Christ in Majesty with the Four Living Creature
The Christ in Majesty with the Four Living Creatures was created in 1051 CE and has a deep symbolism and connects with who Christ is, his life and after life. The final book of the new testament has to be reflected upon to understand the art of the Christ in Majesty with the Four Living Creatures. The concepts of the four living creatures on each corner can be found in the old testament but are also reflected upon in the new testaments last book. The creatures on each corner include the beast represented by a lion, the calf, the face of a man and a flying eagle. The lion symbolizes empowerment and dignity. This helped represent Christ as a king of kings. The calf represents sacrifice for the peoples’ sins. Christ was portrayed as a human sacrifice which ties into him being crucified on the cross. The face represents the face of Christ and how he was a man to be worshipped this shows people that they should never forget Christ because his image was portrayed through time. The eagle represents Christ as a divine symbol. The eagle helps portray that Christ was the son of god who would be looked up too as a deity for eternity. The four creatures show that Christ will never be forgotten each one symbolizing a different part of him will protect his throne even though he’s not there to occupy it. The gold and jewels help give the manuscript a more elegant look which gives the viewer as well as the owner a sense of importance, as well as a sense of status. The art of the manuscript is beautiful and with that you can see the significance in the art have many meanings. The artist did a fantaastic job of using the collection of small images into a master piece of symbolism.
Presentation in the Temple
This Image in an Ottonian benedictional was made between 1030 and 1040 CE by an unknown Ottonian master using tempera and gold leaf on parchment. During this time in the church, religious artwork was spiritually driven, and in no way purposed to look like the physical world. Here, the faces are drawn with minimal curved line and no shading is used. The folds in the fabric are patterned. Shaped to serve the aesthetic, they do not mimic the actual drape of fabric over the body. The size of the characters’ hands is exaggerated in order bringing attention to both the worshipful poses and the items being held.
The page is sectioned into three distinct spaces which symbolize the Holy Trinity. Jesus, who is being presented in the temple, is the subject of the image. Joseph offers two doves for sacrifice in exchange for the ritual cleansing of the Virgin Mary, which was commanded to the Jews in the book of Leviticus. Mary, Jesus, and the Priest all have halos, communicating their holiness. Jesus’ halo is purple, the color of royalty which highlights his divinity. On the altar, a chalice represents Christian communion and foreshadows Jesus’ sacrifice.
The page is sectioned into three distinct spaces which symbolize the Holy Trinity. Jesus, who is being presented in the temple, is the subject of the image. Joseph offers two doves for sacrifice in exchange for the ritual cleansing of the Virgin Mary, which was commanded to the Jews in the book of Leviticus. Mary, Jesus, and the Priest all have halos, communicating their holiness. Jesus’ halo is purple, the color of royalty which highlights his divinity. On the altar, a chalice represents Christian communion and foreshadows Jesus’ sacrifice.
Christ in Water
Between 600 and 1050 CE Illuminated manuscripts began showing human figures in a naturalized form that bring in a sense of realism to the text that they are representing. This time of illuminated manuscripts was a resurgence for the natural and semi-realistic human form.
Christ is a very important figure not only in text but also images throughout history. Here we can see the typical style of an illuminated manuscript with natural human forms shown by the nude form of Christ. Even though the background is not extremely detailed there is still a slight sense of depth. There is also a sense of movement and feeling that is evoked based on the figures and their facial expressions. There are figures that could be saints or angels based on the halo on the one on the left, and on the right, there are two with halos and one with wings. Christ is also given this level of divinity with his golden halo circling his head. Above Christs head is a dove which symbolizes the holy spirit. The dove also has a small halo around its head.
This scene illustrated in this manuscript shows the divinity of Christ and how revered he is by not only holy humans, but also angels. There is a sense of movement and realism in this painting shown by colors and Christ himself. This manuscript page continues the typical style of art that is seen in many images of Christ and in many illuminated manuscripts.
Christ is a very important figure not only in text but also images throughout history. Here we can see the typical style of an illuminated manuscript with natural human forms shown by the nude form of Christ. Even though the background is not extremely detailed there is still a slight sense of depth. There is also a sense of movement and feeling that is evoked based on the figures and their facial expressions. There are figures that could be saints or angels based on the halo on the one on the left, and on the right, there are two with halos and one with wings. Christ is also given this level of divinity with his golden halo circling his head. Above Christs head is a dove which symbolizes the holy spirit. The dove also has a small halo around its head.
This scene illustrated in this manuscript shows the divinity of Christ and how revered he is by not only holy humans, but also angels. There is a sense of movement and realism in this painting shown by colors and Christ himself. This manuscript page continues the typical style of art that is seen in many images of Christ and in many illuminated manuscripts.
Stavelot Bible
This image of Christ in majesty from the Stavelot Bible which took four years to be written. It was created by two monks but it isn’t fully known who can be credited for this page in the Stavelot Bible. This Bible is made for the Benedictine abbey of Stavelot. Stavelot is in present day Belgium and has two volumes. It was unsure what the two volumes were used for, possibly for daily services or on display at the altar. This image appears before the beginning of the New Testament, and is a great monument of early Romanesque art. Christ is holding a book and a Greek cross. The image depicts Christ with a halo around his head representative of his holiness. He is holding a book with angels around him. The angels are depicted as animals with books aswell. His robe has drapes to make it look to the viewer that Christ is either sitting or squatting.
Christ in Majesty
This painting contained within an unknown manuscript is called Christ in Majesty, from the Ottonian era from 1025-1050. It was created in Fulda Germany or Mainz Germany. In the manuscript Christ is in the middle giving a blessing with his right hand and is holding the Holy book and/or bible in his left hand. Around Christ’s head is the gold halo symbol of holiness and he also has his feet on the world. Christ’s body takes the positon to make the shape of a cross across the page. There is a border in the shape of an oval around Christ, in gold and reads: "Thus you most merciful Father, through Jesus Christ your Son our Lord." On the top left corner is a winged man which represents Saint Matthew, on the top right corner is an eagle which represents Saint John, bottom left shows a winged lion which represents Saint Mark and the bottom right shows a winged ox which represents Saint Luke. These four figures derive from the association of the four evangelists with the four living beasts of the Apocalypse from Saint John's Revelation. This manuscript was made of tempera colors and gold on parchment. The gold shows the holiness of Christ and all of the saints that surround him.
Christ in Majesty Surrounded by Martyrs
This is the Christ in Majesty, in the center you can see Christ in an oval surrounded by Martyrs, confessors, and virgins in the panels over his head and on either side of him. The bottom two panels are filled with monks and women identified by their tonsured hair and covered heads respectively. This is from a Latin book of Psalms that was King Æthelstan of England (d. 939) the first king of England. He gave it to Winchester Cathedral which was the main seat of royal power during his life time. It is one of four full page images in the Psalms and it is notable for being a gift from the first king of England. The golden halo around his head, the cross in is hand, his wounds from the crucifixion all of which mark him out as Christ. Another symbol of him being Christ are the Letters A(lpha) and ‘W’ (Omega) meaning beginning and end which are often related to him as well. The colors are similar to the Byzantine style in the use of blue and The oval shape which Christ seats in is often how he is shown as Christ in Majesty. A very similar example being the Apse of Sant Climent de Taull a Romanesque fresco. It was a very popular image of Christ during the Romanesque period which was approximately from 1000-1300 and here we can see how the Anglo-Saxons envisioned it just before the Romanesque period.
Sacrimentary of Metz
This Carolingian style illuminated manuscript of the crucifixion of Christ is made up mostly of gold - along with green, blue, and red coloring on parchment. It was a part of a twenty-page manuscript made for King Charles the Bald for his coronation. It was often used for other coronation ceremonies and celebrations in order to invoke God’s blessing.
The image contains a great form of movement and vivacity through the intricate gold line and border work. Christ is positioned in the well-known pose of cruxifiction with his arms spread out and head hanging over the right shoulder. There are two circles with portraits of Joseph and Mary. There is also the symbolic halo symbolizing holiness around Christ's head.
This image relates to the other images in the exhibition since it resembles an important moment throughout the life of Christ, and probably represents the most well known understanding of what he sacrificed for his people.
The image contains a great form of movement and vivacity through the intricate gold line and border work. Christ is positioned in the well-known pose of cruxifiction with his arms spread out and head hanging over the right shoulder. There are two circles with portraits of Joseph and Mary. There is also the symbolic halo symbolizing holiness around Christ's head.
This image relates to the other images in the exhibition since it resembles an important moment throughout the life of Christ, and probably represents the most well known understanding of what he sacrificed for his people.