Sacred and legendary art, volume 1 (of 2): Containing legends of the angels and archangels, the evangelists, the Apostles, the doctors of the church, and St. Mary magdalene, as represented in the fine arts.Jameson, Mrs. (Anna)
Religion
Sacred and legendary art, volume 1 (of 2): Containing legends of the angels and archangels, the evangelists, the Apostles, the doctors of the church, and St. Mary magdalene, as represented in the fine arts.
Jameson, Mrs. (Anna)
Christian art and symbolism; Christian saints in art
Where the scheme of decoration is purely theological, the proper place
of the Apostles is after the Angels, Prophets, and Evangelists; but
when the _motif_, or leading idea, implies a special signification,
such as the Last Judgment, Paradise, the Coronation of the Madonna, or
the apotheosis of a saint, then the order is changed, and the Apostles
appear immediately after the Divine Personages and before the angels,
as forming a part of the council or court of heaven;—‘When the Son
of man shall come in his glory, ye also shall sit on twelve thrones,
judging the twelve tribes of Israel.’[149] Such is the arrangement in
the Campo Santo, in Angelico’s ‘Paradiso’ in the Florence Gallery,
in Raphael’s ‘Disputa,’ and many other instances: and I may add the
architectural treatment on the façade of Wells Cathedral, where,
immediately under the Saviour sitting in judgment, _stand_ the Twelve
Apostles, and beneath them the hierarchy of angels, each of the nine
choirs being here expressed by a single angel.[150] Therefore to
determine the proper place of the Apostles, it is necessary to observe
well and to understand what has been the design of the artist, and the
leading idea of the whole composition, whether strictly _theological_
or partly _scenic_. In all monuments which have a solemn or a sacred
purpose,—altars, pulpits, tombs,—the Apostles find an appropriate
place, either in connection with other sacred personages, or as a
company apart, the band of teachers. The range of statues along the top
of the screen in front of the choir of St. Mark’s at Venice will be
remembered by all who have seen them: in the centre stand the Virgin
and St. Mark, and then the Apostles, six on each side, grand solemn
figures, standing there as if to guard the sanctuary. These are by
Jacobelli, in the simple religious style of the fifteenth century,
but quite Italian. In contrast with them, as the finest example of
German sculptural treatment, we have the Twelve Apostles on the tomb
of St. Sebald, in his church at Nuremberg, cast in bronze by Peter
Vischer (about 1500). These have become well known by the casts which
have lately been brought to England; they are about two feet high, all
remarkable for the characteristic expression of the heads, and the
grand simplicity of the attitudes and draperies.
Public-domain text, read in full here on John Shaqi.
Reviews
Reviews
No reviews yet
Be the first to share your thoughts on this work.
Elsewhere in the archive
Join the Discussion
Join the discussion
Sign in to leave a comment or review.
Sign InorCreate an account