen Mary Master, The Multiplication of the Loaves and Fish
From The Queen Mary Psalter
English (London), c. 1310-1320
London, British Library
MS Royal 2 B VII, fol. 169
In this picture Jesus begins to join in the distribution of the bread rather than simply to bless it.  This action will gain momentum.




The Multiplication of the Loaves and Fish
From Sermons by Maurice de Sully
Italian (Milan or Genoa), c. 1320-1330
Paris, Bibliotheque nationale de France
MS Francais 187, fol. 20



The Multiplication of the Loaves and Fish
From The Taymouth Hours
English (London), c. 1325-1350_
London, British Library
MS Yates Thompson 13, fol. 102



The Multiplication of the Loaves and Fish
From Vies de la vierge et du Christ
Italian (Naples), c. 1350
Paris, Bibliotheque nationale de France
MS Francais 9561, fol. 157
For the first time we can definitely say that women and children are included in the picture.  Both of Matthew's two accounts of this miracle mention women and children (Matthew 14:13-21 and 15:32-38), as does Mark 6:32-44).  Luke and John do not specifically mention women and children, but one may assume that they were there as well.



Jean Bondol and Collaborators, The Multiplication of the Loaves and Fish
From Grande Bible Historiale Complétée  by Guiard des Moulins
French (Paris), c. 1371-1372
The Hague, Meermano Museum
MS RMMW 10 B 23, fol. 485v



Giovanni di Benedetto and Workshop, The Multiplication of the Loaves and Fish
From a Missal
Italian (Milan), c. 1385-1390
Paris, Bibliotheque nationale de France
MS Latin 757, fol. 315v



Baldassare Embriachi, The Multiplication of the Loaves and Fish
From a Predella with Scenes from the Life of Christ and the Virgin
Italian, c. 1390-1400
London, Victoria and Albert Museum



The Multiplication of the Loaves and Fish
From Liber pereginationis by Ricoldo de Montecroce
French (Paris), c. 1410-1412
Paris, Bibliotheque nationale de France
MS Francais 2810, fol. 269



The Multiplication of the Loaves and Fish
From the Ottheinrich Bible
German (Regensburg), c. 1430
Munich, Bayerisches Staatsbibliothek
MS BSB-Hss Cgm 8010(2), fol. 56



The Multiplication of the Loaves and Fish
From  Mirrour of the blessed lyf of Jesu Christ and other Devotional texts by Nicholas Love
English, c. 1435-1446
New York, Pierpont Morgan Library
MS M 648, fol. 57r
Apparently this artist thought that Jesus and the disciples traveled with portable banquet tables, just in case!



Master of the Asteler Windows, The Multiplication of the Loaves and Fish
German, 1449
Ulm, Monastery of Our Lady



The Renaissance

With the advent of the Renaissance panel paintings and paintings on canvas were added to the mix of media that depicted the miracle of the multiplication of the loaves and fish.  In addition, the inclusion of the boy, taken from John's Gospel account, becomes more common.  



Jean Colombe, The Multiplication of the Loaves and Fish
From a Vita Jesu Christi by Ludolph of Saxony
French (Bourges), c. 1475-1500
Paris, Bibliotheque nationale de France

MS Francais 177, fol. 278v



Peter Hemmel, The Multiplication of the Loaves and Fish
German, c. 1475-1480
Berlin, Kunstgewerbemuseum der Staatlichen Museen zu Berlin



lemish Boethiius, The Multiplication of the Loaves and Fish
From La vie de notre seigneur Jhesucrist by Jean Aubert
Flemish, 1479
London, British Library
MS Royal 16 G III, fol. 86
In this somewhat unusual depiction, the loaves of bread have been placed neatly on the ground, with a fish placed on top of each one.  The prayerful attitude of the crowd reinforces the Eucharistic reference and the fact that Jesus and on of the disciples wear aprons emphasizes Christ's call to service.




Alabaster Panel of the Multiplication of the Loaves and Fish
French, 16th Century
Ecouen, Musée national de la Renaissance



Jan Van den Berghe, The Multiplication of the Loaves and Fish
Flemish, c. 1500-1524
Leuven, M Museum



Hans Holbein the Elder, The Multiplication of the Loaves and Fish with Donors
German, 1502
Munich, Bayerische Staatsgemaeldesammlungen, Alte Pinakothek
This wing from an altarpiece is divided into two distinct areas.  The main area depicts the Multiplication, while the lower area depicts the donor and the male members of his family in prayer.



Master of the Antwerp Adoration, The Multiplication of the Loaves and Fish
Flemish, c. 1505-1530
Private Collection



The Multiplication of the Loaves and Fish
Flemish, 1520
Reims, Musée des Beaux-Arts

The boy in this depiction presents a very large fish to Jesus


.
Mathis Gerung, The Multiplication of the Loaves and Fish
From the Ottheinrich Bible
German, c. 1530-1532
Munich, Bayerische Staatsbibliothek
MS BSB Cgm 8010(4), fol. 120




As the Mannerist style developed in both the North of Europe (primarily the Low Countries, today's Belgium and Holland) and in Italy (with France and, to a much lesser extent, Spain) images could become somewhat difficult to read, with strange colors, distortions, odd lighting effects and the placement of the most important figures in unexpected and often obscure places.6   


Jan Swart van Groningen, The Multiplication of the Loaves and Fish
Flemish, c. 1540
Strasbourg. Musée des Beaux-Arts



Jacopo Tintoretto, The Multiplication of the Loaves and Fish
Italian, c. 1545-1550
New  York, Metropolitan Museum of Art



Lambert Lombard, The Multiplication of the Loaves and Fish
Flemish, c. 1550
Antwerp, Rockox House



Jacopo Tintoretto, The Multiplication of the Loaves and Fish
Italian, c. 1579-1581
Venice, Scuola Grande di San Rocco



Francesco Bassano the Younger, The Multiplication of the Loaves and Fish
Italian, c. 1580-1585
St. Petersburg, State Hermitage Museum
In this image Jesus is hard to find.  The majority of the canvas is covered with the picture of the crowd, even including dogs.  The most important action in the picture is taking place in the upper right, where Jesus can just about be made out by the radiance surrounding his head.  



Abraham Bloemaert, The Multiplication of the Loaves and Fish
Dutch, 1593
Edinburgh, National Galleries of Scotland
There are obvious similarities to the Bassano painting above here.  Jesus is actually in the center of the picture, in darkness.  He is pointed to by two figures, one in the foreground and one in the background.  He is seated, as a disciple presents the bread and the boy with the fish,  but only the back of his head is illuminated.


The Baroque and Later

Clarity returned with the Baroque period, beginning in the years around the start of the seventeenth century.  In that century and on into the eighteenth and nineteenth century, the subject remained popular among artists in all media.


Attributed to Frans Francken the Younger or a Follower, The Multiplication of the Loaves and Fish
Flemish, c. 1600
Barnard Castle (County Durham, UK), The Bowes Museum
Although Francken and his circle do retain some Mannerist touches, at least one can tell which are the most important figures in the composition.



Boethius Bolswert, The Multiplication of the Loaves and Fish
Dutch, c. 1600-1622
Amsterdam, Rijksmuseum



Coenraed van Norenberch, The Multiplication of the Loaves and Fish
Relief from a Roodloft
Flemish, c. 1600-1613
London, Victoria and Albert Museum



Frencisco Herrera the Elder, The Multiplication of the Loaves and Fish
Spanish, First Half of 17th Century
Castres,Musée Goya



Willem van Nieulandt II, The Multiplication of the Loaves and Fish
Dutch, c. 1599-1635
Trier, Städtisches Museum Simeonstift



Giovanni Lanfranco, The Multiplication of the Loaves and Fish
Italian, c. 1624-1625
Dublin, National Gallery of Ireland



Jacob de Wet the Elder, The Multiplication of the Loaves and Fish
Dutch, c. 1650
St. Petersburg, State Hermitage Museum



Francois Spierre After Giovanni Lorenzo Bernini, The Multiplication of the Loaves and Fish
French, c. 1676-1677
London, British Museum



Luca Giordano, The Multiplication of the Loaves and Fish
talian, c. 1680-1700
Würzburg, Martin von Wagner Museum der Universität



Carlo Wendelin Anreiter (painter) on Chinese porcelain cup, The Multiplication of the Loaves and Fish
Italian, c. 1730-1740
London, British Museum



Gregorio Guglielmi, The Multiplication of the Loaves and Fish
Italian, c. 1750-1751
Rome, Former Convent of Sant'Agostino



Thaddaeus Kuntz, The Multiplication of the Loaves and Fish
Polish, 1777
Genazzano, Sanctuary of the Madonna del Buon Consiglio, Refectory



Anonymous Spanish Painter, The Multiplication of the Loaves and Fish
Spanish, c. 1800
Madrid, Museo Nacional del Prado



James Tissot. The Multiplication of the Loaves and Fish
French, c. 1886-1894
New  York, Brooklyn Museum


Atelier of Charles Lorin, The Promise of the Eucharist
French, c. 1912-1914
New York, Eglise Saint Jean Baptiste



Salvador Dali, Eucharistic Still Life
Spanish, 1952
Private Collection



Unknown Sculptor, Tabernacle with the Multiplication of the Loaves and Fish
German, 1963
Neumuenster, Tungendorf, Holy Cross Church, Choir


This has continued right up into the twentieth and twenty-first century, for the importance of the miraculous feeding of the multitude (whether it happened once, twice or even more times) with its resonances in both the Old and the New Testaments and its close association with the Eucharist, which is celebrated every day, guarantee that it is a subject that remains very much alive in Christian iconography.

© M. Duffy, 2020

Excerpts from the Lectionary for Mass for Use in the Dioceses of the United States of America, second typical edition © 2001, 1998, 1997, 1986, 1970 Confraternity of Christian Doctrine, Inc., Washington, DC. Used with permission. All rights reserved. No portion of this text may be reproduced by any means without permission in writing from the copyright owner.

Scripture texts in this work are taken from the New American Bible, revised edition © 2010, 1991, 1986, 1970 Confraternity of Christian Doctrine, Washington, D.C. and are used by permission of the copyright owner. All Rights Reserved. No part of the New American Bible may be reproduced in any form without permission in writing from the copyright owner.


1.  Matthew 14:13-21(the passage for this week) and Matthew 15:32-38.  Mark 6:38-44 and Mark 8:1-9.  Luke 9:11-17.  John 6:1-14.  All can be accessed at the United State Conference of Catholic Bishops Bible website (http://www.usccb.org/bible/books-of-the-bible/index.cfm) or at the Vatican Resource Library website (http://www.vatican.va/archive/ENG0839/_INDEX.HTM).
2.  Presumably this attitude is the result of an incompletely digested intellectual nibble in the works of the post-World War II German Lutheran theology, which was fashionable in the late 1960s and 1970s.  Deriving from such men as Rudolf Bultmann, the attempt to “demythologize” the New Testament scriptures reduced these texts in some minds to the level of “fairy stories” that offered nothing but completely commonplace events, with no transcendental elements, and certainly no supernatural ones. 
3.  For the iconography of the Israelites receiving the manna see:  
4. Recent comments by our current Pope and the Pope Emeritus reinforce these points:
Pope Francis:  Angelus commentaries on August 2, 2014; July 26, 2015; August 2, 2020
Pope Benedict XVI:  Angelus commentaries on August 10, 2008; July 26, 2009; July 31, 2011; July 29, 2012
All these references are available on the Vatican website.  Go to http://www.vatican.va/content/vatican/en.html  and follow the links for each Pope.  
5.  See Picturing the Bible:  The Earliest Christian Art.  Catalogue of an exhibition held at the Kimball Art Museum, Fort Worth, Texas from November 18, 2007 to March 30, 2008, edited by Jeffrey Spier with contributions from Mary Charles-Murray, Johannes G. Deckers, Steven Fine, Robin M. Jensen and Herbert L. Kessler.  New Haven and London, Yale University Press in Association with the Kimball Art Museum, Fort Worth, 2007.
6.  For more on Mannerism in both the North and in Italy see:  The Heilbrunn Timeline of Art History at  https://www.metmuseum.org/toah/keywords/mannerism/