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R o i Giorgi

Angels and Demons in Art

Edited by Stefano Zuffi

Translated by Rosanna M. Giammanco Frongia

The J. Paul Getty Museum Los Angeles

A Guide to Imagery Italian edition 1 0 0 3 Mondadori Electa S.p.A., Milan All rights reserved. www.electaweh.it. © Marc Chagall by SIAE 2003 Series Editor: Stefano Zuffi Original Graphic Coordinator: Dario Tagliabue Original Graphic Designer: Anna Piccarreta Original Layout: Sara De Michele Original Editorial Coordinator: Cristina Garbagna Original Editor: Carla Ferrucci Original Photographic Researcher: Elisa Dal Canto Original Technical Coordinators: Paolo Verri, Andrea Panozzo Third printing English translation z o o s J. Paul Getty Trust First published in the United States of America in zoos by The J. Paul Getty Museum Getty Publications !zoo Getty Center Drive, Suite goo Los Angeles, California 90049-168z www.gettypublications.org Mark Greenberg, Editor in Chief Ann Lucke, Managing Editor Mollie Holtman, Editor Sharon R. Herson, Copy Editor Pamela Heath, Production Coordinator Michael Shaw, Designer and Typesetter Translation, copyediting, design, and typesetting coordinated by LibriSource Inc. Quotations of scriptural texts from The New American Bible for Catholics (Greenlawn Press, South Bend, Indiana, 1970, 1991). Library of Congress Cataloging-in-Publication Data Giorgi, Rosa. [Angeli c demoni. English) Angels and demons in art I Rosa Giorgi ; edited by Stefano Zuffi ; translated by Rosanna M. Giammanco Frongia. p. cm. — (A guide to imagery) Translation of: Angeli e demoni. Includes index. ISBN 978-o-89236-830-3 (pbk.) 1. Angels in art—Dictionaries. 2. Devil in art—Dictionaries. 3. Christian art and symbolism—Dictionaries. 4. Supernatural in art—Dictionaries. I. Zuffi, Stefano, 1961-- II. Title. III. Series. N8090.05513 zoos 704.9'4864—dczz 2005009018 Printed in Hong Kong On the opposite page: Piero della Francesca, Montefeltro Altarpiece (detail), 1 47 2-74. Milan, Brera.

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Contents

8 Introduction 11 Creation and the Geography of the Next World

121 T h e Path of Salvation

67 T h e Path of Evil

167 The Last Days: Judgment and Reality

231 T h e Infernal Cohorts

279 T h e Angelic Cohorts

375 General Index and Index of Artists

Introduction

Why do angels have wings? Why do devils have horns? Why do we unhesitatingly conjure up the former in Heaven and the latter in the fires of Hell? These creatures of the spirit, their nature and appearance, their lives with respect to humankind, the places they inhabit, and their complex journeys through time are the subjects of the images illustrated and discussed in this book. The history of art has accompanied the evolution of human thought, including Christian ideas, giving visual form to that which no one has ever seen, yet whose existence no one has ever doubted. To do this, artists have revived motifs from classical antiquity, updating traditional themes, and perfected representational models, some of which found so much favor that they have survived almost intact, in clearly comprehensible form, to the present day.

This guide explores the iconography of angels and demons by grouping them under broad themes, both temporal (starting from the Creation) and geographical, and follows man's journey in search of closer contact with the world of spiritual creatures, an imaginary path that goes "from earth to Heaven." The last chapter, which ideally concludes this journey, is dedicated to the angels, the heavenly cohorts. Divided into six chapters, the book gradually shifts its focus from humankind as a subject looking at the Afterworld and its spiritual nature, to the spiritual world itself. It investigates human destiny as a meeting point of earthly and spiritual realities. The first chapter traces the idea of the Afterworld, starting from the book of Genesis, and elucidates the development of this idea using scriptural, literary, and

philosophical sources. Chapters 2 and 3 focus on humanity and illustrate the two paths—two different human attitudes and choices with respect to the spirit—that determine the individual's ultimate destiny. Before turning to the chapters that look expressly at demonic and angelic beings, a transitional chapter on eschatological beliefs explores, through images, the reality suspended between life and death, and between death and the Afterlife. The chapter on the infernal cohorts explores demons, more specifically, the devils or evil spirits of the Judeo-Christian tradition that inspired their iconography, along with their actions, apparitions, and beliefs. (With respect to terminology, these creatures are often confused with daemons, demigods that are not altogether evil or tied to the Devil and that populate polytheistic reli-

gions.) Similarly, the chapter on the angelic hostssurveys the images of these heavenly creatures as they evolved through time, with particular attention to their most widespread variants. The criterion that has guided the selection of the many subjects, figures, and themes in this book is the iconographic diffusion of theseimages in the history of Western art. The focus is on Europe, and images from the East and from other continents were not used, except in particularly significant, though rare, cases. For each theme, the images are presented in chronological order to better show the iconographic development that took place. Given the wide variety of places, times, characters, and theological concepts, the information given in the synopses in the margins changesdepending on the subject matter.

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CREATION AND THE GEOGRAPHY OF THE NEXT WORLD Creation Earthly Paradise Gate of Eden The Garden and the Fountain of Grace The Four Rivers of Paradise Hell Gates of the Netherworld The City of Dis Infernal Rivers and Swamps Circles and Torments Fires and Flames Limbo The Island of the Dead Purgatory Paradise Bosom of Abraham Heavenly Jerusalem The Empyrean

Innbourg Brothers, The Creation, Temptation, and Expulsion of Adam and Eve from the Garden of Eden, before 1416. Miniature from the Tres riches heures du duc de Berry, Chantilly, Musee Conde.

The protagonist of Creation is God the Father, who generates all things by repeating the same act of calling things into being. The original narrative of Creation was subdivided into vignettes.

Creation Name and Definition Creation, the act of begetting from nothing, an act proper to God, is the beginning and the foundation of all of God's works. Time At the beginning of human history Biblical Source Genesis 1:1-3i Characteristics Often depicted sequentially, this is the image of God, Creator of all things, following the order of the biblical narrative. Diffusion of the Image Widely diffused in the Middle Ages, with sublime images in the Renaissance; also present in later centuries

▶Giovanni di Paolo, The Creation of the World and Expulsion from Eden tdetaili, i455. New York, The MOMpolitan Museum of Art, Robert Lehman Collection.

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According to the book of Genesis, God created the world in six days. He made Heaven and earth—and light, which distinguishes day from night—on the first day, and on the second day, separated the sky and the waters. On day three, God divided dry land, which he called Earth, from the waters, which he called Sea; then he caused the earth to bring forth seed-bearing plants and fruit-bearing trees. On day four, God created the lights of the sky: the stars and two great lights, one to govern day and another to govern night. On day five, God made the creatures that live in the sea and in the sky, and on day six, creatures that live and crawl on earth. He also created Man—male and female—in his image to rule over all other living beings. Since the Middle Ages, the Creation has been represented in sequential vignettes, although sometimes the six days are grouped into one, the cycle beginning with the Creation of Man. For the artist, the most demanding challenge was to represent the act of creation, accomplished through the word (fiat ex verbo); it is variously depicted as a simple gesture of the hand or accompanied by a throw of stars.

Creation

With the creation of Heaven and earth, light was also created. God separates light, which he calls day, from darkness, which he calls night, personified by two distinct disks.

The frequent representation of the Creator in the likeness of Christ, the Word Incarnate, derives from the biblical text, which says that God's act of creation was through the word.

It is very significant that the gesture of creating is not one of command but rather the liturgical gesture of blessing.

♦Anonymous French illuminator, TheCreation of the World, late twelfth century. Miniature horn the Bible de Sourigny. Moulins, Bibliotheque Municipale.

The Creator's Word, visualized as a sort of rainbow, separates the waters that are below the sky from those above it.

Creation of the stars in the sky: the Creator holds the sun and the moon in his hands: these disks govern day and night.

This anonymous artist ends the sixth day with the creation of the animals of the earth, deferring the creation of man to the following vignette.

This composition with multiple vignettes depicting the opening passages of the book of Genesisends with two key moments in the story: the creation of woman (where that of man is understood to have already occurred) and the entry of evil into human history through the original sin.

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A luxuriant garden where our progenitors Adam and Eve lived surrounded by all species of animals; sometimes God is included in a sacred dialogue with the first man and the first woman.

Earthly Paradise Name From the Old Persian pairidaza, meaning "enclosure" or "park" Definition The garden where God placed Adam and Eve after creating them Place In India at the source of the Ganges River or in Armenia at the source of the Euphrates and the Tigris; God made it invisible after the Flood. Tune At the beginning of human history Biblical Source Genesis 2.:8 Characteristics An enclosed, luxuriant garden inhabited by all species of animals Diffusion of the Image Widespread especially from the Early Christian to the late Gothic period, with interesting revivals after the sixteenth century and in the twentieth century

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The earthly Paradise, or Eden (from edinu, a word of Sumerian origin meaning "countryside"), is also called "God's garden" in the Bible. It is here that God placed Adam and Eve, to cultivate the garden and care for it—not to toil—in partnership with God by bringing visible creation to perfection, and to live near God. It was man's chance to rule the world, as God had commanded him. This freedom was usually depicted by showing our progenitors, naked in the Garden of Eden, strolling among wild yet docile animals. In the oldest representations, the earthly Paradise was clearly interpreted as a well-tended garden encircled by high walls, a peaceful place where fresh waters flowed. In areas that were especially exposed to Eastern influence, it was sometimes depicted as an oasis of palm trees rising in the middle of the desert, while early Western iconography developed a vision of the earthly Paradise as "God's park," enclosed by high crenellated walls and blooming with rosebushes. In later centuries, artists discarded the idea of the wall, preferring a wilder landscape in which the figures of Adam and Eve became gradually smaller.

Earthly Paradise Among the birds depicted in large numbers both in flight and sitting on tree branches is the bird of Paradise, with its distinctive, gaily colored tail feathers. In the background of this luxuriant park teeming with all sorts of creatures, the two small figures, the progenitors of the human species, are portrayed at the moment of the original sin.

This seventeenth-century painter has included only one stream, rendering his interpretation far from the description of the four biblical rivers of Paradise.

In representations of earthly Paradise, it is common to find wild animals grazing together with their natural Prey; the intent is to suggest an ideal world where evil is unknown.

4 Giovanni Sons,The Creation of • Jan Snellink II, Paradise Landscape with Adam, 1578—so.Parma, Galeria O r i g i n a l Sin, ca. t63o. Milan, Castello Nazionale. S f o r z e s c o , Civiche Raixoltc d'Artc.

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Earthly Paradise Adam and Eve hide behind a bush: after having eaten the forbidden fruit, they realize that they are naked; hearing God approach, they are afraid.

For the sin of disobeying God, Adam and Eve are banished from the Garden of Eden. Although it is God who banishes them, artists have traditionally depicted are angel armed with a sword driving them out, a reference to the armed Cherubim stationed by God to guard the gate of Paradise.

PiLucas Cranach, The Earthly Paradise, 53o. Vienna, Kunsthistorisches Museum. 16

With the same gesture used by God to create man, God entrusts Adam and Eve with the care of the garden and dominion over all living beings.

Creation of Eve: God fashions the first woman from the rib of the sleeping Adam. The gesture depicted here, very common in art, is one of giving support to a creature who is still weak and helping her to her feet.

The Tempter snake, shown with semihuman features, offers the fruit of the Tree of Knowledge of Good and Evil.

After creating all living beings that fly in the sky and live in the water and on earth, God created man in his image and likeness.

The image of the gate guarded by the Cherubim belongs to the iconography of the Expulsion from Earthly Paradise; each period has represented the gate differently.

Gate of Eden Name Eden is derived from the Sumerian edinu, which means "countryside.' Definition The gate that shut behind Adam and Eve when they were banished from earthly Paradise Place Garden of Eden Biblical Source The source does not specifically mention a gate.

▶ Masaccin, Expulsion from the Garden of Eden, 1424-2.7. Fresco. Florence, Santa Maria del Carmine, Brancacci Chapel.

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The book of Genesis narrates that when Adam and Eve were expelled from the Garden of Eden, God stationed Cherubim and a fiery revolving sword at the east end of the garden to guard access to the Tree of Life (Genesis 3:2.4). Since the birth of Christianity, the artistic imagination has represented this as apassage punctuated by a gate, later walled up by God's command and protected by mighty guards. Because there is no detailed description in the literary source, the gate has been depicted without a special effort to make it a fortified entrance. The focus in the earliest centuries was on the presence of the angelic guard, the Cherubim stationed by God; in later epochs the gate became primarily the stage before which the tragic expulsion from earthly Paradise unfolded, and the angel brandishing a sword was no longer identifiable as the Cherubim, whose distinctive iconographic traits were lost.

Gate of Eden The gate of Eden is represented as a tower: it is the image of a place that is now inaccessible.

A messenger angel sent from God has the task of removing Adam and Eve from the Garden of Eden.

Adam and Eve are wearing clothes: according to the Genesis narrative, God himself made them garments of skins, which in this image symbolize their sin.

One of the fiery red Cherubim with three pairs of wings is stationed to guard Paradise (the sword is not visible).

♦Expulsion from Paradise, twelfth—thirteenth century. Mosaic. Nlonrealc (Sicily), cathedral.

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A well-tended, enclosed garden with a fountain that has been variously represented: in older works, it tends to be a spring or a large basin; in later works, it becomes an elegant fountain.

The Garden and the Fountain of Grace Definition A specific interpretation of earthly Paradise Place Inside or near the earthly Paradise Biblical Sources Genesis 2:T o; Song of Songs 4,12.-15; Revelation zz Characteristics The water that springs in Paradise is all eternal and inexhaustible fount, a symbol of eternal life. Diffusion of the Image Typical Early Christian and medieval subject, very widespread until the late Gothic period

▶Hieronymus Bosch, The Garden of Earthly Delights, 15 oo-151o. Left panel (open) of the triptych. Madrid, Museo del Prado.

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The iconography of Paradise is derived directly from that of the Garden of Eden. In the earliest Christian art, water, either a fountain or a spring, was one of the first defining features of the idea of Paradise. For both the earthly garden and the foreshadowing of heavenly Paradise, water is a fundamental presence: the spring that gushes in the Garden of Eden symbolizes eternal life; it is an inexhaustible fount and a symbol of rebirth. For this reason, the image of Paradise has almost always included either a spring from which the four rivers of Paradise are born or a large basin containing the water of life where animals, symbolizing the faithful, quench their thirst. With time, the image of a basin or aspring gave way to that of a fountain, depicted in the architectural and decorative style of the time. Thanks also to the popularity of the biblical Song of Songs, the image of the fountain in an enclosed, secluded garden became pervasive from the Middle Ages onward. The popularity of the biblical text also went hand in hand with the custom, especially in convents, of commissioning the construction of private gardens designed according to spec i f i c s y m b o l i c requirements.

The Garden and the Fountain of Grace With its human face and its snakelike body coded around the trunk of the Tree of Knowledge of Good and Evil, the Tempter invites Eve to disobey.

An angel armed with a sword expels Adam and Eve from the Garden of Paradise.

• Boucicaut Master and workshop, The.Story of Adam and Eve. ea. 1415. Miniature from a manuscript byBoccaccio. Los Angeles, J.Paul Getty Museum.

Life outside the earthly Paradise, as narrated in the Bible and in the apocryphal Apocalypse of Moses: men and women toil to snake a living.

In the center of the Garden of Eden, a simple basin stands for the fount of eternal life.

The painful aging of the first parents emphasizes the corruptibility of life, brought on by sin.

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The Garden and the Fountain of Grace Many of the plants decorating this garden are imbued with Christologic or Marian symbolism, such as the rosebush that refers to the Virgin Mary. In this sense, the medieval garden re-created a terrestrial Eden, foreshadowing the heavenly one.

The image of the Virgin Mary in an enclosed garden links the iconography of the Garden of Eden to that of the hortus conclusus (enclosed garden), the garden protected from contamination and symbolic of Mary's purity. The high crenellated walls are typical of the fortifications protecting the enclosed garden.

The gesture of the woman freely picking a fruit reminds the viewer of the act of disobedience that took place in the Garden of Eden.

The fountain, source of life and of Grace, is a requisite element of the garden, its symbolic value highlighted by the fact that the water is being drawn with a golden ladle.

• Master of the Little Garden of Paradise,The Garden of Paradise, ca. 141o. Frankfurt, Stadelsches Kunstinstittit. 22

The chained monkey symbolizes the Devil tamed.

The baby Jesus plays safely in the Garden of Paradise.

The presence of an angel engaged in conversation with men—a typically pleasant, though earthly pursuit—suggests the particular state of Grace that the inhabitants of this garden enjoy

Christ in Majesty wears papal garments and sits on a throne the arms of which are carved with symbols of the Four Evangelists and images of prophets.

The three figures in the uppermost tier, the Virgin seated to the left, the enthroned Christ in the center, and Saint John to the right, compose a decals, the central part of the iconostasis in the Byzantine church.

Between the human and the divine, at mid-level in the composition, are angels singing and playing musical instruments.

Christendom is represented by the pope, who kneels at the fountain, and by those who accompany him: a cardinal, a bishop, an abbot, an emperor, a king, and lay devotees.

♦Janvan Eyck and assistants, The Fountain of Grace, 142.i-19. Madrid, Ntusco dcl Prado.

As in the earliest Christian representations, the Mystic Lamb is placed at the spring of the Fountain of Grace.

The blindfolded high priest represents the Synagogue that, in opposition to the A fountain in Late Gothic style collects the C h u r c h , has not water flowing from under the throne of a c k n o w l e d g e d Jesus into the garden: Jesus, fountainhead C h r i s t . of life (John 4:14), is visually represented by the hosts of Holy Communion flowing in the current. 23

Four rivers spring from a hillock and flow in opposite directions; starting in the Late Middle Ages, personified representations of the rivers of Paradise gradually became more common.

The Four Rivers of Paradis Name Phison IFlavius Josephus identified it with the Ganges River), Gihon IFlavius Josephus identified it with the Nile), Tigris, and Euphrates Place Earthly Paradise Biblical Sources Genesis silo; Revelation sz: Characteristics A river placed by God in the Garden of Eden that splits into four branches. The personified representations that became popular in the late Middle Ages were inspired by Greek and Roman divinities. Diffusion of the Image From the Early Christian era to the end of the Middle Ages

is Christ Crowns a Martyr Saint, sixth cenrory. Apse mosaic. Ravenna, Basilica of San Vitale.

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The book of Genesis describes a river that springs forth in the Garden of Eden; within the Garden, it splits into four branches, each with unique attributes. The first river, the Phison, wound through the entire land of Havilah, where one could find pure gold, fragrant resin, and onyx stone. The second, the Gihon (or Geon), meandered through the land of Ethiopia. The third river was the Tigris, which flowed east of Assyria, and the fourth was the Euphrates. The Bible adds nothing more. That the Nile is not mentioned suggests that the geography of Paradise probably had its source in a Babylonian tradition (though some scholars believe that the Gihon is the Nile). Instead of following the scriptures, artists imagined the four rivers as flowing in the direction of the four cardinal points. Theologians attributed symbolic meanings to them which evolved over rime from the four cardinal virtues to the Four Evangelists to the Tetramorph.

The Four Rivers of Paradise In the sixth century, the image of Jesus was interpreted transcendentally, under the influence of the doctrines about his divine nature as set forth by the Councils of Nicaea (3251 and Constantinople (380.

The Mystic Lamb, its head surrounded by a silvery halo, stands atop the sacred mountain from which spring the four rivers of Paradise, each flowing in a different direction.

• The Glory of Christ, sixth century. Apsemosaic. Rome, Basilica of Saints Cosmasand Damian.

bvelve worshiping lambs without halos are arrayed on each side of the Mystic Limb; they symbolize the apostles, the Lord's "little flock" (Luke 12:32).

None of the four water streams here is clearly identifiable, but sometimes they are explicitly labeled. 25

The Four Rivers of Paradise Inscribed at the center of the vault is the monogram of Christ consisting of the Creek letters chi (X) and rho (P) with alpha and omega, meaning that Christ is the beginning and the end. The earliest personifications of rivers date to the High Middle Ages, reflecting a revival of the classical practice of representing river divinities anthropomorphically.

The name of each river is inscribed under the corresponding personification, there being no other way to distinguish them by specific visual attributes.

♦The Four Rivers of Paradise. eleventh century. Fresco. Civate, SanPietro al Monte. 26

The four figures, each one denoting a different age, are clearly differentiated by their physical aspect and attributes, all linked to water. In this detail, an old man holds a fish by the tail. The amphora from which water flows is a common element in early images of rivers.

In the four personifications of the Trivulzio Candelabrum, waves interlace with spirals. ♦Goldsmith from Meuse or Lorraine, Trivulzio Candelabrum (details), 500-12 I o. Bronze. Milan, cathedral. 27

A place imagined in the bowels of the earth, Hell is characterized in the Middle Ages by a funnel shape, subdivided into circles and inhabited by demons that torment the damned.

Name Inferno is derived horn the Latin and means "a place below." Definition The place in the Afterworld where Satan rules Biblical Sources Isaiah 14:9-29; Faekiel 42:23; Zechariah 5:1—I r; Malachi 4:1-3; Matthew 5:11, 8;18; Luke 16:22-2.6; Revelation sorio Related Literature Book of Enoch (apocryphall; Vision from the Acts of Saint Paul (apocryphal); Saint Augustine, De Donate Dee (City of God); Dante Alighieri, La Commedia (Divine Comedy) Characteristics A place of torments, often engulfed in flames Beliefs The cratcrlike shape of Hell, popular in the Middle Ages, was formed as the earth pulled back when Lucifer fell. Diffusion of the Image In depictions of the Final Judgment from the Middle Ages through the Renaissance, though rarely in later centuries

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The Christian world derived the conception of Hell from the Greek idea of the Netherworld (Hades) and the Judaic Sheol, infernal abodes where souls of the dead wandered. The Christian Hell, seen as a place in the Next World reserved for the damned, was based on the idea of the Final Judgment and a separation of the just from the wicked that had begun to spread in the second century B.C., thanks in part to Hebrew prophetic texts. The latter would be taken up by Jesus and reported by Matthew and Luke, and by the book of Revelation, where John, writing of Satan's abyss, describes Hell as a pit of fire and sulfur. The depiction of Hell as a place of eternal damnation ruled by Lucifer first appeared in the tenth century in representations of the Last Judgment and was elaborated in the two succeeding centuries. Continuing theological clarifications, characteristic of the Middle Ages, produced a kind of geographic concept of the Next World, with Hell as the place into which the souls damned for eternity were flung. The artistic imagination filled Hell with all sorts of torments and tortures, which the demons inflicted on the evil souls, condemned to "eternal fire."

Hell Brandishing a pitchfork, a monstrous demon, with large ban wings and body combining goat and human traits, pushes back into the fire the small souls trying to escape. The pitchfork and the hook are demonic attributes that recall the instruments of torture used in the Middle Ages.

The souls of the damned are crammed between burning rocks: fire is the principal characteristic of Hell.

Two demons are needed to squeeze the powerful bellows that feed the eternal fire.

Satan, Lord of the Infernal Realm, is depicted wearing a crown. lying on a gridiron, he devours the souls of the damned. AGiotto, The Devil and the Damned in Hell, 1303-6. Detail of the fresco The last Judgment. Padua, Scrovegni Chapel.

♦Limhourg Brothers, The Infernal Gridiron, before 1416. Miniature from theTres riches heures du due de Berry. Chantilly, Musee Conde.

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Hell The friar being hacked to pieces with an ax is a heretic.

The wrathful are devoured by giant rats or condemned to devour their own hands.

Among the torments meted out to the misers, this old man is forcefed melted gold.

▶Giovanni da Modena, Inferno, 1404. Fresco. Bologna,San PCITUfliO, Bolognini Chapel. 30

In the deepest pit of Hell the proud are punished by being devoured by the dreadful, gigantic Satan, the root of ail evil, who is pride personified.

Mahomet, considered a heretic and a sower of discord, and here identified by his name and a turban, is dragged by the throat.

The lustfUl hare then backs torn with huge pincers; among them oneseesa crowned head and aristocratic headdresses. A sodomite is pierced with a skewer.

A bishop and a cardinal are recognizable among the gluttons who suffer the punishment of Tantalus—they cannot eat the appetizing food placed before them—or are force-fed dung on long skewers.

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Hell

This is Christ, flanked by Mary and Saint John as in the Byzantine dccsis. On the Last Day, he will separate the good from the wicked.

The resurrection of the bodies precedes the final moment of the Last Judgment•. according to the hook of Revelation, "the seagave up the dead in it" (2o:13).

The damned are plunged into the chasm o Hell.

No Satan is depicted in this Hell, but the multitude of demons is rendered as hideous animals that pounce on the damned to quarter and devour them. ▶Jan van Eyck, The Last Judgment, 142.5-30. New York, The Metropolitan Museum of Art. 32

Death, here portrayed as a giant skeleton, wears a large mantle seemingly made of bat's wings, which neatly separates the scene into two segments. On top of Death stands Saint Michael with his sword drawn, signifying that one can never come back from Hell.

Large gates torn and trampled by Christ when he descended into the Netherworld; initially, the entrance to Hell was depicted as a pair of gaping, dreadful maws that swallow up the damned.

Gates of the Netherworld A handful of biblical sources mention the gates of the Netherworld and God's power over death from which there is no return. One of these is in Matthew, when Jesus says to Peter: "Upon this rock I will build my church, and the gates of the Netherworld shall not prevail against it." Only the resurrected Christ, when he descended into Limbo, could go through those gates, the insurmountable boundary of the kingdom of the dead, which by then already connoted a kingdom of eternal evil. Thus, many representations portray the gates as already torn and trampled by the resurrected Savior. Some artists, however, depart from the canonical texts: inspired by apocryphal tradition, they personify Hell as a horrifying monster that devours souls and render the entrance to the Netherworld as a frightening pair of maws. In some cases, such as the miniature illustrated here, the influence of the book of Revelation is evident: the narrative relates how the fifth angel received the key to the entrance to the bottomless pit; thus, the angel locks the monstrous mouth with a key.

Place Next to Hell Biblical Sources Wisdom 6 : t 3; Sirach 51:6; Isaiah 38: to; Matthew 16:18; Revelation 9:i Related literature Gospel of Nicodemus I apocryphal) Diffusion of the Image Linked to Byzantine representations of Christ's descent imo the Netherworld and to medieval representations of Hell, this subject was widespread throughout the Middle Ages until the Mannerist period.

4 Anonymous English illuminator, An Angel Locks the Gates of Hell, r r 5o. Miniature from the Winchester Psalter London, British Library.

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The city is depicted as a tall-towered citadel surrounded by a swamp, with diabolical beings posted to guard it. The damned are punished inside.

The City of Dis Name From the Latin Dis, Dais, an early Greek divinity representing Hades (Pluto to the Romans), the lord of the Netherworld Place According to Dante, it is a city in Hell. Related Literature Dante Alighieri, Divine Comedy% Inferno, canto VEIL 68 Diffusion of the Image Limited to illustrations of Dante's Inferno

la• Master of the Vitae Impercrtorum. City of Dis, 439. Miniature. Paris, Bihliothique Nationale.

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By calling it "the city of Dis," Virgil, Dante's guide on his journey to the Afterworld, signified that he and his protégé were about to enter the deepest circles of Hell. Dis is the archaic name of the Greek Hades (Pluto in the Roman pantheon), god of the pagan Infernal Realm. In Dante's geography of Hell, the city of Lucifer rises beyond the Stygian swamp that surrounds it and which must be crossed to enter into the lower depths of Hell. The poet describes it as a fortified city whose walls, seemingly made of iron, are punctuated by great red towers that seem to be on fire. According to Virgil's explanation, the walls are red and frightful precisely because the city's fires burn eternally. Devils are posted at the gates and inside are three circles where the heretic, the violent, and the fraudulent are punished. In the popular depictions of Hell, the city of Dis has a secondary place, usually appearing with illustrations of Dante's Inferno.

The City of Dis

Hell is truly an incandescent city, but the flames licking the buildings in the distance do not destroy them; rather, they enfold them, sharpening their outline.

Asimian-shaped demon bricklayer is busy troweling mortar as he builds the walls of the infernal city:

The idea of a tall tower indefinitely under construction calls to mind the tower of Babel.

Pursued and tortured by demons, the souls are devoured by beings that often have monstrous form: here the naked soul of a squanderer is pursued by a red bitch.

▶Hieronymus Bosch, Hell, t soo—t5oz. Right panel (open) of the Haywain triptych. Madrid, Musa., dcl Prado.

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These water streams look disturbingly muddy, bubbling, or icy, never calm and inviting, the opposite of the regenerating spring of the fountain of Paradise.

Infernal Rivers and Swamps Names Derived from classical mythology: Acheron, Styx, Phlegethon, Cocytus Place Hell Related Literature Dante Alighieri, Divine Comedy Characteristics The river crosses the length of Hell, changing aspect during its course. According to another interpretation, the main river is the Acheron and the other three are tributaries. Diffusion of the Image Limited to illustrations of Dante

▶Simon Marmion, Torments of the Non-Believers and the Heretics, 1475. Miniature from The Visions of Tondal. Los Angeles, I. Paul Getty Museum.

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The iconography of the infernal rivers begins with Dante's interpretation of classical sources. In his Inferno, only one river crosses Hell longitudinally; called the Acheron (named for the son of Helios and Gaia) in the first part of its course, it symbolizes the corruption of humankind. The Acheron is crossed by Charon's boat as he ferries souls to Hell. Downstream the river becomes the Styx, named for another underworld deity. According to ancient myth, the Styx made nine turns around Hades; in the Inferno, the river is almost still and becomes a swamp. At its deepest stretch, the water turns fiery as it flows into the Phlegethon, which feeds the volcanoes and where patricides receive punishment. Finally, the Cocytus, whose waters are swollen with tears of the dead, forms an icy lake at the bottom of Hell, where traitors are shackled.

Infernal Rivers and Swamps Standing at the entrance to the deepest pit of Hell (canto xxxrp, Dante is troubled not only by what he sees, but also by the difficulty of describing such hormrs.

A deep layer of ice covers the first area of Cocytus, called Cain's Land; here the waters of the infernal rivers are frozen by the icy gales of Lucifer's beating wings.

The traitors are sunk up to their necks in ice: among them, those who betrayed their parents have their beads facing down, while those who betrayed their country or political party must hold then. heads upright.

• Gustave Dore, Inferno, Canto XXXII, 19, 1861-68. Print.

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Infernal Rivers and Swamps

In the distance, Dante glimpses the city of Dis, identifiable by its high walls and its flame-engulfed towers.

Dante is frightened by the Florentine Filippo Argenti, one of the damned, who suddenly rises and addresses Dante; trying to capsize Dante's boat, he is promptly thwarted by Virgil.

♦Eugene Delacroix, Dante's Boat, 1.8x2..Paris, Music du Louvre, 38

Phlegyas, the steersman guiding the boat on the River Styx, is a mythological figure transformed into a demon by Dante; he is known for his wrath, a fitting trait for the Styx watchman.

The wrathful are immersed in the swampy waters of the Styx (Inferno, canto Viii); here they angrily bite and strike at each other; in the same swamp, the slothful are sunk bead down, and their sighs cause the surface waters to bubble.

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Starting in the fourteenth century, artists began to represent Hell and the Final Judgment by dividing them into sections according to the punishment that the demons inflict upon the damned.

Circles and Torments Place Hell Biblical Sources Matthew 6: i 1, 13:41-4z; Luke rE: z x-2.6 Related Literature Apocalypse of Peter (apocryphal); Vision in the Acts of Saint Paul (apocryphal); Honorius of Annul. Hurtdarium (Elucidations); Uguccionc da Lodi, Libro (Book); Bonvcsin dc la Riva, Libro de& tre scrit. titre (Book of the Three Suipturcs); Giacomino da Verona, De Bandonia cwt. tate irrfernali (Of Babylon, Infernal City); Bono Giamhoni, Della miseria dentomo (Of Human Misery); Dante Alighieri, Divine Comedy Characteristics Hell is divided into nine circles, one for each type of sin and for each penalty meted our, which is in the form of contrappasso. Diffusion of the Image Typical medieval subject, widespread until the mid-fifteenth century

▶Andrea di Buonaiuto, Hell (detail), 1367-69. Fresco. Florence, Santa Maria Novella, Chapel of the Spaniards.

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Apocryphal texts, narratives of journeys to the Netherworld, and didactic descriptions provided the basis for the medieval subdivision of Hell into nine circles, corresponding to the nine angelic choirs. Artists drew on these sources for representations of Hell, as did Dante. In the Inferno, sinners are cast into nine separate concentric circles that spiral down into a deep crater to the center of the earth, where the most abominable sins are punished. Medieval theology popularized the doctrine of the contrappass° (literally, retaliation} according to which the penalty inflicted mirrored the sin. In Limbo, souls are not subjected to corporal punishment because, since they lived before Jesus, they could not receive the Grace of salvation. Although they did not sin intentionally, their torment lies in being deprived of God. Each of the lower circles is divided into smaller rounds that further subdivide each class of sin and its penalty. The worst sinners, who are confined to the bottom of Hell, are the traitors.

Circles and Torments The first circle holds the cowardly, forever condemned to run after a weathercock.

The wrathful and the slothful are submerged in the Styx swamp, which the boat guided by Phlegy as is crossing.

In the second circle, Minos tortures the lustful, who are forever being swept away by storms. Third circle: the gluttons.

The fourth and fifth circles hold the misers and the spendthrifts.

The high walls of the city of Dis. The heretics are confined to open graves in a large cemetery on fire.

The seventh circle holds the violent.

In the ninth circle, Lucifer devours the traitors: here one of his mouths is biting the head of Judas.

The eighth circle is subdivided into ten pits.

♦Nardo di Cione, Inferno, 1350.-55. Fresco. Florence, Santa Maria Novella, Strozzi Chapel.

41

Circles and Torments Sowers of discord: because they caused splits and divisions when alive, they are now quartered and beheaded, hung by their feet or by the head, and disemboweled. As in Sodom and Gomorrah, an incessant, all-enveloping rain of fire falls all over Hell.

The wrathful strike at each other and devour their own hands.

The miserly are force-fed melted gold.

♦FraAngelico, The Punishments of the Damned in Hell, 43 a-33. Detail of The Universal Judgment. Florence, Masco di San Marco. 42

The gluttons undergo the punishment meted nut to Tantalus: chained to a sumptuously law' table, they cannot eat.

This fire, fed continuously by demons, burns eternally in most of Hell. The damned suffer their eternal punishment engulfed in flames, sometimes chained to gridirons or thrown into huge pots.

Fires and Flames References to Hell fire, the most conspicuous feature in depictions of the infernal abode, occur in the Gospels of Matthew, Mark, and Luke. Jesus, speaking of an unquenchable fire in which evildoers will burn, points to fiery Gehenna—Jerusalem's dumpsite in a nearby ravine where refuse was continually burned—as the punishment for sinners. Punishment by fire, however, appears much earlier, in the Old Testament: it is inflicted upon Sodom and Gomorrah (Genesis 19:2.4). Certainly, the image of fire originally meant to convey a sense of endless torment. It was revived in the first descriptions of Hell that appeared in apocryphal texts, starting with the Apocalypse of Peter; the latter was known in Europe only in the version of the Vision of Saint Paul, which inspired several images. Over the course of the Middle Ages, these images became even richer in details thanks to the reading of the various apocryphal texts about revelations and to the florid imagination of preachers who strongly admonished the faithful about the horrors of Hell.

Place tlell Biblical Sources Matthew 3:1z, 51z.z, 7:19, [3:40,18:9, 2541; Mark 9:43; Luke 3:17; Hebrews to:27; Revelation 10:10—I5 Related Literature Vision of Saint Paul apocryphal g Dante Alighieri, Divine Corned)" Characteristics Punishment is depicted as an eternal fire,

4 Simon Mansion, The Torment of the Proud, 1473. Miniature from The Visions of Tondal. Los Angeles, J. Paul Getty Museum.

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Fires and Flames Fires rise from the battlements of the infernal city, recalling Dante's description of the city of Dis.

• JSMonogrammist, Hell (detail I, ca. tsso. Venice, Palazzo Ducale. 44

A large frog—a diabolical animal linked to lust—sits on a bed occupied by a sinning couple, suggesting what kind of sin is being punished.

Torture on a grill is one of the earliest representations of punishments in Hell. Here one of the damned has been hacked to pieces first.

Bodies waiting to be tortured with fire are laid out atop burning embers.

An underground locale sometimes guarded by demons, Limbo receives the righteous who died before Christ's coming. Jesus himself, bearing the standard of Resurrection, went to liberate them.

Limbo Name From the Latin Innbus, meaning •farthest edge," "limit" Definition In the Netherworld, the abode of those souls who died without God's Grace Place Intermediate between I Id] and Paradise Biblical Source Peter 3, After dying and before his Resurrection, Jesus "went and preached to the spirits in prison" in the Netherworld. Related Literature Gospel of Nicodernus (apocryphal h; Jacobus de Voragine, Legenda Aurea (Golden Legend); Peter Lombard; Dante Alighieri, Divine Comedy Characteristics The abode that receives the souls who died without the Grace of God because they lived prior to the coming of Jesus Christ Diffusion of the Image This Byzantine motif reached the West in the thirteenth century and was prevalent throughout the Middle Ages; it finally disappeared with Mannerism.

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The term Limbo was first used by Peter Lombard (twelfth century), though the concept already existed of an abode in the Netherworld reserved for the righteous who died without the Grace of God because they lived before the Redemption of Christ. For years, debate raged about whether Limbo was a physical place or a temporal dimension like the Afterworld, which, given the soul's spiritual nature, was usually understood asa temporal dimension after death. In Christian dogma, Limbo also received the souls of children who died before baptism; it is, in fact, the same site that the early Church indicated as the Netherworld visited by Christ after death to free those who had led a life worthy of the Grace of God. The nature of Limbo, which acquired its name and specific connotation in the midtwelfth century, was a frequent subject of discussion in Church documents; still present in Saint Pius X's complete Catechism ( x905), it is no longer mentioned in the most recent Catechism published by the Catholic Church in 5992.. 4 Lower Netherlands or Cologne Master, Descent into the Netherworld, ca. 1460, Polychronied wood sculpture. Amsterdam, Rijksmuseum.

Limbo Dressed in a glorious red and blue robe highlighted in gold (the colors denoting both his humanity and his divinity), Christ descends into the Netherworld. Into the "Limbo of the Fathers." Though theologians disagreed on the timing of his descent (some situated it before the Resurrection, others placed it after), for representational purposes, artists placed its occurrence after the Resurrection.

WhenJesus reached the gates of Limbo, the portal, described in the apocryphal text as a set of sturdy bronze doors, collapsed, signifying Christ's victory over death.

Among the fathers and prophets, David is recognizable by the crown and the book of psalms he holds in his hand: his presence is "justified" by his Psalm 106 (i 0-16), which has been interpreted as a prophecy of Christ's descent into limbo.

According to the apocryphal Gospel of Nicodemus, Adam (who is believed to have died at the age of 930) was the first human being to be freed and led out of the Netherworld; here he appears as an old man with a long white beard.

♦Duccio di Buoninscgna, Descent into Limbo, 1310. Detail of the Maestri altarpiece. Siena, Muses dell'Opera del Duomo.

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Limbo The cross is the instrument of Christ's sacrifice and of the Good Thief, who was assured salvation because he believed; Diana, for that was his name, was sent by Saint Michael to meet Christ in Limbo.

.4 demon, perhaps the very Devil. "be who has the power of death" i Hebrews 2:14).

Although Adam is represented as an old man, he is shown holding the iconographic attribute of the fruit of sin; in keeping with Western art that portrays him as he was before sinning, he is naked• behind him hides Eve, as depicted in somescenes of the Expulsion from Earthly Paradise.

Some of the souls that Christ finds in Limbo are of children. This was initially a reference to the infants killed in the Slaughter of the Innocents and later to babies who died before receiving baptism.

♦Albrecht Diire; Christ in Limbo, 5;o. Engraving. 48

Holding onto die standard of Resurrection, Christ leans forward to pull the righteous from Limbo and carry them to Paradise. .411 around are figures of demons, whom Dirrer ridicules by gunng them strange shapes.

Showing the unmistakable signs of his death on the cross and still wearing the crown of thorns, the resurrected Christ calls the souls of the just out of Limbo with a gesture of blessing.

In the distance loom unfamiliar and Imposing buildings that suggest a grandiose entrance, replacing the double bronze doors of earlier representations of this story.

According to the Apocrypha, Adam was the first soul saved by Jesus. Here he is depicted with the attributes he had before the Fall, although his nakedness is decorously covered by a leafy girdle.

The souls of the lust recognize the Savior and invoke his help with the unwersal gesture of prayer.

▶German school, Christ in Limbo, ca. r 570. New York, The Metropolitan Museum of Art. 49

The island is configured by two towering rocks; between them glides a boat rowed by Death, carrying a dead body covered in a shroud.

The Island of the Dead Place In the middle of the ocean Related Literature References to the myth of Atlantis are found in the traditions and literature of several civilizations (Hindu, Iranian, Tibetan, Chinese, Scandinavian, Tokm, and Greek). Characteristics In mythological times, an island peopled by a superior, semidivine race that vanished after a tremendous catastrophe turned the island into a wasteland; it became known as a place where one could revert to the divine status of the first inhabitants. Specific Reliefs The Island of the Dead appears in the journeys and feats of mythological characters such as I lerculm and the hero of the Gilgamesb epic. Diffusion of the Image A rare subject taken up only in the nineteenth century

Ito Arnold Rocklin, the Island of the Dead, 114lio. Basel, Kunsmwseum.

5

The isolated, though much-repeated motif of the Island of the Dead, whose evocative power has strongly influenced the history of art, has its roots in the distant fable of Atlantis, a myth common to many great civilizations. The myth, named in Plato's dialogues Timaeus and Critias, speaks of Atlantis, an island in the center of the Atlantic Ocean. The people who settled there came from a fertile northern island where they had achieved a splendid civilization. Their forced relocation occurred because a sudden climatic upheaval had turned their homeland into a barren waste. After a migration lasting millennia, the nation settled in Atlantis and there tried to rebuild their former civilization. After thousands of years, however, a catastrophe struck this island, too, sinking it forever into the ocean. Thus was born the Island of the Dead, an abode where those wishing to reclaim the superior status reached by that now-lost civilization must venture, in a sort of encounter with the Netherworld.

Represented as either a mountain or a luxuriant valley under a clear sky, Purgatory is inhabited by souls who are on their way to God or the Fountain of Grace.

Purgatory The concept of Purgatory was defined around the close of the twelfth century along with a new vision of the Afterlife. Its scriptural sources are in Matthew and the letters of Paul. The First Council of Lyon (1245) relied upon both when ruling that some punishments are meted out in this life, others in the next. The Council of Trent (1563) reaffirmed the existence of Purgatory; and a modern document (r979) by the Congregation on the Faith defined Purgatory as "the purification preliminary to the vision of God, different from that of the damned." These definitions from dogma did not, however, provide specific visual details. Thus, artists looked to those authors who wrote of Purgatory as a specific place, for example, Saint Thomas Aquinas, who described it as an underground burial chamber next to Hell where the same fire burned, and popular texts such as Marie de France's The Purgatory of Saint Patrick (later twelfth century), rather than to Saint Bonaventure, who called it an "indeterminate place." Dante's Purgatory was surely another important source on which artists drew to depict the status of souls undergoing purification.

Name A place of purification, from the Latin purgarorium Place According to Saint Augustine, it is not a place but a state of being of the souls; for Saint Thomas Aquinas, it was definitely an underground burial chamber.

Time After death, following the Particular Judgment for the souls of the blessed Biblical Sources Matthew 11:31-324 C O r i l l I Ilia rIS 3 : t 3 - 1 5

Related Literature Apocalypse of Saint Paul (apocryphal); Gregory the Great, Dialogues; Marie de France, The Purgatory of Saint Patrick; Dante Alighieri, Divine Comedy Diffusion of the Image Throughout the Middle Ages, in Last Judgment scenes; after the sixteenth century, in images depicting the intercession for souls

4 Domenico di Michelin, Apotheosis of Dante (detail), 1 0 5 . Fresco. Florence.

Santa Maria del Fiore.

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Purgatory According to Dante's vision, the mount of Purgatory consists of seven terraced cliffs that correspond to the seven deadly sins; on the summit is the earthly Paradise.

The angel at the helm is a herald of God: he arrives at dawn, sailing without sails and moving only with the power of his wings (canto H).

• Anonymous Florentine miniaturist, Divine Comedy, Late Gothic. Florence, Bihlioteca Nazionale Centrals. 52

The gate to Purgatory has three steps of different colors: on the highest, made of red PorPhYrY, sits a sentry angel, his face bright, his sword drawn (canto IX).

Cato the Younger is the custodian of Dante's Purgatory: in reverence, Virgil invites Dante to kneel before him (canto 141.

At the end of the purification period, the soul may be lifted up to God: the angels escort the little soul in an image drawn from an older, Byzantine iconography depicting the death of the righteous.

The extremely high bridge that the souls must cross, under which flow fire and pitch, is a motif that Dante derived from medieval texts, including Marie de France's The Purgatory of Saint Patrick (ca. 11'80.

Since the earliest days of Christianityc the presence of fire m Purgatory was a subject of debate. It was agreed that it was a temporary fire, different from Hell's eternal fire, though this did nut prevent some artists from depicting souls engulfed by flames.

• Limhourg Brothers, Angels Lifting Souls from Purgatory, hefore 1416. Miniature from the Tres riches heures du duo de Berry. Chantilly, Music Conde.

The state of the soul in Purgatory was visually interpreted by artists also as one of constant temptation from which purification was necessary: the figure tormented by animals such as the she-wolf and the leopard calls to mind the temptations of earthly life. 53

The idea of Paradise was initially linked to an earthly place; several iconographic themes developed to describe the state of eternal bliss and, later, the Heaven where the blessed dwell.

Paradise Name From the Old Persian pairidaiza, meaning "enclosure" or "park" Definition In the New Testament, the place to which the just journey after death; also called the Kingdom of Heaven Biblical Sources Genesis z; Revelation 7, 14, 21, 21 Related Literature Fourth Book of Ezra (aPc'clYPha 1; Saint Augustine, Confessions and City of God Characteristics Sometimes depicted as a separate, different image from the Final Judgment, this subject changed over the centuries, but it remained linked to the idea of a definitive judgment. Diffusion of the Image In the Middle Ages, linked to representations of the Last Judgment or autonomous in church domes; lateg in polyptychs, and generally autonomous in domes, vaults, or large canvas paintings

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As the concept of heavenly Paradise evolved, so did its representation, structured along several themes that sought to depict symbolically that place and state of blessedness. The earliest images of heavenly Paradise were fashioned closely after the concept of the earthly one, an ever-blooming garden where the Tree of Life grows and the Fountain of Grace flows. It is the place of solace invoked for the deceased: on catacomb walls and on sarcophagi, Early Christian artists portrayed the chosen ones as doves or deer drinking at the fountain, and symbolized the garden by a single, fruit-laden tree. Following the eschatological text of the book of Revelation, the Mystic Lamb became a fundamental element of the garden, while the image of the Heavenly Jerusalem continued to evolve. A typical Eastern concept that was to find favor in the West beginning at the turn of the millennium was the bosom of Abraham. In the thirteenth century, Paradise, understood primarily as a "state of being," was also represented by symbolic figures of the beatitudes, the heavenly joys that the blessed are to enjoy for eternity.

Paradise The red Seraphim, equipped with three pairs of wings and clasping their hands in a clear devotional gesture, are the angelic order closest to God.

In medieval representations of the heavenly Paradise, an earthly hierarchy is reflected, arranged according to a precise geometry: after the angels who stand in the sight of God come the saints, recognizable by their iconographic attributes.

4 Tintorerto (Jacopo Rohusti), painted sketch for Paradise, ca. s 56os. Madrid, Museo Thyssen-Bomemisza.

Christ is depicted in the central and highest part of this particular image of Paradise. inside the rainbow circle; the circle surrounding him is gold, signifying his divinity.

The Virgin Mary has a place of honor; surrounded by musical angels, she wears a crown because she is the Queen of Heaven.

• Giusto de Menabuoi, Paradise, 1375-76. Fresco. Padua, baptistry.

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Paradise

The custodian angels welcome the elect into Paradise by embracing them as they kneel. 36

The state of bliss is simplified in the joyous gestures and embraces of the blessed meeting each other.

The fruit-laden tree in images of Paradise is drawn from the memory of Eden, the garden where God placed the first man and woman, entrusting them with its care.

Characteristic of Paradise images from the Late Gothic period is the,ever-blooming garden, signifying a timeless place ruled by the will of God.

With the figures of blessed adults are also the souls of children who came to Paradise from the children's Limbo.

♦Giovanni di Paolo, Paradise, ca. 1445. Detail of The Lau Judgment. Siena,Pinacoteca Nazionalc. 57

Paradise

The image of the Heavenly Jerusalem inspired artists to depict the entrance to Paradise as a large gate, here rendered as the portal of a major cathedral; on top of it, musical angels are playing.

The angels assisting Saint Peter distribute washed robes to the elect thronging to enter Paradise, for only so clothed shall they go through the city gates, according to the book of Revelation (2204).

Standing on the first steps of a crystal staircase, Saint Peter, the custodian of Paradise, welcomes the elect and offers them his hand in a gesture of greeting.

▶Hans Memling, The Gate to Paradise, ca. 1472. Detail of The Last Judgment altarpiece. Gdansk, Museum Narndowe. 58

A seated old man: on his knees or in the folds of his mantle he holds one or more children. In some instances, the children cling to his legs in a very domestic gesture.

Bosom of Abraham The locus of the bosom of Abraham changed through the ages from just below Paradise (Tertullian, second to third century) to the upper part of Hell (Petrus Comestor, late twelfth century). Thomas Aquinas (thirteenth century) ultimately defined it as the place of supreme reward from which souls approach Paradise. The earliest representations came from the East near the beginning of the tenth century, and before century's end, the subject had reached the West. It was portrayed in three major ways: as part of the parable narrative of the poor man Lazarus (Luke 16:19-2,1); linked to depictions of the Final Judgment; or independently, devoid of eschatological context. Between the eleventh and thirteenth centuries, the bosom of Abraham was one of the most popular visual expressions of the Kingdom of Heaven; it was gradually absorbed into representations of the latter. The widespread use of this image, showing souls entering Paradise through their reunion with a paternal figure, is linked to notions of brotherhood and equality before God that were preached by the medieval Church.

Definition One specific representation of Paradise Biblical Sources Matthew 8:11; Luke 16:19-21 Related Literature Maccabees 13:17 (apocryphal) Diffusion of the Image Of Eastern origin, it spread to the West starting in the tenth century and was present until the thirteenth century.

4 Lazarus in the Bosom of Abraham, ca. t 105-40, Column capital. Vizelay, Sainte Madeleine.

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Bosom of Abraham The personifications of the four rivers are added to complete the image of the bosom of Abraham, as are the angels around the frame.

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The souls of the elect undergo a transformation: they become small, like children, and are carried to the patriarch in the arms of the angels.

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The old patriarch Abraham welcomes the souls of the elect into the folds of his mantle, as if they were children.

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Abraham sits on the rainbow's multicolored beam, an ancient symbol of the covenant between God and humanity

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• Souls Being Led to the Bosom of Abraham, 1177-83. Miniature from the Obituary of Obermiinster, Munich, Haupstaatsarchir. 60

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Acceptance into the bosom of Abraham signifies the entrance of a soul into Paradise: this image is completed by iconographic reminders of the earthly Paradise.

A citadel guarded by angels, Heavenly Jerusalem is often drawn as a square plan with twelve gates. The Mystic Lamb and an angel holding a measuring rod are sometimes depicted.

Heavenly Jerusalem The image of Heavenly Jerusalem is a particular representation of the foreshadowing of Paradise as a heavenly city that recalls the Jerusalem of the Old Testament. Even before the vision described in the book of Revelation, Saint Paul wrote three times in his letters about the city on top of the hill, Heavenly Jerusalem, the future city. But undoubtedly the precise description given by Saint John determined its visual form. This image enjoyed widespread diffusion and continued to evolve from the third through fourteenth centuries and even later, appearing not only in the traditional figurative arts such as frescoes, illuminated manuscripts, and sculpture, but also in applied arts, especially goldsmithery, and in tapestries. It also influenced architecture in defining the ground plans of churches. The image, which occurs in many cycles of illustrations of the book of Revelation, could also be autonomous. Saint John's description is usually faithfully reproduced, showing a square citadel encircled by crenellated walls and towers, with twelve gates set with precious stones.

Definition A particular representation of Paradise

Biblical Sources Galatians 4...z.4-1.6 Hebrews 12.:11-2.44 Revelation 0 - 1 4

Related Literature Isidorei,f Origines (Etymologies); Saint Augustine, City of God Diffusion of the Image From the Early Christian era to the Middle Ages

4 I leaven!). Jerusalem, fifth century. Mosaic. Rome, Santa Maria Maggiore.

tit

Heavenly Jerusalem On each of the four sides of the city walls are three gates without doors; at each gate a custodian angel appears. The names of the twelve tribes of Israel and the Twelve Apostles are inscribed all around.

According to medieval interpretation, Christ replaces the angel of the Apocalypse. Therefore, he is depicted inside the city holding a rod for measuring the walls with the Mystic Lamb at his feet and the Fountain of Life springing from the globe on which he sits. • Heavenly Jerusalem, eleventh century. Fresco. Civate, San Pietro al Monte. 62

The walls are punctuated by eighteen slender towers, each topped by a pearl: inspired by the vision in the book of Revelation.

The city is anchored by four corner towers, near which are inscribed the names of the four cardinal virtues: Prudence, Justice, Fortitude, and Temperance. Although this detail is not in the book of Revelation, it appears frequently in early medieval commentaries.

The highest Heaven in Paradise where God sits with the angels and the blessed is represented as a source of blazing light. Medieval images are characterized by concentric circles.

The Empyrean The idea of a Heaven located above the heavens of classical cosmology took shape in the thirteenth century when it first became possible in western Europe to become directly acquainted with the works of Aristotle and Ptolemy. For a long time, Christian theologians had been developing the concept of a motionless Heaven situated above all the heavens. Scholastic philosophy, particularly the works of Saint Thomas Aquinas, was able to synthesize the ancient theories with Christian religion. To the classical model, Thomas added a tenth sphere, the Empyrean, where God resides; the other spheres house angels of ascending degrees as they approach the tenth Heaven. Writing after Saint Thomas, Dante, in the third cantica of the Divine Comedy, called the Empyrean "a spotless rose." The Empyrean gradually took the form of an extremely bright sky. Detailed representations of concentric circles where the different categories of the blessed and the angels dwell appeared only in the art of the Middle Ages.

Name From the Greek empyrios, meaning "in flames"

Definition In medieval philosophy, the Empyrean is the infinite, motionless space closest to God, above the heavens and ablaze with God's light, where angels and the blessed sit in his presence. Place Above the heavens Related Literature Saint Basil the Great; Isidore of Seville; Venerable Bede; Valafridus Strahus; Robert Grosseteste and John of Holywood; Michael Scotus; Albert the Great; Thomas Aquinas; Dante Alighieri Characteristics Conceived in an attempt to link the Aristotelian and Ptolemaic cosmological visions to Christian thought

41Bruges school illuminators, Paradise, ca. t 5 I 5—zo. Miniature from the Grimani Breviary. Venice, Biblioteca Marciana.

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The Empyrean

The strong source of light as the far end of ashadow cone symbolizes the Empyrean, the sign of the divine presence inflamed with love.

The souls of the elect destined for Paradise are escorted by the angels on their journey to the uppermost I-leaven.

▶Hieronymus Bosch, Ascent to the Empyrean, r 5oo-i 5o4. Venice, Palazzo Ducale. 64

Christ the Redeemer descends from the Empyrean to meet his mother, who had ascended to Heaven.

Angels play in the circles closest to the highest Heaven and escort the Ascension of Mary, who is pushed through the clouds by putti.

• Correggio, TheAssumption of the Virgin, 1520-23. Fresco,Parma, cathedral.

Supported by angels. Mary rises through the circles and the nine heavens, abode of the angels and the blessed; some saints are identifiable. The Virgin, who is the new Eve, is depicted next to Eve to symbolize the Redemption. 65

THE PATH OF EVIL The Seven Deadly Sins The Ship of Fools The Devil as Tempter Pact with the Devil Diabolical Possession and Exorcism The Inquisition Diabolical Disguises and Deceptions Demonic Animals Dragons and Basilisks Forbidden Fruits Musical Enticements Ghosts and Nightmares Witches The Sabbat The Black Mass

Workshop of Domenico Ghirlandaio, The Temptations of. aint Anthony, ca. 1490. Great Britain, private collection.

It is easier to look at the seven deadly sins as dispositions of human nature; they are usually represented allegorically, either in a group or individually.

The Seven Deadly Sins Definition Pride, greed, lust, anger, gluttony, envy, sloth: these seven sins are the root of all other transgressions. Biblical Sources aJohn 2:16, referring lo Genesis 3:6 Related Literature Saint John Cassianus, Colbrio (Collation) 5, Saint Gregory the Great, Moraha in lob (commentary on the Book of Blessed Job). 3i. 45,87 Diffusion of the Image 1)urnig the Middle Ages, the seven deadly sins were punished in Hell; in the fifteenth and sixteenth centuries, they began to he depicted independently.

▶Hieronymus Bosch, Gluttony, 1475-80. Detail of The Seven Deadly Sins. Madrid, Muse° del Prado.

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The definition of the seven deadly sins took final form in the Middle Ages, thanks primarily to John Cassianus, a monk active in the late fourth and early fifth centuries, and to Gregory the Great in the sixth century. The probable point of departure is in the First Letter of John, who was probably mindful of the Genesis narrative when he wrote "For all that is in the world, the lust of the flesh and the lust of the eyes and the pride of life, is not of the Father but is of the world" (King James Bible). "Lust" was identified as a consequence of original sin, and the term signifies an inordinate covetousness and love of self. Based on this doctrine, seven sins were singled out as being "deadly" or "capital," since they were considered the root of all the sins to which humans could fall prey. From the coveting of the flesh come carnal lust and intemperance; from the coveting of the eyes, greed; from the coveting of the spirit (which John called "the pride of life") come conceit, sloth, envy, a n d anger. Over the course of the Middle Ages, p r i d e came to be considered the worst of these sins, followed by the other six, in their final form: greed, lust, anger, gluttony, envy, and sloth.

The Seven Deadly Sins Flanked by two angels (Saint Michael, recognizable by his sword, and Saint Gabriel, carrying a flowering lily branch!, Christ smites the Deadly Sins with arrows.

An arrow has struck Envy in the eyes, symbolizing the covetousness of the eyes.

Greed and Sloth are hit by Jesus' arrows: Greed is kneeling, while Sloth seems to beasleep, in a posture of complete idleness.

The Mother of Mercy (Madonna della Misericordia) opens her mantle to shelter the faithful, protecting them from the arrows of divine wrath; her gesture may be based on a vision narrated in Jacobus de Voragine's Life of Saint Dominic, where, however, Mary succeeds in stopping Christ from shooting.

Carnal Lust is hit as he withdraws to his alcove.

Gluttony, struck in the stomach, is still holding a plate in his hands.

Anger, begetter of violence, is shown brandishing a dagger.

♦AnonymousAragonese master, TheMadonna of Mercy, ca. 145o. Teruel, Bishop's Palace.

Pride, the worst of the deadly sins, is shot in the breast as she sits on a throne; her position is purposely diagonal to the image of Christ so as not to break the symmetrical pattern of the other six allegories. 69

The Seven Deadly Sins Gluttony: the sin of excessive indulgence in food. In this death scene, a priest, a nun, and the family gather at the dying man's bedside, while an angel rests on the headboard, a demon lies in ambush, and Death waits behind the door.

Envy is here compared to a heavy burden one carries on one's shoulders. The scene also seems to allude to the slander it provokes.

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Greed is represented by a corrupt judge who, while listening to one party, accepts money from the opposing party.

The tondo with Hell is typical of the artist's style, with small monsters and demons attacking the damned.

AHieronymus Bosch, The Seven Deadly Sins, I 475-Ro. Madrid, Musco del Prado. 70

Wrath unleashes violence in an unusual duel where every weapon seems acceptable.

The ship seems to sail aimlessly, carrying an abnormal load of bizarre, intemperate characters of different social classes who are intent on feasting and singing.

The Ship of Fools Related Literature Sebastian Brandt, The Ship of Fools 1 1494) Characteristics A satirical representation of society's vices Diffusion of the Image After the publication of Brandt's work, this theme enjoyed expanding success at the end of the fifteenth century and into the sixteenth, with rare revivals in later centuries.

▶Albrecht Miter, illustration from The Ship of Fools by Sebastian Brandt, 1494. Woodcut.

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The Ship of Fools theme comes directly from the satirical work by the same name published in Strasbourg in 1494 by Sebastian Brandt, a humanist of a pessimistic bent who lacked faith in man's capacity for self-improvement. In 1 to poems (increased to 112 in the second edition), the author paints an allegory of the Vices drawn from myth, folklore, and proverbs derived from the Bible, portraying humankind and its follies in such a way that each person could recognize himself. Thus, there is a moral purpose to the work, which proclaims that "Mad is he who will not put his faith in the book of our salvation." Brandt's violent satirical verses attack all kinds of follies, represented by one or another of the many fools on board. The ship, under the command of Venus, is directed to the Land of Fools. This successful work, written in Alsatian, was translated into several languages, including Latin. Its popularity led to the development of several iconographic types that at first were linked closely to textual illustrations (the first edition was illustrated by the young Diirer) but later took on a life of their own.

The Ship of Fools The seascape in the background is bathed in the golden light or dawn, a silent reminder of the eternal beauty of a world not yet tainted by folly.

In his accurate analysis of the times, Brandt also mentioned the expansion of Islam, alluded to by Bosch here and perhaps intended to he understood as a new power that will rule over those unwilling to follow Christian religious precepts.

Among fools, the "official" one, the jester, is isolated. In his position he could speak the truth, and in his folly he was sometimes believed to enjoy a dark or forbidden knowledge that enabled him to see a higher reality. Sailing is at once a symbol of isolation and purification, a prelude to commitment to a mental institution, and a mysterious ritual that suggests ancient magic

and occult practices that in the Middle Ages always attended the image of the fool.

Brandt's satire did not spare any part of society His very strong critique of the Church, still along medieval lines, was a prelude to the Reformation.

♦Hieronymus Bosch, The Ship of Foals, 149o—isoo. Paris, Music du Louvre.

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A fiendish figure usually depicted in the act of tormenting a saint, the Tempter sometimes appears in disguise, often as a woman, or is represented by diabolical symbols.

The Devil as Tempter Definition The Devil that tempts man to commit evil Biblical Sources Genesis 3; Matthew Luke +3-13 Related literature Jacobus de Voragitiv, Golden Legend Diffusion of the Image Widespread from the Middle Ages to the sixteenth century

▶The Temptations of Saint Benedict, ir2.5-40. Column capital. V&zelay, Sainte Madeleine.

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The first cause of man's inclination to sin is the temptation of the Devil. This dogmatic and theological concept was already clear in ancient times. The Christian interpretation of Genesis recounts the Fall of man and his expulsion from the earthly Paradise as a first, direct consequence of original sin, committed as a result of the Devil's deception and temptation of Eve. During the Middle Ages, in an effort to make the Devil's constant presence in human life visible (remember that Christ, too, had been tempted), painters and miniaturists, sculptors and stonecutters created the most fantastic images ever imagined, all spontaneous creations of men who truly believed that they were prey to such dangers. Thus, the decorations of portals, lunettes, capitals, and corbels in this period often portray monstrous "diabolical" figures that represent the fury of the Devil and his assistants. Gradually, the representations of temptation came to be limited to specific episodes from the lives of a few saints who were invoked precisely because they had endured dreadful deceptions and temptations.

The Devil as Tempter In the background, a demon's eyes seemingly supervise the efforts to distract the saint from asceticism and prayer.

Of all the diabolical beings tempting and torturing Saint Anthony this demon with horns and bat's u'ings comes closest to the popular imagination.

Tins large, clubwielding bird is not completely the fruit of Griinewald's fancy; rather, it is the painter's reinal of images from medieval bestiaries.

The book of the sacred scriptures is the force that helps to fight temptation: for this reason, a demon with the looks of an ugly sprite is trying to steal it from the tempted saint.

• Matthias Grunwald, The Temptations of Saint Anthony, 5is-I 6. Colmar, Music d'Unterlindea.

The small monster biting the hermit's hand is a basilisk with a cock's body and four legs but no snake's half-body. By the sixteenth century; the image of this fantastic animal had changed considerably from that of the Middle Ages. 75

The Devil as Tempter Surprised by the deceiving images of somany temptations. Saint Anthony looks upward and seeks refuge in divine inspiration.

The wily Devil does his evil deeds secretly: he F o r every saint tempted by appears behind the t h e Devil, the cross, an icon victim accompanied o f the sacrifice of Christ the by a snake, his most S a v i o r , and the scriptures ancient disguise. a r e signs of his resistance. 76

The temptation of the flesh is regularly personified by a scantily dressed, if not naked. young woman.

Wealth carries with it greed, vainglory, and the desire for power: sins linked to the covetousness of the eyes and the spirit.

Images of the pact as a "contract" between the Devil and man are not widespread, being limited to illustrations of the story of Faust.

Pact with the Devil Definition Voluntary submission to the Devil Time Sixteenth century Related Literature Johann Spies, Historic von D. Johann Fausten dem weitheschreyten Zauberer and Schwartrkunstler (History of Dr Faust, WellKnown Wizard and Necromancer) (1587); Christopher Marlowe, Tragical! History of the Life and Death of Doctor Faustus (first printed 1604); Johann Wolfgang von Goethe, Faust 1(18o8) and Faust II (183z) Characteristics Representation of events in the life of Faust, who sold his soul to the Devil Diffusion of the Image Rare, limited to Wawadons of the Faust legend

la Etched frontispiece of Christopher Pviarlove's The Tragical! Historie of the Life and Death of Doctor Faustus (London, 1631).

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The most celebrated historical figure to allegedly sell his soul to the Devil was Georg (or Johann) Faust, later immortalized in legend and in literature. Born about 1480 in Knittlingen, he was a wandering teacher with no fixed residence. The facts surrounding his life became the stuff of legend even before his death, which occurred about r 540. It is not known how or when he made his pact with the Devil; after being a teacher, however, he became a magician, physician, and barber, and an advisor at several courts. In his wandering, he performed magic that was not always appreciated, and he was even driven out of several towns on charges of pedophilia and sodomy. His shadowy notoriety forced him to resort to using aliases so that he could revisit towns where horrible crimes had been linked to his name. Shortly after his death, the first book was published that told the story of a scientist who was so deeply dissatisfied with the limits of human knowledge that he sold his soul to the Devil in exchange for the highest knowledge, as well as for love, youth, and power over all the secrets of life. But the Devil had reserved a terrible death for him.

Pact with the Devil The figure of Faust is the image of the scholar determined to push his research forward using all possible means to gain knowledge of life's secrets, even to the point of signing a pact with the Devil.

♦Rembrandt, Faust, 1651. Etching with drypoint and engraving tool.

The disk of light suggests a momentous revelation whose full meaning remains hidden in the illegible letters, except for the four central ones, INRI, which signify the Passion of Christ.

Amysterious, luminous shape appears to Faust that would be circular if it were seen in perspective; it probably represents the philosopher's stone of the alchemists, which has similar properties.

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The image has two central characters: one is shaken by convulsions; the other frees him from being possessed by blessing him or sprinkling him with holy water.

Diabolical Possession

and Exorcism Name Exorcism is derived from the Greek exorkismos, meaning "administering an oath." 'Definition Exorcism is an act of authority that frees the victim from possession by the Evil One. Biblical Sources Mark t:15 ff., 3:s3-, 6:7, 6:13, 16:17 Related Lircraturc Exorcisms appear frequently in the Apocryphal Gospels And the lives of the saints front various sources. Diffusion of the Image These images appear frequently in narratives of the life of Jesus or histories of saints.

▶Gentile da Fabriano and Niccolii di Pietro, Saint Benedict Exorcises a Monk, rats—so. Florence, Galleria degli

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The phenomenon of diabolical possession and the rite of exorcism, which banishes the Devil and frees the victim, are described in several passages of the Gospels, particularly in Mark. Today, by "possession" we mean that a demon has taken over the victim's body as a result of his own will, sorcery, or special consecrations to the Devil by the victim's parents, who may belong to satanic sects. In the images of exorcism through the centuries, only rarely are there hints that might explain the state of possession. Instead, two elements of the event are frequently highlighted: the distraught state of the possessed and the authoritativeness of the exorcist who frees him or her. The firmness and authority typical of Christ as he practiced exorcisms and expelled demons became a characteristic of all the saints who followed him. While Jesus used his authority, the power of his word, and, presumably, an authoritative gesture as transmitted by iconographic tradition, the saints also used the aspersorium to sprinkle the possessed with holy water. In any case, the image of the demon leaving the body of the possessed through his or her mouth is a recurring one.

Diabolical Possession and Exorcism The Devil leaving the body of the possessed woman is pictured as a small, harry monster with hats wings. horns, claws, and a long tail.

Saint Peter Martyr sprinkles holy water on the woman and blesses her, thus exorcising the Devil; a frightened brother assists by holding the pail of holy water.

The possessed woman shows such an exceptional. uncontrollable strength that two stout youths can barely restrain her. • Antonio Vivarini, Saint Peter Martyr Exorcises a Woman Possessedby the Devil, 1440-50. Art Institute of Chicago.

A Dominican friar, Saint Peter Martyr wears the white habit and, because he is outside the convent, a black cape. 81

Representations of trials often held outdoors, with religious men as judges; pyres or torture instruments sometimes appear nearby.

The Inquisition Name From inquisire, Latin for "to search" Definition An ecclesiastical tribunal established to discover and punish heretics Place Europe Time The Middle Ages; revived in the fifteenth and sixteenth centuries; discontinued in the nineteenth century Diffusion of the Image Representations of the Inquisition arc found throughout Europe in the Middle Ages, and in Spain from the fifteenth to the nineteenth century.

la Francisco Goya, Inquisition Tribunal, 5 - r q . Madrid, Accademia dc San Fernando.

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In reaction to heresies that destabilized the medieval religious, political, and social orders, the Inquisition was established to defeat heresy—mainly through preaching. Pope Lucius HI ordered all bishops to visit their diocese twice a year to seek out heretics. Innocent III invited the Cistercian friars to preach against heretics and debate them publicly. Finally, with the papal document Excommunicamus (We excommunicate), Gregory IX appointed the first permanent inquisitors (1133). This phase ended in the fifteenth century. New heresies, including the Protestant Reformation, in the sixteenth century) led to revival of the Inquisition. The tribunal was reorganized under Paul III, who established the Holy Office. The latter became the Sacred Congregation for the Doctrine of the Faith under Paul VI. The Spanish Inquisition, established by the Catholic rulers in 1481 to persecute the heretics of Seville, was intensely active in the next century but gradually declined in the seventeenth and eighteenth centuries, being permanently abolished in 1834.

The Inquisition Saint Dominic de Guzman, recognizable by the white Dominican habit and black cape, and the lily, symbol of virginity and purity, was called to defeat the heretics at Albi, in southern France.

The accused who publicly recant their heresy are pardoned. Here, a Dominican friar holds Raymond the Albigensian by the hand, escorting him before the judges to recant.

♦PedroBerruguete, Auto-da-ft Presided over by Saint Dominic, ca. 3495 Madrid, Museodel Prado.

The heretics who refuse to recant are sent to the stake.

The heretics on trial must wear a tall cone-shaped hat and a monk's habit, and carry a sign with their name. A noose around the neck identifies the adulterers. 83

The Inquisition Among the punishments meted out by the Inquisition tribunal were torture of the heretics, and, occasionally, handing over the condemned to the secular authorities (which meant death). A priest assists the remorseful defendants as the auto-da-fi, the sentence of the Inquisition tribunal, is read publicly.

• Eugenio Lucas y Velasquez, Inquisition Scene (detail), 185 i. Paris,Musee du Louvre. 84

Nineteenth-century artists probably exaggerated the height of the pointed cone-shaped hat.

The Devil is portrayed either according to the traditional image of a fiend or in disguise; his identity is usually betrayed by such details as a tail, bat's wings, claws, or horns.

Diabolical Disguise and Deception The Devil's intrusions into human affairs, often translated into didactic images, are usually depicted in episodes from the lives of those saints who continually struggled against evil and the Devil. The production of a vast body of literature dedicated to describing the Devil's "tricks"—ruses and deceptions attempted against the saints—is a medieval phenomenon, attributable to stories taken from the Golden Legend and other sources. This literature was intended to warn people about the Devil's wiles, even those that seemed harmless, lest Christians forget that the lord of evil is always lying in wait. With this in mind, artists illustrated the most popular hagiographic tales, unmasking deceit. If at first sight, therefore, the viewer thinks that he is seeing a young woman asking a monk for hospitality, he will readily understand that this is a trick of the Tempter, because paws with long claws protrude from under the woman's skirt. The Devil is also a spiteful creature: for example, he breaks the bell that a monk was about to ring to announce to Saint Benedict in his retreat that food was being delivered; this left the saint without food for several days.

Definition It points to the Devil's need to always disguise himself.

Related Literature Jacobus de Voragine, Golden Legend

Characteristic The Devil's hidden presence

Diffusion of the Image Especially common throughout the Middk Ages and the Early Renaissance

4 Taddeo Gaddi, An Angel Commands a Monk to Bring Food to Saint Benedict, 1333. Fresco. Florence, Santa Croce, refectory.

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Diabolical Disguises and Deceptions An apparition of Saint Nicholas is invoked by the father of the strangled child; the saint's intervention saves the child.

The Devil, disguised as a pilgrim—he wears a hat, shoulder cape, and long robe to hide his identity, and carries a pilgrim's staff—lays a trap for the child: when the pilgrim leaves after knocking at the door, the boy follows him to give him alms. According to the narrative in the Golden Legend, the man celebrated the feast of Saint Nicholas annually; in accordance with his son's wishes; a solemn banquet was held to honor the miracle that saved his son.

The false pilgrim with bat's wings and paws with long claws strangles the child that he had tricked into leaving the house. ♦Arnbrugio Lorenzetti, Life of Saint Nicholas: Saint Nicholas Resuscitates a Child, early thirteenth century. Flurence, Gallcria degli Uffizi.

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In rapid succession, the artist has painted the lifeless body of the child lying in bed, then the same child, now resurrected, turning his head to Saint Nicholas, who performed the miracle.

The monk, who leads an isolated life in a cave, is deceived by the woman's pleasant, kind appearance, not realizing the diabolical temptation hiding under that guise. Disguised as a woman dressed in pilgrim's clothes and with a staff, the Devil asks hospitality from a hermit monk.

The artist is warning the viewer that looks can deceive by showing the longclawed paws of the tempting Devil under the woman's dress. ♦Buonamico Buffalmacw, The Tempting Devil Dressedasa Woman, 1340-5o. Fresco. Detail of The Thebaid. Pisa, Camposanto.

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Diabolical Disguises and Deceptions Holding the consecrated host, Saint Peter Martyr routs the Devil that had appeared to a group of heretics, disguised as the Virgin and Child: "If you are truly the Mother of God, kneel before your Son and worship hind" The frightened bystander who flees upon learning who was hiding under the guise of the Madonna is perhaps a self-portrait of the artist.

The diabolical apparition has been unmasked: horns and a wicked expression are now apparent, though the goatish legs mentioned in the Legend of Saint Peter by Tommaso Agni da Lentini (thirteenth century) are nut evident.

The man biding his face and running away could be the necromancer who had evoked the diabolical apparition for the heretics.

• Vincenzo Foppa, Stories of Saint Peter Martyr: Saint Peter Unmasks the False Madonna, 146268, Fresco. Milan, Basilica di SaneEnstorgio, Portinari Chapel. 88

The frightened, surprised man seen from behind had perhaps invited Saint Peter Martyr to come to the prayer meeting held by the necromancer.

Cats, frogs or toads, snakes, monkeys, flies, he-goats and scorpions, but also grasshoppers and silkworms, were included in Christian allegorical representations of the Devil.

Demonic Animals The use of animals to suggest evil or the Devil is a very old technique in the history of art. While the Early Christian period yields no significant examples, the Middle Ages, taking inspiration from Saint Melito (second century), found numerous links between the Devil and everyday animals as well as with creatures from imaginary bestiaries. These associations were based on renewed readings of the scriptures by Christian authors of the first millennium such as Isidore of Seville, the Venerable Bede, Gregory the Great, and Maurus Rabanus, or by revisiting classical works such as Pliny the Elder's encyclopedic Historia Naturalis (Natural History, first century A.D.). The demonic animal could be a simple allusion to evil and to man's inclination to sin, as was a monkey, which was compared to the Devil but not considered an explicit symbol; a scorpion, meanwhile, was a demonic symbol that could also refer to temptation. Sometimes a given animal would be the incarnation of the Devil. In early representations, bears, wolves, and lions also function as images of the Devil; these later gave way to the more common representations of the cat, the frog, and the snake.

Definition Animals chosen as symbolic or representative of evil and the Devil

Biblical Sources Ciencsis 3; Isaiah 35:9

Related Literature Pliny the Elder; Saint Melito of Sardis, Ciavis San lac Scripturae IKey to the Holy Scripturesi [thought by some scholars to be a medieval work and, therefore, not written by Saint Meliro]; Isidore of Seville; Venerable Bede: Gregory the Great; Main's Rabanus

Diffusion of the Image Very widespread in the Middle Ages and the Renaissance

Cornelis Anthonisz, .Saint Crcospatth. ca. 155o. Colored woodcut.

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Demonic Animals Personified as an old man in the clouds, God the Father is ready; with the announcement of the Incarnation, to plunge into the world, take on the body of a man, and share Everyman's condition.

In the background. beyond a classicizmg portal and an elegant parapet, an Italian-stele garden can be glimpsed. a clear allusion to the "enclosed garden," symbol of Mary• and her virginity, and of Paradise.

The arrangement of this painting differs from traditional Italian Annunciation scenes; here Mary turns her back to the angel, and her perturbed expression and gesture are manifest.

The cat, which hears the message of the entering angel and jumps awayc symbolizes evil fleeing front the coming Redemption.

♦Lorenzo Lotto, Annunciation, 534-45. Recanati, Pinacoteca Civics.. 90

The angel Gabriel, sent by God, speaks with words and gestures: the hand turned upward points to the One who sent him; the kneeling position suggests the deep respect he owes Mary; and the flowering lily branch is an homage to the Virgin and a symbol of her purity

Jesus has announced that one of the Twelve Apostles will betray him: with a gesture, he seems to calm the resulting discussion, pointing to Judas in reply to John, who asks the traitor's name.

A lamb is recognizable in the platter in front of Christ: it represents the Jewish Passover dinner, a historically accurate note that also prefigures the sacrifice of Jesus, the lamb of God. • Giuseppe Vermiglia, The Last Supper Idetail), iuss. Milan, Pinacoteca dell'Arcisescusado.

Christ's disciples are troubled as they discuss the betrayal that Jesushas just announced.

A cat is ready to fight with a dog: this is an allusion to evil, since the artist placed the animal behind Judas the traitor, recognizable by his money pouch. The cat lays traps to catch mice, just as the Devil does with the souls of sinners. 91

Demonic Animals A large frog (see Revelation 16:13), often depicted as a toad, pulls the souls of the damned down into the fires of Hell.

• Tadeo Ewalante, The Punishment of Infernal Fire (detail), rlio2.. Painted on the wall of the church at Fluani, environs of Cusco, Peru. 92

This frightful, fantastic animal is half griffin and half basilisk: winged, with a pointed heal; and a powerful tad ending in an arrow tip, its body is partially covered with scales. The creature pecks the sinners and stings them with its tail.

Small but ferocious, this four-horned demon supervises the torture of four souls strung on a cogwheel.

The whip suggests Saint Ambrose's forceful struggle against the heretics (he was bishop of Milan from 374 to 397)• After his apparition at the battle of Parahiago (1339) where, armed with a whip, he routed Visconti's troops, the whip became one of his attributes.

A little soul, reverentially carried on the edge of the mantle so as not to touch it with bare hands, is being offered to baby Jesus. Two plates of a scale: symbol of the weighing of souls that occurs at the Last Judgment, under the direction of Saint Michael, the archangel.

The defeated man lying on the ground is Arius, initiator of the Arian heresy opposed by Saint Ambrose. Next to him is the bishop's miter, another attribute of this saint.

The toad, depicted belly-up, has been defeated and killed; here it is a symbol of the Devil that Saint Michael fought and chased back to Hell.

• Bramantino (Bartolomeo Suardi), The Virgin of theTowers, ca. x Milan, Pinacotcca Ambrosiana. 93

Demonic Animals The fly, a firm irritating animal, has a negative, fiendish connotation: here shown on the leg of the baby Jesus, it signifies the snare of evil. According to Saint Melito (second century), it was one symbol of the Devil.

♦Anonymous Ecrrarese master, Madonna and Child, z4so—rsoo. Los Angeles, J. Paul (jetty Museum. 94

Following artistic convention, Mary is dressed in red, symbol of her humanity; she wears a blue mantle, symbol of divinity, for she is the Mother of God.

According to Renaissance artistic convention, the baby Jesus is portrayed naked to highlight his human nature. His left hand rests on a sphere, symbol of his power over creation.

Crucified to the right of Jesus, on the 'honorable" side, is the Good Thief; just before dying on the cross, he professed his faith in Christ, who in turn promised him Paradise.

The Virgin Mary faints Iron; sorrow and is supported by the other women including, according to the Gospel tradition, Mary Magdalene; of the disciples, only John remains.

• Giovanni di Piermattco (Boccati), Crucifixion, eu. 445--47. Urbino, Callcria Nazionale delle Marche.

In the background can be glimpsed Jerusalem in its typical medieval rendition with crenellated walls with towers. tower-houses, and anachronistic churches.

A scorpion is depicted on the armor, the standards, and the shields as a symbol of the Devil and anti-Jewish sentiment.

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Demonic Animals John, the only disciple who stood by the cross until his teacher's death, supports the fainting Virgin.

• Master of the Virgo inter Virgins, Crucifixion, 1495-15oo. Florence, Galleria degli Uffizi. 96

Agroup of legal scholars is engaged in a lively debate about the last words spoken by Jesus in an attempt to bolster the reasons for his death sentence.

According to Hugh of Saint Victor (twelfth century), the monkey can be compared to the Devil since, like the latter, the animal resembles man but is much uglier. Here the monkey holding a skull—a symbol of Adam's death and the consequence of original sin—witnesses the Crucifixion.

The pagan priest points to the statue of Mars, intending that Saint Philip should worship this deity and renounce fesus.

♦Git.t. de Menahuoi, Saint Philip before the Idol, ca. n I85. Fresco. Padua,Basilica del Santo.

The small statue of Mars, placed on top of a slender column, is the pagan idol that is worshiped in this temple.

The apostle Philip, roughly pulled by the crowd, in turn points to the statue of the idol that must be destroyed because it is possessed by evil spirits. The roll he holds in his left hand identifies him as an apostle.

The long snake, sometimes rendered as a dragon, coils around the two tribunes it just killed; it personifies evil and the Devil that is hidden in idols. Philip will bring the tribunes back to life. 97

Demonic Animals Are animal consecrated in antiquity to the god Pan of classical mythology, the male goat is now seenas an incarnation of Satan. In the Old Testament (Leviticus 1-6) this animal was laden with all the iniquities of the people of Israel and driven into the wilderness on the Day of Atonement. In his Sermon on the Song of Songs, Saint Bernard (twelfth century) saw in the male goat "the senses of the confused, lustful body that cause sin to enter the soul."

♦Lust, mid-fourteenth century. Column capital. Auxerre, cathedral. 9S

The naked youth riding the he-goat is now a symbol of lust, according to Philo (first century A.D,): "Billy goats are lascivious in their sexual relations where they display frenzied ardor."

▶Puigccrda Master, The Dream of Saint John the Evangelist on the Island of Patmos kletaill, ca. 145o. Barcelona, Museu d'Art dc Cataluna.

Monstrous composite animals: the dragon was sometimes depicted with bat's wings and horns; the basilisk's body was half cock and half snake.

Dragons and Basilisks Fantastic animals such as dragons and basilisks became major figures in the history of art thanks to their being mentioned in canonical sources and legends, and treated in detail in medieval encyclopedias in which exhaustive descriptions of each creature were provided. The symbolic links between hideous and imaginary animals and the Devil and evil are rooted in the Old Testament. The dragon, however, is described in the book of Revelation; it is also present in other contexts, as, for example, the Tempter that saints George or Margaret must fight and conquer. For the basilisk, artists drew inspiration from Psalm 91 (13) where the term "basilisk" appeared at one time, though the translation later became "asp" or "adder." The Roman author Pliny the Elder wrote that the basilisk could kill with a mere look or breath, and its blood had the power to answer invocations. This fabled creature, which, according to Albert the Great, was half cock and half snake, was considered the king of snakes by the ninthcentury theologian Maurus Rabanus.

Name "Basilisk" ultimately comes from the Greek basileus, which means "king," probably because it resembled an extremely poisonous crowned snake that was known by the diminutive basdiskus or (Latin) regulus (little king/. Biblical sources Psalm 9tir 3; Revelation Is Related literature Pliny the Elder, Saint Meliro of Sardis, Key to the Holy Scriptures; Isidore of Seville; Venerable Bede; Albert the Great; Maurus Rabanus

Characteristics Usually a very large animal, the dragon is portrayed with four legs and is sometimes covered with scales. The image of the basilisk started to change in the Renaissance, when it was often confused with the griffin. Diffusion of the Image The image of the dragon is very widespread throughout the history of art, while that of the basilisk is typically medieval.

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Dragons and Basilisks

According to hagiographic legend, the saintly knight in this battle only subdued the dragon; he will defeat it in yet another battle, after converting the oppressed population that had been forced to offer victims to the beast.

The horse, an identifying attribute of the knight, is white, a probable allusion to Saint George's irreproachable virtues.

About to be overcome by Saint George, the dragon has been thrown on its back. It is depicted with a large head, elongated neck, small wings like those of prehistoric animals, and a long tail.

▶COMMOTura, Saint George and the Dragon, c.469. Ferrara, Mu.sen dells Cartrdralc, formerly Chicsa di San Romano. 100

Here the youth confronts the basilisk, shielding himself with a sort of vase. Legend had it that the only safe protection from this monster was a mirror or a crystal bell. 'This large grasshopper with a human face, allegorically oversized, could have evil connotations or personify the Devil.

A symbol of the Devil, this basilisk with the body of a cock, a large cockscomb, and a long tail, is a perfect embodiment of the medieval idea of this fantastic animal. • The Basilisk, ca. r12.5-40. Column capital. Vezclay, Sainte Madeleine. 101

Dragons and Basilisks Carpaccio's basilisk has shed its medieval features of half cock and half snake; now it resembles a griffin, though the dreadful snarl of its beastly snout still recalls the belief that this beast could kill with a mere look or with its poisonous vapors.

Young Saint Triphon is still a boy when he perfcmns a miracle of exorcism. His praying gesture tames the Devil, here represented as a basilisk.

• Vittore Carpaccio, Saint Triphon Tamesthe Basilisk, rSo7. Venice, Scuola di San Giorgio degli Schiavoni. 102

The Roman emperor Gordian {mid-third century) had turned to Triphon, who had the reputation of a healer and exorcist, for help in freeing his daughter from the Devil.

In the oldest depictions, the forbidden fruit is a fig, an orange, or an apple. In the Middle Ages, it is usually an apple; from the sixteenth century on, other fruits could symbolize temptation.

Forbidden Fruits The forbidden fruit par excellence in Christian iconography is the apple, though this choice is based on a dubious linguistic connection: in Latin, malum means "apple," "fruit," and "evil." During the Middle Ages, this triple meaning led artists who illustrated the act of original sin to standardize the visual representation of the fruit, which finally became the apple. Because the Bible does not mention a specific kind of fruit, artists had some latitude and they generally chose the fruit most common in their region. Thus, the orange and the fig were depicted more frequently in art from the Mediterranean. The possibility that the Tree of Knowledge of Good and Evil might have been a fig is supported by the biblical description of Adam and Eve: after eating the fruit and realizing that they were naked, they used leaves from the fig, the plant at hand, to cover their nudity. In rare cases, as in twelfth-century frescoes in central France, the tree of the forbidden fruit is represented as a "mushroom tree," perhaps laden with esoteric meanings. In time, the forbidden fruit became a symbol not only of man's disobedience to God, but also of sin, 401.1,111131AINAli1102 a n Rau specifically lust.

Definition Originally; it was the fruit of the Tree of Knowledge of Good and Evil which God had forbidden Adam and Eve to eat. Biblical Source Genesis 3

Characteristics According to the 'Fempter. eating the fruit is mild have given man perteci knowledge; instead, it led him to sin and expulsion from Eden.

Diffusion of the linage Extremely widespread in representations of original sin; since the sixteenth century, also used as a symbol of temptation

A . Warn and Eve and the Tree of knowledge of Good and Evil. 994. Miniature from the Codex Aemilianensis. El Escorial, Real Biblioteca de San Lorenzo.

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Forbidden Fruits In the Garden of Delights one sees a representation of the innocent and sublime "art of loving" (ars amandi) of ihe Adamite sect; hence, the fruits being exchanged symbolize sensual pleasure.

In ancient interpretations of dreams, fruits such as the cherry were treated as symbols of sensual pleasure; here the depravation of the man-animal exchange is underscored.

• Hieronymus Bosch, The Garden of Earthly Delights (derail of central panel of the triptych), ca. 15oo. Madrid, Museo del Prado. 104

The wanton pleasure of eating the fruit is highlighted by the size of the blackberries and raspberries that the young nudists are greedily consuming.

The elegantly dressed young ladies appearing to the sabot personify the temptations of the flesh: an apple is offered as the object of their temptation.

In the background, Saint Anthony tries to flee the apparitions that tempt him with the pleasures of the flesh.

The monke), pulling Anthony's scapular denotes the tempting Devil.

♦Joachim Patinir and Quentin Metsys, TheTemptations of Saint Anthony, 15u5. Madrid, Musco del Prado. 105

Images of music as symbols of evil through the improper use of musical instruments; these are sometimes played by demons or beings linked to sin or to evil, such as death.

Musical Enticements Definition Music as the representation of evil; the presence of evil in disharmony Biblical Sources Ezekiel .2_6: r 3; Isaiah 14:11-12. Related Literature Writings by Hunorius of Autun Diffusion of the Image Examples in the Middle Ages and in the sixteenth century

▶ Arnold Rocklin, Self-Portrait with Death Playing the Violin, 187x, Berlin, Gernaldcgalerie.

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From interpretations of passages in Ezekiel and Isaiah that prophesied the death of kings, music became, as a symbol of vanity, an instrument of subtle enticement by the Devil. Even classical antiquity had its share of stories in which music propelled the soul's wickedness to the surface. In the myth of Apollo, the lyre-playing god, and Marsyas, the satyr who invented the flute, the god surpasses the satyr in a musical contest and, as victor, flays Marsyas alive. The goatish Pan was believed to spread terror—hence the word panic—by blowing on a shell trumpet. These ancient myths provided precedents for Christian imagery: for example, some representations of the Devil are derived from those of Pan. To better understand the relationship between music and evil, it should be noted that in the Middle Ages, court minstrels, who were deprived of civil rights because of their wanderings, were harshly judged by the Church; this attitude can be deduced from the writings of Honorius of Autun (twelfth century), who called them "ministers of Satan through and through."

Musical Enticements

In Hell, the harp becomes an instrument of torture. It has been variously interpreted asa sexual symbol, as punishment for sins of the flesh, as a biblical instrument of praise that was refused by sinners when they were living, and as an ancient echo of the harmony of Paradise.

A figure wearing a rich robe and with the snout of a toad, symbol of lust, leads a choir by reading the music printed on the buttocks of a sinner.

With as deep tones, the born ha rdon completes the harmony created by the music of the harp-lute and the ghironda. According to the musical theories of John Scotus Eriugena (ninth century), sin is the dissonance within the harmony.

A ghironda is played by a beggar who turns the crank. In the chord formed by the three instruments. the ghironda, here depicted with exceptional realism, has the highest register

▶Hieronymus Bosch, Musical Inferno, ca. 15oo. Right panel (open) of The Garden of Earthly Delights triptych. Madrid, Musco del Prado. 107

A sleeping figure around which hover images that are sometimes monstrous and sometimes symbolic, often bearing negative connotations.

Ghosts and Nightmares Definition Frightful and disturbing, and sometimes premonitory, dream apparitions Diffusion of the Image This iconography appears regularly from the sixteenth through the nineteenth century

lot. Francisco Goya, The Dream of Reason Produces Monsters, 1797-99. Print.

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The recurring iconography of the revelatory dream could suggest a positive revelation or, conversely, a nightmare. The total state of relaxation induced by sleep, when one loses self-control and enters into a diminished state of attention or alertness, could prove dangerous. In some cases, especially in visual representations, it carries suggestions of evil as if the Devil, taking advantage of the situation, were laying snares for the dreamer. Depending on context and historical period, sleep, and dreams in particular, have carried positive signs of revelation: the biblical dreams of Jacob and Joseph are cases in point, or the legendary dream of Emperor Constantine. But dreams have also been predictors of misfortune, such as those of Daniel or of Pontius Pilate's wife. Especially in allegorical representations, a double positive/negative outcome is presented, and the need to make a choice. The positive version usually reveals a divine apparition, while in nightmares, dreams disturbed by unsettling images, the presence of evil is felt and given explicit visual form.

Ghosts and Nightmares According to a well-known passage from the Thebaid o i l 12-13), a first-century epic poem by Statius, the faraway, fiery rivers meander around Sleep, together with many dreams.

Sleepcauses the woman to become drowsy by sprinkling her with water from the River Lethe; the allegorical figure of Sleep is attended by the owl (a night bird) and the cock, which Lucian believed was a sacred animal of the Island of Dreams.

The different aspects of these animal-like and anthropomorphic figures are explained by the manifold nature of dreams according to the second-century Roman satirist Lucian in his True History (2:34); or by the deceiving shape of dreams in Ovid's Metamorphoses (11:633) (A.D. 8).

• Battista Dnssi, Night lor Dream), 1544.Dresden, Gemdiciegalerie.

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Ghosts and Nightmares The muzzle nj a white horse eniers the woman's dreams, ascene reminiscent of FrancoGerman folklore. Mar, the Devil's mare, rises directly from the depths of Hell.

'The female figure lying in a contorted pose on the bed is presented as a creature tortured by nocturnal visions.

• Henry Fuseli, Nightmare, 1781. The Detroit Institute of Arts. 110

An old, disheveled-looking woman with a sullen expression, or a young, sometimes naked one; either may be surrounded by strange objects, books, or animals. Depictions of male witches are rarer.

Witches Witchcraft has always been thought to be closely linked to diabolical practices and the world of Satan. For centuries, it was believed that the powers of women who had been tried and found guilty of witchcraft resulted from a pact with the Devil. In Europe, the persecution of witches, who were generally women already on the margins of society, erupted at the end of the fifteenth century and continued into the seventeenth, when it spread to the Americas, and especially to New England. Female witches were believed to have the capacity to enthrall men, sending them to Hell; to cast spells on people and things alike; and to cause natural disasters, sudden illness, death, and even the much-feared sexual impotence. Male witches (warlocks) were also believed to exist, but since women were considered inferior, explanations were concocted about how they were driven to sorcery precisely because of their inferiority. Women were supposedly more gullible and inexperienced than men; females reputedly had a more inquisitive, impressionable, and meaner nature; and they were thought to be more inclined to revenge, more talkative, and more easily prone to despair.

Name The Italian word for "witch" (strega) derives from the Latin stria, a nocturnal bird of prey; the modem English word comes from the Middle English wieche. Definition Women or men (witches, sorcerers, warlocks) with special powers derived from their close proximity to the Devil Mace Europe and the Americas Time from the fifteenth to the se, emeenth century Diffusion of the Image From the sixteenth to the eighteenth century

4 trans Hals. Malle Babbe. the Haarlem Witch, f 62.9-3o. Berlin, Gemaldegalerie.

Ill

Witches The young witch's naked, attractive body alludes to the seductive powers of evil.

♦Hans Bahiung Grien, Mercuric Witches,152.3. Frankfurt, 5tadelsches Kunstintitut. 112

The she-goat and the he•goat were linked to the witches' sabbat rites; since antiquity, these animals have personified lewdness and lust.

The vine-leaf garland on the head of the old, white-haired witch suggests a link between medieval and modern witchcraft and the Dionystac rituals of the ancient pagan world.

• Salvator Rosa,The Witch, ca. 1646. Rome,Pinacoteca Capitolina.

A witch is poring over a hook of alchemical signs; she is in a cave, a favorite meeting place of witches because of its suggestiveness of the female sex.

Under her bare feet is a sheet of paper where a circle has been traced; all around are candles. The artist is Inte,p,ehag witchcraft through motifs derived from northern European art and alchemy. 113

Witches Flight, considered a superhuman power granted by the Devil, is a recurring motif in witchcraft.

♦Francisco Goya, The Witches' Flight, 1797-98. Madrid, Ministcrio dc la Gobcrnacion. 114

The dark background situates the scene at night. Having made a pact with the Devil, witches and warlocks have become creatures of darkness.

The donkey was one means of transportation that witches and warlocks used to travel to the sabbat.

Groups of witches or warlocks meeting in woods or isolated locales, usually at night. They are often depicted flying on brooms.

The Sabbat Belief in the sabbat, the great gathering of witches—and the concomitant spread of its iconography—grew tremendously in the Middle Ages, particularly in northern and central Europe but also in northern Italy, and was probably linked to the revival of pagan Dionysiac motifs, with undertones of fertility. Grottoes or large forest trees were sites, and one traveled there on foot or by cart, horse, or donkey. It was said, however, that witches and warlocks could fly owing to the powers they had gained by making a pact with the Devil, and so they did. They flew disguised as animals or riding benches or work tools, including brooms or sticks, after preparing them by spreading specially prepared ointments on the contact parts (including the soles of their feet). The ritual often began with kind of reverse baptism and involved strong emotional participation, ending in an orgiastic feast that lasted until the cock crowed.

Name Derived from Old French sabbat, in turn derived from the Latin sabbatum, as n was believed that these rituals took place on the Sabbath day

Definition the sabbat was the great gathering of witches. It was also called by other names: synagogue kirdorto (little barrel), stongbez2o, or boron gioco (good game).

Place Europe lime From the fifteenth to the seventeenth century Diffusion of the Image From the sixteenth century to the eighteenth century

.1 Giuseppe Pietro Bagerti, The I.Valnut Tree of Benevento, ca. tSzH. Turin, private collection.

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The Sabbat Flying witches and warlocks are recognizable as demonic beings by their horns and by the pitchfork. one of their typical attributes.

Half-naked witches are borne through the air by animal monsters that recall the dragon of the Apocalypse.

The lady and her maidservant reach the sabbat not on font, in a cart, or on a flying broomstick, hut riding grotesque animals and surrounded by a similar menagerie.

• Antoine-Francuis Saint-Aubert, Arrival at the Sabbat and Homage to the Devil, eighteenth century. Cumbrai, Museedes Beaux-Arts. 116

Child abuse was one of the crimes that the witches were suspected of committing during their sabbats.

• FranciscoGoya,Sabbat, 1797-98. Madrid, Museo Lamm Galdiano.

Flocks of bats fly in T h e he•goat, with its heavy demonic and the night toward the l a s c i v i o u s connotations, leads the sabbat sabbat. a n d rules over it: the garland of vine leaves atop its horns recalls the ancient orgiastic rituals in honor of the pagan god Dionysos.

The old witch offering a skeletal child to the Devil disguised as a be-goat is the archet>pal witch image that has survived in the modern imagination. 117

A rare theme, only exceptionally portrayed as an independent motif. Some elements of the Catholic Mass are recognizable, though twisted and desecrated.

The Black Mass Definition A sacrilmious Mass exalting the worship of Satan Characteristics Distortion of nature and of the liturgy of the Catholic Mass Diffusion of the Image A rare theme with no known detailed portrayals of the black Mass ritual, considered the urban equivalent of the more ancient sahhat. Representations of sacrilegious Masses do exist, hut the intent is a strong criticism of the Church, rather than she worship of Satan.

▶Hieronymus Bosch, The Temptations of Saint Anthony idetail 1, 1505-6. Lisbon, Muscu Nacional de Attc Amiga.

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The black Mass, linked to the cult of Satan, is a ritual that seems to have first surfaced about i 600 in Paris witch circles. It was rumored to be practiced by some well-known witches during the later seventeenth century, in particular by a female witch known as Voisin, who was close to the court of Louis XIV and burned at the stake in 168r. It was probably then that this satanic ritual was defined, and it has remained essentially unchanged. The ceremony, which some chronicles were reporting as early as the late sixteenth century, was conducted as an orgy and involved the perversion of the Catholic Mass. The body of a virgin served as an altar, religious signs and symbols were desecrated, and the name of Christ was cursed, while that of Satan was praised. In the reading of biblical passages, care was taken to replace occurrence of the word "good" with the word "evil."

The Black Mass A musician with a hog's head advances to receive the sacrilegious communion. The little owl On his head symbolizes heresy.

The necromancer standing to the side and wearing a cylindrical hat seemingly orchestrates all the visions.

• Hieronymus Busch, The Temptations of Saint Anthony, T5o5-6. Central panel of a triptych. Lisbon, Museu Nacional de Arte Antiga.

A black woman— another symbol of heresy—advances bearing a tray with a toad, symbol of witchcraft and lust; the reptile, in turn, holds an egg, suggesting the sacrilegious host.

Christ appears in a small chapel inside a ruined building; he points to the Crucifix, the true sacrifice, that the profane Mass nearby is desecrating.

Saint Anthony kneels; looking outward, he makes the sign of benediction with one hand while pointing with the other to the chapel where Christ appears.

Through the image of the officiating priest with the hog's head dressed in a torn chasuble from which his bowels are spilling out, the artist is denouncing the Church's corruption and decay. 119

THE PATH OF SALVATION Classical Antecedents (Hercules at the Crossroads) Psychomachy Overcoming Temptation Works of Mercy Jacob's Ladder The Ladder of Virtues The Trials of Job Prayer and Ecstasy Saints Who Battled the Devil

Raphacl, Saint George and the Dragon (derail), 15os. Paris, Music du Louvre.

Hercules, recognizable by his attributes of the lion skin and the club, stands between two women who point to two different roads: one is rocky and difficult, the other flat and shady.

Classical Antecedents (Hercules at the Crossroads The author of the tale of Hercules at the crossroads is the e e k Sophist Prodicus of Ceos (fifth to fourth century B.C.). h e story has been preserved, probably as part of the collection o r a i (The Hours), through Xenophon, who appreciated its

Definition G r Anallegorical T representation of thechoicebetween H Good and I'vil

Related Literature

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(MemoirsofSocrates), p e r s o n i f y i n g Virtue and Vice; they counsel the young hero to follow them along the path that each will suggest. Virtue, Cicero, De officio (On Obligations),1.35.118 u s u a l l y represented as a dignified, soberly dressed woman,

DiffusionoftheImage p o i n t s to a mostly rocky and uphill road. Ultimately, this Prevalent in classical antiquityandrevived p a t h will yield a reward since nothing can be achieved without especially in Renaissance andBaroqueart e f f o r t , a choice that may also be seen to signify self-control and discipline. Vice, personified as a scantily clad woman—often she is shown naked, sometimes elegantly dressed— points instead to an easy, level path strewn with all sorts of pleasures. Then the two women disappear, and the invincible hero chooses the

▶Benvenuto di Giovanni, Hercules at the Crossroads, uoa. Matrimonial disk. Venice, Ca' d'Oro. V

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Classical Antecedents (Hercules at the Crossroads) Virtue directs Hercules to a road that climbs up an arid mountain dotted with broken tree trunks and dead branches; its top, however, is green and level, and Pegasus, the winged horse, can be glimpsed in the meadow.

In keeping with the fable, Hercules is depicted as a young man who must make a choice. The hero's attribute is the club: according to the myth, he fashioned it out of an olive tree that he uprooted with his own hands.

The figure personifying Vice is seen from behind. She has also been identified with Venus, just as Virtue is sometimes personified by Minerva. She points the youth to a pleasant road she is strewing with flowers, on which are visible symbols of the arts that men cherish: poetry, theater, and music.

• Annibak Carracci, Hercules at the Crossroads, 1595. Naples, Capoclimontc.

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Classical Antecedents(Hercules at the Crossroads) The old man with the snake biting its tail—symbol of eternity; continuity of life, and totality of the universe- 4 a positive personification of Time.

Pegasus, the horse that is to carry Hercules to Heaven, stands atop the mountain peak reachable by climbing the steep, difficult road that Virtue has suggested; it becomes a symbol of fame that is within the hero's grasp. The winged figure with two trumpets is Fame: the two trumpets are for proclaiming both good and ill fame.

The letter Y. known as the Icttera Pythago rae (letter of Pythagoras), symbol of the crossroads in each person's life, is engraved on a rock above the head of the young Hercules, who is clad in a lion skin and carries a club.

Demurely dressed in a plain robe and with her head covered, Virtue points to a steep, uneven path rising through rocks.

♦Unknown artist, Hercules at the Crossroads (Portrait of Maximilian I of Bavaria Dressedas Hercules), ca. 1595. Engraving. 124

Time holding a scythe in one hand and a child by the other is a negative personification. He sits in Heaven above the allegory of Vice, an elegantly dressed hut partially exposed woman whose image recalls that of Lust and Pride.

Two female figures, each pulling at the soul, which is in the middle; in some representations, the two women face each other as if in a triumph, each with her own retinue.

Psychomachy The theme of psychomachy—the struggle of the Christian soul—was already present in Early Christian art, as artists borrowed classical pagan themes into which one could read new meanings in light of Christianity. The model was the illustration of the fable of Hercules at the crossroads by Prodicus of Ceos, known in antiquity as a metaphor for the crossroads of life and the need to choose. This and other representations from the Labors of Hercules became part of the iconography that acquired Christian allegorical meaning. Psychomachia is a fifth-century poem by the Christian author Prudentius, who conceived of man's struggle between vice and virtue as a fundamental moment for his salvation. The popularity enjoyed by this work during the Middle Ages helped to consolidate its iconography, including sculptural decoration on church capitals. The subject was revived during the Renaissance, and after seemingly fading away, the theme of the soul's struggle returned in the Baroque era as part of the allegorical imagery promoted by the Counter-Reformation.

Name From the Greek; it means "struggle of the soul.' Definition An allegorical representation of the choice between Good and Evil

Related literature Prudentius, Psychomachia (Contest of the Soul)

Characteristics In this syrrunetrical composition, the Christian soul is at the center, with the MO allegorical figures clear opposition to each other Diffusion of the Image It is more prevalent in the Middle Ages and the Renaissance than the Baroque period.

Master Robert, The Struggle between Vices and Virtues. Column capital, mid-twelfth century. Clermont-Ferrand, Notre Dame du Port.

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Psychomachy The figure of amaiden shooting an arrow underscores the antagonism and incompatibility of Virtue and Vice, who triumphantly confront each other, each with her own retinue.

Vice sits on a canopied throne atop an elegant cart pulled by large griffins, a compositim that recalls the rich Renaissance representations of triumphal processions. ♦Francesco di Giorgio Martini, Psychomachy, ca. 1470-71. Casson panel. Florence, Museo Stibbert. 126

The fruit-laden, leafy tree rising at the center of the composition replaces the traditional presence of the soul or a Christian standing at the crossroads in order to choose: it may suggest the Tree of Life, coveted reward of those who choose Virtue.

The personification of Virtue rides on a richly decorated cart. The symbolism of this theme is contaminated by that of the triumphs, which began to appear in the fourteenth century and which, during the Renaissance, became a popular way of exalting distinguished individuals.

Psychomachy Vice is represented in the guise of a child angel, probably inspired by figures of pagan crotcs; he strews flowers on his path and attracts the soul with riches.

The Christian soul is depicted as a child poised between Vice and Virtue. The composition is derived directly from the classical iconography of Hercules at the crossroads, and like I lercules, who will choose Virtue, the soul moves toward that path.

Christian virtue is reached by passing through the "narrow gate" described by the evangelists (Matthew 7:13; Luke 13:24) and here suggested by the instruments of the Passion of Christ that Virtue (her head circled by a halo) carries in a basket. ♦JoseAntolinez, The Christian Soul between Virtue and Vice, ca. zoo. Murcia, Musco dc la Murcia. 128

The representation of Jesus or a saint who succeeds in repelling the Devil or an image symbolizing the Devil, or the allegory of a sin.

Overcoming Temptation Recognizing that the Devil exists and will try to separate men from God and turn them toward himself implies recognizing the possibility of being exposed to temptation. Even Jesus submitted was tempted, three times, but he forced back the Devil and silenced his provocations with the power of the Word and of the scriptures. The moment of trial is a recurring theme in the lives of many saints. Presented as Satan's snare, it is an attempt to weaken or break the faith and the willpower of those who choose the path of salvation. There are edifying accounts of how hermit saints like Anthony, or redeemed sinners like Mary Magdalene, or youths "crazy" for God like Francis of Assisi or Thomas Aquinas, overcame the temptations of the flesh, of wealth, or of an indolent life. The saints' weapons are exemplified in the signs artists employed to transform these moralizing tales into iconographic themes: the power of the Word of God is symbolized by the book; mortification, by the thorn bush; and the tie binding man to God, by the sign of the cross.

Definition Man fights against the Devil's deceptions and conquers them. Biblical Sources Matthew 4:5-11; Mark 1:11; Luke 4:1-13 Related literature Jacobus tie Voragine, Golden Legend: lives of the saints Characteristics Except for Christ, who appears calm and self-assured, the victim is depicted as exhausted; symbols such as the cross or a book represent the Christian's weapons against temptation. Diffusion of the Image Very widespread geographically and chronologically.

4 Giambattista Tiepolo, The Temptations of Saint Anthony Abbot, Ca. I 72.0-55. Brera.

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Overcoming Temptation The tempting Devil is here depicted according to the earliest model that became popular in the Middle Ages: he is dark-skinned, wears a short skirt, and has animal traits, such as horns, tail, and webbed feet; instead of the pitchfork, he carries a hook, a frequent instrument of torture in the Middle Ages.

The book Jesus holds reverently in his hands in a ritual gesture (touching the book with the edge of his mantle and not with his hands) suggests that it contains the Word of God, the nourishment that man needs to drive back the temptations of the flesh, in accordance with the answer that Jesus himself gave to the Tempter: "Man shall not live by bread alone, but by every word that proceeds from the mouth of God" (Matthew 4;4).

The Devil points to three large stones: tempting Jesus, he asks him to turn them into loaves of bread. ♦Unknown artist, The First Temptation of Chnst, ca. 112.2.. Miniature from an illuminated psalter. Copenhagen, Der Kongelige Bibliotek. 130

For the third time, the Devil tempts Christ, this time with power. He offers him all the kingdoms of the earth, if he will fall down and worship him. Here pictured as a dark, winged figure, the Devil is the angel that rebelled against God out of pride, thereby forever losing his beauty. After Jesus refuses to worship the Devil, angels come and minister to him, signifying Christ's power and his victory over the Tempter.

• Duccio di Buoninscgna, The Temptation on the Mount, 1308—it. Predella panel from the Maestri altarpiece. New York, Frick Collection.

Jesus forcefully repels the Devil and his temptations by quoting a line from the scriptures: "You shall worship your God and have no other Gods but him" (Exodus ao). 131

Overcoming Temptation Kneeling on the steps of the Lateran Palace, Saint Francis and his friars receive the confirmation of their rule from Pope Innocent III.

Deep in the woods of Mount Alvernia, Saint Francis receives on his body the stigmata, proof of arises love; they are the same wounds that Jesus suffered on the cross.

According to a late testimony transmitted by Michele Bernardi, Saint Francis threw himself into a nearby rosebush to escape the temptation; he hurt himself but from the blood of his wounds sprang roses, and the bush lost its thorns.

• ll Fiamtnenghino tithe Fleming] Giovanni Mauro della Rovere), The Temptations of Saint Francis of Assisi, co. r 6o5-15. Boffalora, Parish Church (offsite storage rooms of the firera).

The demonic Tempter, here in semihuman form but with horns, bat's wings, and claws on feet and hands, has conjured up the image of a seemingly naked woman hiding in the bushes, thus assailing the saint with the temptation of the flesh.

According to the little Flowers of Saint Francis (XXIV), a woman with a lovely body but 'a filthy soul" tempted Saint Francis during his journey to visit the sultan of Egypt. A figure appears in the dour, perhaps suggesting another passage from Franciscan sources (Second Life R.2:1 t7). in which a friar witnesses the saint's struggle against temptation.

Feigning acceptance of the woman's sinful offer, the saint undresses and leaps into a fire, inviting the woman to follow him. He survives, miraculously unscathed; having overcome the temptation, he leads the woman to conversion.

This rendering of Saint Francis does not resemble at all the description in his biographies: the muscular youth depicted here recalls the soldier and knight that Francis had dreamed of becoming, as if he had overcome temptation through sheer strength and determination.

• Simon Votket, Vie Temptations of SaintFrancis, 1653. Rome, San Lorenzo in Lucina.

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Overcoming Temptation Defeated, the Devil can no longer approach Mary Magdalene, who has decided to no longer listen to his voice.

There are many depictions of saints who fight temptation with the help of angels. This angel is almost naked, like a wrestler, and chases the Devil with a club.

The sumptuous garments and jewels— signs of earthly riches scattered on the floor—show how the saint has rejected a dissolute, sinful life and escaped the clutches of temptation. 134

The small jar is one of Mary Magdalene's iconographic attributes: she carried the ointment jar to the sepulchre where she was the first to receive the announcement of the Resurrection.

Guido Cagnacci, Conversion of the Magdalene, i 66a-6i. Pasadena {California), Norton Simon Museum.

Hoping to thwart his vocation, the family of Saint Thomas Aquinas confined him to the Roccasecca family castle and sent a woman to tempt him.

Recognizing that the woman was a temptation by the Devil, Thomas drove her away by drawing the sign of the cross on the wall with a firebrand.

Young Thomas has single-handedly defeated temptation; almost as a reward for overcoming such a difficult trial, the angels who have come to comfort him also brought a chastity belt.

♦Diego Velazquez, The Temptations of SaintThomasAquinas, ca. 1631. Orihuela, Munro Diocesan° deArm Sacro.

Wearing the white habit and black cape of the order of Saint Dominic, the young Thomas has fallen on his knees, exhausted from his victorious struggle to resist and drive away the temptation.

The books lying on the floor next to a stool holding an inkpot are attributes of the scholarly saint. 135

The most common image is that of seven separate or sequential panels depicting the Seven Acts of Mercy. The watchful image of Christ or the Virgin may also be included.

Works of Mercy Definition According to the Gospel, the seven acts of charity leading to salvation Biblical Source Matthew 25:34-36 Diffusion of the Image Not very frequent; even rarer are the representations of the spiritual works of mercy.

▶Master of Alkmaar, The Seven Works of Merry Feeding the Hungry, I sop. Amsterdam,

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Inspired by chapter z5 of the Gospel of Matthew, where the words of Jesus with respect to Judgment Day are reported—"I was hungry and you gave me food, I was thirsty and you gave me drink, I was a stranger and you welcomed me, I was naked and you clothed me, I was sick and you visited me, I was in prison and you came to me"— the early Church fathers identified Seven Acts of Mercy, the works by which faith comes alive according to Catholic Christian doctrine. This subject was limited to a few cycles created north of the Italian Alps and to cycles commissioned by charitable institutions, such as hospitals or convents of religious orders dedicated to works of mercy. The painting that Caravaggio created for the No Monte della Misericordia of Naples (see p. 138) is unique in conception and execution because it places all Seven Acts, based on the biblical and hagiographic references, within a single illusionistic space that at first glance appears to describe ascene from everyday life.

Works of Mercy

Above B e l o w ♦Master of Alkmaar, The Seven G i v i n g Drink to the Thirsty W e l c o m i n g the Pilgrims Works of Mercy, iso4. Amsterdam, C l o t h i n g the Naked V i s i t i n g the Sick Rijksmuscum. B u r y i n g the Deid V i s i t i n g the Prisoners

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Works of Mercy Two circling angels escort the Virgin with a child, symbol of the Catholic Church and the means to salvation, while acts of mercy are being performed.

Caravaggio is the only painter who illustrated the acts of Feeding the Hungry and Visiting the Prisoners by drawing on caritas roman (Roman charity), an episode about a man sentenced to die in jail of starvation. He was visited by his young daughter who bad rust given birth; prohibited from bringing food into the iad, she gave her father her01171 breast milk. an act that moved the judges to mercy.

Giving drink to the thirsty: Samson drinks from the jawbones of a donkey.

Welcoming the strangers: a host directs pilgrims to lodging.

ACaravaggio,SevenWorks of Mercy, 1607.Naples.. Pinacoteca del Pio Monte della Misericordia. 138

Burying the dead: the artist has depicted a corpse whose feet are visible, carried by a man who seems to be lost in prayer.

Clothing the naked: Saint Martin of Tours gives his cloak to a beggar.

A man sleeping on the ground; next to him is a ladder on which angels ascend and descend; on top of the ladder the• image of God or of heavenly Paradise may appear.

Jacob's Ladder The iconography of Jacob's dream is rooted in the Genesis narrative. At dusk, the patriarch stopped to sleep at a place called Luz; he dreamed of a ladder that reached from earth to Heaven, with angels ascending and descending its steps. In the dream, God promised Jacob the land on which he was lying, innumerable descendants, and divine protection for them and himself. Upon rising in the morning, Jacob recognized that place as a house of God and a door to Heaven. He set up as a pillar the stone on which he had slept, and called the spot BethEl, "house of God." The representation of Jacob's ladder, of the vision of God and his kingdom, was chosen because the ladder could be an image of the path to Heaven through strict self-discipline. Starting with Honorius of Autun (twelfth century) and followed by the Abbess Herrade of Landsberg, the fifteen steps of Jacob's ladder in the "Garden of Delights" came to symbolize the Virtues, with the ascending angels symbolizing the active life and the descending ones the contemplative one.

Definition Aparticular vision of the ascent to God Biblical Sourer Genesis z8: Diffusion of the Image Mostly in cycles illustrating the Bible

saSalaam Master, Peres Ladder, 1395—L400. Miniature from the Bible of King Wenceslas IV Vienna, osterreichische Nationa

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Jacob's Ladder By the eighteenth centurx the medieval conception of the ladder with fifteen steps symbolic of the Virtues, as dreamed by Jacob, had been lost, but the angels descending it still represented the contemplative life. The figures of the ascending angels recall the medieval commentaries which, starting with Honorius of Autun, saw in them a representation of the active

• William Blake, Jacobi Ladder, ca. 1790. London, British Library. 140

Jacob sleeping on a rock prefigures Saint John the Evangelist sleeping on Jesus' shoulder at the Last Supper and seeing the secrets of Heaven.

A ladder placed between Heaven and earth, with people climbing it or getting ready to climb; in some cases, the image of Christ is at the top.

The Ladder of Virtues The Church fathers readily accepted the image of Jacob's ladder as an exercise in virtue that elevates the soul to God, and they wrote extensively about it. Gregory of Nyssa (fourth century), commenting on the Gospel of the Beatitudes, reordered the Beatitudes sequentially, explaining them through the image of the Ladder of Virtues. Saint Augustine described a ladder leading to God on which the four cardinal virtues (Justice, Prudence, Temperance, and Fortitude) escort the soul on its path of ascesis toward bliss: the first five steps—fear of God, piety, knowledge, fortitude, and prudence—are gifts of the Holy Spirit; the last two, purification of the heart and wisdom, enable the soul to prepare for communion with God and final perfection. Also significant are the writings of John Climacus (late sixth to early seventh century), who received his name from his work entitled The Ladder of Paradise (climax in Greek means ladder), where the image of the Ladder of Virtues expresses one path of ascent to God. There, Christ as mediator between God and man is depicted as the very ladder that joins Heaven and earth.

Definition Derived from Jacob's laddey a symbolic element of the union between Heaven and earth Biblical Source Genesis tS: i z

Related literature Gregory of Nyssa, Homilies on the Beatitudes; Saint Augustine, The Ladder of Virtues; John Climacus, .Scala paradisi The Ladder of Paradise): Saint Bernard, De gradibus humilitatis et superbiae (Of Degrees of Humility and Pride/

Diffusion of the Image Frequent in medieval allegorical representations: also present during the Renaissance

4 Allegorical Ladder of Saint John Climacus, late twelfth century. Icon. Sinai, Monastery of Saint Catherine.

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The Ladder of Virtues Crates throws his riches into the sea: gold and jewels have become useless and do not represent true wealth fur those who have climbed the path of Virtue.

The path of Virtue, though narrow, climbing, and difficult, leads the virtuous man to salvation and wisdom. For this reason, he is here welcomed by the ancient Greek philosophers Crates and Socrates and by the allegory of Knowledge.

♦Pinrurieehio, La Via della Virhi, x5os. Pavementmosaic. Siena, cathedral. 142

Fortune is precariously poised with one foot resting on a sphere on dry land and the other on a boat that is already sailing. The woman holds a slender horn of plenty with her right hand and a raised sail with her left, since the boat's mast is broken. According to Cesare Ripa's Iconologia (Moral Emblems), broken instruments signify bad luck or an unhappy outcome.

Surrounded by angels, God the Father welcomes the faithful who have climbed the Ladder of Virtues to Heaven; the chairs on either side of him are inscribed Sublimity and Delectation.

The ladder leading to Heaven stands on the mount of the Virtues on top of a cross-shaped platform, symbol of Faith. According to Saint Bernard of Clairvaux, the steps of the ladder are degrees of Monility and lead to Charity, to the encounter with God.

The collaboration of Grace and free Will brings about good and meritorious acts.

Pride, depicted asa woman riding a peacock, invites the soul to climb down the ladder of Hell and into the valley of Vice.

According to Byzantine iconography; Satan, jaws agape, waits in the pit of Hell to devour the damned.

♦Unknown artist, The Ladder of Heaven and Hell according to the Teachings of Saint Bernard, I 58z. Print. 143

Depicted as an old man stripped of his robe and covered with sores, job is the protagonist of several narratives; three friends and his wife are often shown tormenting him.

The Trials of Job Biblical Source Book of Job Related literature Testament of Job lapocryphal) Characteristics A proverbial example of patience Diffusion of the linage Generally present in cycles representing biblical stories; rarely shown alone, but more prevalent starting in the fifteenth century

▶Albrecht Darer, Job and His Wife, ca. r so4. Frankfurt. Stadelsches Kunstinstitut.

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A biblical character who became known as a model of holiness and patience, Job lived in Uz, a land identified as the region between Idumea (biblical Edom) and Arabia. Job was an extremely pious man and very wealthy, with many children, animals, and slaves. At the apex of wealth and happiness, he was suddenly struck by a long series of afflictions that robbed him of all his possessions and of his children. Even after an illness covered him with sores, he never lost heart or complained to God, not even when his wife derided him. Banished from his own home, he was forced to spend his days in a dungpit. There, he received the visit of three friends who had come to comfort him. Trying to understand the reasons for his woes, they concluded that Job must have sinned to warrant these troubles. But the voice of God, who had allowed Satan to test Job's faith, proclaimed his innocence and restored Job to his original condition, heaping on him twice as much wealth as he had previously enjoyed.

The Trials of Job A court of six angels escorts the mandorla (an almond-shaped aureole), painted in the colors of the rainbow, symbol of God's covenant with man: the angels are rendered generically without specific attributes. God the Father, who has visibly manifested himself through Ins Son's incarnation, is represented according to Christological iconography

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Flying, the 1)evil approaches God: the colloquy leads to the pact that will allow fob, a just man, to he tested in his faith in God through many trials (fob r:8-12). ♦Bartok, di Fredi, The Murder of lob's Servants (detail), 1367. Fresco. SanGimignano, cathedral.

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The Trials of Job According to the prologue to the book of Job, "when the days of the feast had run their course," Job would send for his seven sons and three daughters and offer purification rituals (Job r:3-).

God's pact with the Devil is at the root of all of Job's trials. Here one of the demons is portrayed as a dark-skinned hideous creature conversing with a Christlike figure.

The three camels and the many other animals suggest Job's wealth.

After losing his children and his assets, Job falls gravely ill. His wife urges him to renounce goodness, curse God far this last trial, and put all of it behind by letting himself die.

The agony of Job's illness suggests the Devil's ultimate power over this man. Depicted asa monster with a dreadful face and mouths all over his body the Devil and his monstrous retinue rage against Job.

The musicians called to soothe Job's suffering are not in the Bible, but they are in the apocryphal Legend of Job. • Master of the Legend of Saint Catherine and Master of the Legend of Saint Barbara,Scenes from the Life of fob, tilfto—go. Cologne, Wallraf-Richartz-Museum. 146

Job's wife questions his readiness to accept God's will: she urges him to curse God for this last trial and to become free by letting himself die.

Job's body is thin and worn out, but there are no traces of sores to suggest the leprosy that "afflicted Job with loathsome sores from the sole of his foot to the crown of his head" (Job 2:7).

The only visible object in this minimal composition is a broken bowl: according to the biblical text, Job took a piece of crockery to scratch his sores.

• Georges de La Tour, Job and His Wife, 1631-3s. Epinal, Muscle Departcmental d'Art Ancicn ct Contemporain. 147

Praying saints, sometimes shown kneeling or with clasped bands; when represented in ecstasy, they express pure rapture, mental transport toward God, and indifference to surrounding reality.

Prayer and Ecstasy Definition A dialog.. with God containing knowledge, joy, thanksgiving, praise, and supplication Biblical Source Ephesians t 3—I El Related Literature Jacobus de Voragine, Golden Legend; Lives of the saints Characteristics Prayer expresses the personal bond between the believer and God; public prayer is represented less frequently. Diffusion of the Image The representation of saints, the blessed, or the faithful in the act of praying or in ecstasy reached its apex after the Council of Trent, when edifying art was sought to elevate the spirit as much as possible.

▶ Gian Lorenzo &mini, The Ecstasy ofSarnt Theresa, 1644—f c. Rome, Santa Maria della Vittoria.

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Prayer, which may be praise, thanksgiving, or supplication, offers the individual the possibility of maintaining constant contact with God. Since the period of the Old Testament, prayer has been offered by the people of God as a special plea within the broader quest for salvation. Jesus himself prayed abundantly and taught his disciples how to pray, stressing the quality of the prayer more than the quantity (Matthew 7:21). Saint Paul, in his Letter to the Ephesians, invites them to constant prayer after exhorting them to dress in God's armor so that they might be able to remain standing after overcoming all trials. "He who prays has nothing to fear" is the message cultivated by the exemplary figures of saints who, through deep, constant, and passionate prayer, reached the mystical experience of ecstasy. The power of such a sublime experience of the spirit, particularly because it takes place in the depths of the soul, has brought about extraordinary visions and elevations of the body that otherwise cannot be unexplained.

Prayer and Ecstasy The stole worn by one of the angels suggests the function of a deacon, that is, one serving God.

With one hand the angel points to Heaven, true center of the saint's vision: through Saint Paul's deep prayer, his body as well as his soul rises to Heaven.

The saint opens his arms in a gesture of wonder and acceptance of the total experience of elevation from a deep, ecstasy -producing prayer.

• Nicolas Poussin, Saint Paul in Ecstasy, 165o.Paris.,Muscle du louvre.

The book is the main attribute of the apostle. It suggests, in addition to the scriptures, the marry• letters that he wrote to the first Christian communities. The sword, too, is his attribute, since it was the instrument of his execution. 149

Prayer and Ecstasy As reported in the account of her martyrdom, Saint Cecilia enjoys a vision of a choir of angels in Heaven during a moment of ecstasy.

Recognizable by the small ointment jar she carries, Mary Magdalene, in sacred conversation (mystical colloquy) with Saint Cecilia, participates in her ecstasy.

A pensive Saint Paul stares at the musical instruments; in his hand he holds a folded parchment, a reference to the letters he wrote to the first Christian communities, and the sword that made him a martyr.

• Raphael, The Ecstasy of Saint Cecilia, 114. Bologna, Pinacoteca Nazionale.

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The still life with musical instruments (here broken because they are symbols of vanity) is one of Saint Cecilia's attributes, for it is said that on the day of her wedding to a pagan, when she devoted herself to Christ in her heart, she heard music playing.

The eagle resting on a book is an attribute of Saint John the Evangelist; standing in the background, he is exchanging a look with the bishop Saint Augustine.

The saint is about to strike his breast with a stone to feel physical pain for the sin he has committed and to disparage the body for the sake of the soul.

in the desert, Saint Jerome wears the habit of the penitent, which identifies him as a hermit; actually, he is rarely depicted in a desert landscape.

Books often appear next to Saint Jerome in his retreat, suggesting a life of study that, among other things, produced the Vulgate, the unified version of the Bible translated from Greek into Latin.

A tame lion is often pictured alongside the saint. It recalls an event in the saint's life, as reported in the Golden Legend: he healed a lion suffering from a thorn in its paw and the animal became his loyal friend.

Beads strung in a circle were already usedas a prayer aid by Eastern anchorites in the fourth century.

♦Piero della Francesca, Saint Jerome, 145o. Berlin, Getnaldegaleric.

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Prayer and Ecstasy Saint Gregory realized that one of his monks doubted the real presence of Christ in the consecrated bread and asked the Lord to send him a sign.

During the consecration, Saint Gregory removes his tiara, the papal headdress in the shape of three superimposed crowns that symbolize the father of kings and princes, the ruler of the world, and the vicar of Christ.

♦Adrien lsenbrandt, The Mass of Saint Gregory, i 5 to. Los Angeles, J. Paul Getty Museum. 152

Christ appeared to them removed from the cross and standing in the tomb; he is shown as the Man of Sorrows, but his hands are raised and his blood is pouring into a chalice.

A child angel carries the miter which Saint Bernard refused to wear: it signifies the saint's refusal to be a bishop because he believed himself unworthy of the office.

• II Grechetto (Giovanni Benedetto Castiglione), Christ on the Cross Embraces Saint Bernard, after1642.Genoa. Sampierdarena, Santa Maria della Cella e San Martino,

In distinctive post-Tridentine Council iconography, Christ on the cross embraces Saint Bernard and offers him the blood that pours from the wound in his side.

The Devil in chains, symbol of victory over temptation, is part of the iconography of Saint Bernard.

Wearing the white habit of a Cistercian monk, a kneeling Saint Bernard embraces Christ on the cross.

The angels surrounding God are frequently included in representations of ecstasy. 153

Achild angel carries the miter which Saint Bernard refused to wear: it signifies the saint's refusal to be a bishopbecause he believed himself unworthy of the office.

♦II Grechetto (Giovanni BenedettoCastiglione), Christ onthe CrossEmbraces Saint Bernard, after r642. Genoa, Sampierdarena,Santa Maria della Cella eSan Martino.

In distinctive post-Tridentine Council iconography, Christ on the cross embraces Saint Bernard and offers him the blood that pours from the wound in his side.

The Devil in Wearing the chains, symbol white habit of a of victory over Cistercian monk, temptation, is part a kneeling Saint of the iconography Bernard embraces of Saint Bernard. Christ on the cross.

The angels surrounding God are frequently, included in representations of ecstasy. 153

Prayer and Ecstasy The poverty of the saint from Assisi is caught realistically in the quick brushstrokes that outline the patched habit.

♦Francesco Cairo, Saint Francis in Ecstasy, x6x6-2o. Milan, Castello Sforcesco, Civiche Raccolte d'Arte. 154

The sunken face, enhanced by high cheekbones, closed eyes, and half-closed mouth, expresses the strong tension of passionate prayer.

The saint's hands are clasped, the fingers intertwined, a sign of a tormented, sorrowful prayer. A blade of light illuminates the saint's slightly long nails, signifying that the care of the soul has priority over that of the body.

Saint Joseph of Cupertino, a seventeenth-century Franciscan friar, experienced levitation during ecstasy with such frequency that it attracted the attention of the Inquisition. Found innocent, Saint Joseph steered many in God's direction.

The apparition of the Virgin of the Immaculate Conception standing among the clouds, surrounded by putti, and with her feet resting on the moon, causes the saint to be ecstatically transported.

The Lutheran duke of Brunswick converted to Catholicism after twice witnessing the levitating ecstasies of Saint Joseph of Cupertino.

♦Pietro Costanzi, Saint Joseph of Cupertino in Ecstasy, eighteenth century. Amelia, cathedral. Fc;

The image of a saint with a dragon (representing the Devil and evil temptations), with whom the saint battles or which he or she tames, usually through a blessing.

Saints Who Battled the Devil Definition The struggle against evil, traditionally represented by the Devil. Biblical Source Revelation Related Literature Acts of the Apostles; Jacobus do Voraginc. Golden Legend; Lives of the saints Characteristics The Devil battles and assaults the saints, usually under the guise of a dragon. Particular beliefs The dragon can kill, not only with its strength hut also with its poisonous breath Diffusion of the Image Widespread during the Middle Ages and the Renaissance; in later centuries it is limited to the revival of particular iconographic attributes.

▶Lieven van Lathem, Saint Margaret, 1469. Miniature from the Prayer Book of Charles the Bold. Los Angeles, J. Paul Getty Museum.

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Hagiographic sources often dwell on the challenges encountered by the saints who succeeded in overcoming the Devil's traps. These early laudatory biographies describe how the Devil, often disguised as a dragon, laid snares, frightening entire pagan populations which, upon the defeat of the beast, converted to Christianity. The apostles Philip and Matthew confronted wild and poisonous dragons, as did many of the first martyrs and saints. Among them, the most celebrated is George, a historical figure; the account of the dragon is a literary device, as it was for Pope Sylvester. Saints Martha (sister of Lazarus), Margaret of Antioch, and Mary Magdalene also defeated dragons, the latter by blessing it and sprinkling it with holy water. Other saints, including the Archangel Michael, confronted the cunning and spiteful presence of the Devil and are depicted with him, a clear symbol of their power to defeat temptation. According to Revelation, Saint Michael will defeat the monstrous beast.

Saints Who Battled the Devil The ancient Romans considered the wolf and the woodpecker (here at the feet of the statue) animals sacred to Mars, god of war, who is depicted in armor.

The apparition of Christ with the cross supports and blesses Philip's work: after defeating the dragon, the saint restored to life those who had been felled by the poisonous breath of the demonic animal.

Atop the large niche of the statue of Mars are two winged Victories defeating the false gods. The inscription at the feet of the one on the left reads "EX•tt•TRI" while the one on the right reads "o•M•vlCT"; victory over the idols is in the hands of the triune God.

Poisonous vapors exhaled by the dragon killed many of those present.

• Filippo Lippi, Philip the Apostle in the Temple of Mars, 1487-15os. Fresco. Florence, Santa Maria Novella.

The Golden legend narrates how the Apostle Philip was captured in Scythia by a band of pagans. They brought him to the temple of Mars and tried to force him to make sacrifices to the statue of the god.

The small hideous dragon, symbol of the Devil, appeared suddenly from the base of the statue of Mars and killed many with its lethal breath.

The Devil's first victim was the son of the priest who was preparing a sacrifice near the altar. 157

Saints Who Battled the Devil

According to the apocryphal Apostolic Memoirs of Abdias, Saint Matthew traveled to Ethiopia to preach. After performing several miracles and many conversions and baptisms, he confronted tu.o dragons and defeated them by reciting the profession of the faith.

Two sorcerers, Zaroen and Arfaxat, challenged Saint Matthew: each one brought him a dragon that spurted fire from the mouth and exhaled lethal, sulfurous vapors.

Brought to Saint Matthew's feet, the dragons fell asleep and only the apostle could awaken them. Tamed, the beasts left the country innocuously The saint explained to the local people that they must free themselves from the true dragon, which is the Devil.

• Gabriel Maelesslcirchcr, Miracle of Saint Matthew Taming the Dragons, 1478. Madrid, Musa" Thyssen-Bomcmisza. 158

Beseeched by the population, Martha approaches the dragon and tames it by sprinkling it with holy water and showing it the cross.

In the Golden Legend, Jacobus de Voragine described in detail the dragon that Martha had tamed and brought to the local population so that they might kill it with stones. The beast, called Tarascus, was the offspring of the dreadful serpents Leviathan and Onachus, and had come from the distant Sea of Galilee. Half snake and half mammal, bigger than an ox and longer than a horse, with coils and sharp swordlike teeth, the beast hid in the river from where it sank passing boats and killed the passengers.

• Jacobello del Fiore, Saint Martha, first half of the fifteenth century. Venice,San Giovanni in Rragora. 159

Saints Who Battled the Devil The feats of Saint George, a knight from Cappadocia, are the product of medieval legends. Here he rides a horse to defeat an insatiable dragon.

• Tinrorctto (Jacopo Robusti), Saint George and the Dragon, ca. I 5 6o. St. Petersburg, Hermitage. 160

The walls represent the town that lived in terror of the ravenous beast, which demanded victims in exchange for sparing the townspeople.

Before the dragon could devour its victim, Saint George attacked the creature and tamed it by threatening it with the sword. He tied the beast to a leash attached to the princess's waist and took it to the town, where he killed it. As a result, the king and all the townspeople were converted.

The king's daughter had been selected to be the dragon's next victim. According to the legend, when Saint George arrived, the princess was waiting for the dragon by the shores of a lake (which is usually not represented).

After suffering extensive torture in jail, the young woman prayed to God that he might show her the enemy that she was fighting.

The prefect Olybrius had thrown the ravishing Margaret in jail. He was in love with her but could not bear that she was a Christian; he tried to force her to abjure her faith.

In jail, Margaret was visited by a many-headed dragon; according to Jacobus de Voragine, she overpowered it with the sign of the cross.

According to the Golden Legend, the Devil appeared to Margaret twice, the second time in human guise, but she unmasked him, confronted him, threw him to the floor, and forced him to reveal why he tormented the Christians.

• Altar frontal of Saint Margaret of Vilaseca idetaili, i i6o—yo. Vic, Musco Episcopal. 161

Saints Who Battled the Devil Upon the conversion of Emperor Constantine, a dragon appeared in a very deep pit (there were 15o steps to the bottom) and began to kill many people with its vapors.

Counseled by Saint Peter, who had appeared to him, Saint Sylvester tied the dragon's snout and sealed it with a ring decorated with a cross as he pronounced the following formula: "Jesus Christ, born of a Virgin, crucified and buried, was born again and sits at the right of the Father; he will come one day to fudge the living and the dead. You, Satan, shall wait for his coming in this pirr

• Maso di Banco, Saint Sylvester Tames the Dragon, 1337. Fresco. Florence, Basilica di Santa Croce, Cappella di San Silvestro. 162

Two wizards, who had followed Sylvester to see whether he had the boldness to confront the dragon, lay on the ground, asphyxiated by the beast's pestilential breath. The pope took them outside and resuscitated them, Causing them to convert.

The handsome crosier, painted in perspective, reminds the viewer Qf the many years when Bernard, here depicted wearing the Carthusian habit, was abbot of the abbey of Clairvaux.

The book represents the many mystical writings of the saint.

• Marcell° Venusti, Saint Bernard Crushes the Devil, 1563-64. Vatican Can.. Pinacoteca.

The chained demon, crushed under Bernard's feet, refers to the saint's power to overcome all demonic temptations in his ongoing struggle against evil.

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Saints Who Battled the Devil

Saint Augustine is portrayed in his bishop's attire; the crosier identifies him as a shepherd of souls.

According to the Golden Legend, the book that the Devil shows to Saint Augustine contained all the vices and failures of men: on the saint's page was written his failure to recite the cornpline prayer.

• Michael Pacher, The Devil Holds the Missal for Saint Augustine, ca. 1480. Detail of the Fathers of the Church altarpiece. Munich, Mte Pinakothek.

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The imaginative artist has drawn the Devil with anthropomorphic features (the slim arms and part of his chest) and bestial ones, such as the goatish hooves, tail, and deer's antlers. These and other traits, especially the dragon's wings and amphibian scales, are typical of medieval iconography. The small flames shooting out of his large ears and a second face on his lower cheeks add further fiendish details.

The Devil is enraged because Saint Augustine, who had prayed for forgiveness of his sin of omission, has caused his page to be erased from the Book of Sins.

To subjugate the Devil, Saint Michael uses as his weapon the cross, symbol of the Redemption.

Commander of the heavenly cohorts, the archangel is here depicted wearing a full suit of armor; it is his most popular image, derived from the book of Revelation.

The Evil One, depicted with claws, small and spiny dragon's wings, horns, and pointed ears, appears in the irreverent act of breaking wind, as he coils his long serpentine tail around Michael's leg.

♦Francesco Pagano, Archangel Michael Defeating the Devil, second half of the fifteenth century. Panel from a Saint Michael polyptych. Naples, Congrega dci Santi Michele e Omohono.

The Apocalypse dragon has turned into the Devil: this image, with its semihuman traits, underscores his wickedness. 165

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THE LAST DAYS: JUDGMENT AND REALITY Ars moriendi Death The Meeting of the Three Living and the Three Dead Macabre Dance The Triumph of Death Vanity of Vanities Man Is a Bubble The Particular Judgment The Horsemen of the Apocalypse The Resurrection of the Flesh The Universal Judgment The Mystical Harvest Psychostasis The Damned Souls in Purgatory The Righteous

.11Nlichelangelo, Christ the Judge and the Madonna, t 537-41. Detail of The last Judgment. Fresco. Vatican City, Sistine Chapel.

The moment of death with the dying person surrounded by priest and family; often an allegory of death is included, with an angel and a demon fighting for the soul.

Ars moriendi Name From the Latin, meaning "the art of dying" Related Literature Manuals for priests and ministers on the art of dying Characteristics Represents the moment of passing away Diffusion of the Image Especially widespread in the fifteenth and sixteenth centuries; in later centuries it was more prevalent in popular prints than in paintings.

▶Death of the Rich Man. 1 * 2 5 - 4 0 . C011.111111

Vezelay, Sainte Madeleine.

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The art of dying, ars moriendi, is an iconographic theme linked to the Christian vision of death as it developed at the close of the Middle Ages. Its most important moment was the final assessment: is the soul worthy of salvation or fated to eternal damnation? The "art of dying" was once the province of special texts written for the priests who assisted the dying; these texts paid particular attention to the five temptations of the last hour: doubt about one's faith, despair for one's sins, attachment to earthly possessions, despair for one's suffering, and pride in one's virtues. By the fourteenth century, these texts were no longer reserved for the exclusive use of the clergy and began to be complemented by woodcut illustrations. During the Renaissance, renowned preachers like Girolamo Savonarola and scholars like Erasmus of Rotterdam expanded this theme, and the focus gradually shifted from the moment of passing to a consideration of a life spent well or badly.

Ars moriendi Celebration of the sacrament of ordination.

Celebration of , 5 -1 the sacrament I t , . of marriage. iiik,

Flying angels devoutly assist at the administration of the sacraments.

The candle is present because the last rites were often followed by the viaticum (the last Holy Communion); it also recalls the sacrament of baptism (Christ being the light) and is generally a sacred sign for a sacred ritual.

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For anointing the moribund with holy oil, the priest may have used a stylus so as not to grease his hands. The anointing was in the form of the cross, and the oil was cleaned with tow.

Awoman reads devotional prayers: this was not a requirement because the priest pronounced the proper formulas during each act of anointing.

• Roger van der Weyden, Anointing the Sick, t445-50. Detail of the Seven Sacramentsaltarpiece. Antwerp, Koninklijk Museum root- Schone Kunsten.

It was customary for only one priest to administer the last rites, but in the presence of other priests, in keeping with the exhortation in the letter of James: "Is any among you sick? Let him call for the elders of the church" (5:14). 169

Ars moriendi

The crucifix from which issues a beam of light expresses the possibility of salvation for aman even on the point of death; the miser does look at it, though his gestures are still all focused ore his wealth.

The Devil lays his last ambush from the canopy of the miser's bed, ready to snatch the soul that rejects salvation.

Death is drawn as a skeleton shabbily covered with a sheet: holding an arrow, shepeeks from behind the door, poised to strike her victim.

In a last, unrepentant gesture, the miser stretches his hands to grasp a bag of money offered by a devil.

The guardian angel does all he can to plead on behalf of the dying num, trying to bring his soul to Christ, but the man's refusal is explicit as he turns his back on the angel.

The image of the miser mirrors the life he led until his last day; always bent on accumulating wealth, advised by diabolical characters. He conceals his money while only perfunctorily hating a rosary in his hand.

AHieronymus Bosch, Death of the Miser, ca. 149o. Washington, D.C., National Gallery of Art. 170

Several demonic monsters (the first in Goya's art) hover around the unrepentant dying man's bed; they personify the evil that he seemingly will not renounce.

From a large window, light pours into the shadowy room and illuminates the side of the room where the saint stands, suggesting the light of divine salvation.

The crucifix is the promise of salvation and Redemption: the blood that seemingly flows out of Jesus' wounds underscores the power of his sacrifice.

Saint Francis Borgia is here depicted wearing the Jesuit habit; he entered the order in 1550.

♦Francisco Goya, Saint Francis Borgia Attends an Unrepentant Dying Man, '788. Valencia, cathedral.

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A decaying body or a skeleton, sometimes draped in a shroud or crowned; it might hold a scythe or a bow and arrows; sometimes the body is shown carrying a coffin.

Death Definition The endpoint of life; for believers, the passing on to eternal life Characteristics The destiny of all living beings, with no possibility of returning to life on earth Diffusion of the Image This motif, consolidated in the early fourteenth century, gradually spread to all of Europe and was popular until the eighteenth century.

▶Hans Memling, Death, 1485 or later. Detail of the Earthly Vanity arid Divine Salvation triptych. Strasbourg, Musee des Beaux-Arts.

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The first depictions of the personification of Death are from the thirteenth century. Previously, this motif had been confined to funerary art, but during the Middle Ages the image of death took hold throughout Europe. In the earliest representations, the personification of Death appears quite natural; totally absent was a sense of the macabre as we understand it today. For most people, awareness of death was coupled with belief in immortality. Before Death became an autonomous image, a clear memento mori (a reminder to man of the inescapable moment in which his life on earth will end), it was present in scenes of ars moriendi—and not necessarily as a completely negative presence. Death later appears in narratives of the legend of the Meeting of the Three Living and the Three Dead; and still later, as an autonomous motif, in allegorical and devotional works of art. In such instances, however, Death does not appear as a terrifying reality; rather, it serves as a symbol of the ineluctability of time and of the end.

Death Saint Michael, aided by two angels armed with spears, struggles with the Devil, trying to recover the little soul that the Devil has just snatched.

Michael is the warrior angel: armed with a sword, he attacks the Devil and seizes him by the snout in an attempt to save the captured soul.

The imposing image of God the Father carrying a long sword and the globe, symbols of power, is surrounded by an array of angels. He replies (in French): "Thou shalt do penance for thy sins, but shalt be with me on the Judgment Day"

Death is drawn as the body of a thin, emaciated man lying on rich garments and surrounded by macabre symbols in Late Gothic style, such as skulls and bones. A scroll bears the following invocation (in Latin): "Into your hands, 0 Lord, I commend my spirit."

♦Master of the Rohan Hours, Death before God, 1418-z5. Miniature from the Rohan Hours. Paris, Rihliotheque Nationale. 173

Death Pictured as a knight whose body is decomposing, Death wears a wreath of small snakes and shows the hourglass, a symbol of time that flows inexorably

The city, perhaps Heavenly Jerusalem, is the probable destination of the knight.

The knight is probably the miles christianus, the Christian soldier who advances victoriously armed with his faith. The concept of the miles christianus was inspired by a work of Erasmus of Rotterdam (1 sot).

The oak branches that decorate the horse's head symbolize the Christian soldier's victory.

A skull, engraved near the tablet signed by the artist, seems to draw the attention of the nag that Death is riding.

• Albrecht Darer, A Knight, Death, and the Devil, 1513. Engraving. 174

In keeping with prevailing medieval iconographic motifs, the Devil is depicted armed with a pike; his horns, goat's hooves, long pointed ears, wild boar's snout, and limp bat's wings do not seem to frighten the knight.

The dog personifies faith, which is the Christian's major weapon.

Following a tradition that originated in the Middle Ages, this composition shows angels flying around the cross, mourning the death of Jesus.

Depicted as a skeleton holding an hourglass, *mho/ of its power over time, Death is chained, together with Sin, to the cross on which Christ died, to signify its defeat by dint of his redeeming sacrifice.

The snake, a symbol of the tempting Devil, here becomes an allegorical attribute of sin, drawn naked and dark-skinned to suggest that sin strips the said of Grace and of Virtue's purity

The Virgin mourns the dead Christ: at the foot of the cross, Mary weeps over the dead body of Jesus that has just been taken down.

• Jacopo Ligoni, Allegory of Human Redemption, ca. 1585. Courtesy of Sotheby's. 175

Death With a gesture of its skeletal hand, Death puts out the candle, symbol of life. The Latin words "in ictu ocub" (in the twinkling of an eye) are a reminder that it takes only an instant for Death to overpower us.

Among the objects that Death tramples are several books: on one open page, an architectural monument. Even art, with all its beauty, never allows man to escape death.

♦Juan de Vald6 Leal, Allegory of Death, 167o-72.. Seville, Hospital dela Sancta Caridad. 176

Death advances in its most common guise: a skeleton holding a scythe and carrying a coffin under its arm.

The terraqueous globe expresses Death's power over the world; strewn about are musical instruments, weapons, and pieces of armor, all mementos of the vanity of worldly pleasures and glory.

The complex still life of Vanity!, dominated by the "hieroglyphic of last things," consists of symbols of power from the crown to the scepter to the Golden Fleece. as well as the papal tiara and the bishop's miter.

The artist has created a terrifying image by painting the gates of Hell, rendered as a portcullis. behind Death, whose expression is fierce and malevolent, and whose ribs and joints burst with tongues of fire.

Arare image of the Devil in armor is a reminder that he was the leader of the angels who rebelled against God. The painter has drawn this image from Milton's Paradise Lost (16651.

• William Hogarth, Satan. Sin, and Death, 1735-40. London, Tate Gallery.

According to John Milton (who adapted Cesare Ripa's description), the personification of Sin is a creature with the upper body of a woman, the lower body of a snake, and hellish monsters attached to her waist. 177

Death Death, standing apart from man, her antagonist, is portrayed as a skeleton with only the skull and bones of the hand visible. The cross-covered shroud is an unusual departure from tradition.

In the tangle of human beings that expresses the passing of life's seasons, the image of mother and child suggests life and hope.

The old woman with her head bent suggests resignation to death.

The embracing couple symbolizes love asa possible refuge from death and a source of comfort.

• Gustav Klimt, Life and Death, 1908-I z. Vienna, private collection. 178

Three knights riding, or just alit from their horses, meet three dead men represented as skeletons in their tombs; sometimes a monk is present to explain the meaning of the encounter.

The Meeting of the Three Living and the Three Dead The iconography of the meeting between three living and three dead men first appears in church frescoes, in the late fourteenth century, but without the aura of sacredness that informed traditional church decorations. The scene usually depicts three knights hunting when they experience a macabre encounter with three dead men. In accompanying captions, the dead men explain to the knights their future destiny: "We were once what you are, and you will be what we are." The dead may be depicted as decaying corpses in open sepulchres, or a monk may explain the meaning of the encounter to the knights. This iconography, probably the first presence of the macabre in art, may have originated at the court of Frederick II of Swabia as a description of the clash between body and soul, or, alternatively, in a clerical environment where it would have signified strong opposition by the mendicant orders to the luxurious life of the emperor's court; in the latter case, the intent would have been to highlight the inevitable fate of those who participated in such worldly pleasures.

Definition A narrative with an allegorical, moralizing theme Related Literature Romance of Bariaant and low/that; Cum apertam sepultstram IThe Open Grave}; Legend of the Three Living and the Three Dead Characteristics Generally intended for the knightly society Diffusion of the Image kknvecn the fourteenth and the fifteenth century; particularly widespread in iumil the end of the fourteenth century) and in France

4 Montiglio Master R/, The Meeting of the Three firing and the Three Dead, mid-fourteenth century. Fresco. Albugnano, Santa Maria di Vezzolano.

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The Meeting of the Three Living and the Three Dead The long arrow is a frequent attribute of Death and replaces the scythe when the allegorical scene is one of action.

Not yet a skeleton, a disturbingly decomposing corpse covers itself with a draped sheet, possibly a burial shroud.

Frightened at the sight of the dead, the young knight flees. ♦The Meeting of the Three Living and the Three Dead, ca. r49o. Miniature from The Office of Death in a French book of hours. Private collection.

18o

In this version, a monk stops the three knights and points to the three corpses, a reminder of what awaits them at the end of earthly life.

The three young knights are happily hunting with their retinue of dogs and hunters when they run into this terrifying trio,

The three dead lying in the sepulchre are in a state of decomposition.

♦Unknown artist, Encounter between the Three Living and the Three Dead, firs half of the fifteenth century, Fresco. Cremona, San Luca sacristy.

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A dancing cortege or circle in which the living and the dead dance together; the former are identified by their social status, the latter are shown as skeletons, dancing arm in arm.

Macabre Dance Definition A dance with Death as the leading dancer Related Literature Dances macabres (Macabre Dances) auracteristics Dancing figures of death that pull in the living, engaging them without intent to strike Diffusion of the Image In France starting in the fifteenth century, then mainly in northern Italy and Spain until the eighteenth century

▶Unknown artist, Macabre Dance, seventeenth century. Milan, Pinacoteca dell'Arcivescovado.

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Danse macabre images first enjoyed great popularity in northern Europe and in France, and then expanded into northern Italy and Spain. The first documented image of the subject was painted in the Cemetery of the Holy Innocents in Paris (1414; lost in 1669). The theme may have been known in fourteenth-century France and coalesced only later, becoming separate from the Meeting of the Three Living and the Three Dead. Its driving motif is the fatality of death: inescapable and universal, death should be played out serenely as the natural endpoint for all humans. Depictions are suffused with irony: often the dead carry attributes, such as pickaxes, arrows, or coffins, but they do not strike the living, much less surprise them; instead, they pull them into a dance, where the encounter becomes almost personal. In this sense, the macabre dance, which has its literary origin in the danses macabres, serves to overcome the psychological impact of the end of human life.

The personification of Death rides triumphantly before a group of people of all social stations, shooting arrows at noblemen and clergy and ignoring the pleas of the poor.

The Triumph of Death From its first appearance in Italy in the mid-fourteenth century, this motif appeared side by side with Last Judgment scenes and soon replaced them as the new Trecento sensibility (probably also influenced by a northern vision) seemed to find a certain degree of macabre gratification in portrayals of physical decay. The personification of Death—initially a partially decomposed woman's body, sometimes dressed in a torn robe and with long hair, later a skeleton stripped of all flesh—is depicted almost as a triumphant divinity that bursts riding into the quiet of courtly life and strikes powerfully, often with an arrow, those who happen to cross her path. The first victims are men and women of elite society. Attempts to corrupt her with money are useless, as are the pleas of the poor and the wretched, for Death takes everyone. The theme warns against and criticizes a courtly life that has become too engrossed in worldly pleasures. In a fourteenth-century book illustrating Petrarch's writings, Death advances on an ox-pulled cart that crushes men and women.

Name Derived from fourteenth-century "triumphal" literature Definition Death vanquishm all human beings, without considering status or good works.

Related Literature Boccaccio, Decameron, Folocolo, Ninfale Fiesolano; Petrarch, Triumphs

Characteristics A strong, clear warning to the faithful not to lead a life based only on worldly pleasures, and a stimulus to prepare for death after a life of penance Diffusion of the Image Primarily in Italy and France from the midfourteenth to the early sixteenth century; very tare in northern European art

41Giovanni di Paolo, The Triumph of Death, fifteenth century. Miniature from an antiphonary. Siena, Riblioteca Comunale.

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The Triumph of Death Death is a skeleton riding and shooting arrows. The scythe she carries tied to the waist is drawn from the apocalyptic harvest theme; Death no a horse recalls the fourth horseman of the Apocalypse.

The frightened, recoiling dog is an iconographic link to the theme of the Meeting of the Three Living and the Three Dead, now surviving only in this single reminder.

A crowd of wretched, sick, luckless people pleads for Death to turn to them, but she does not even glance at them.

A bishop is struck in the back, signifying a sudden death. Death, which stands above all hierarchies, strikes a pope in the throat, possibly an allusion to punishment for the sin of gluttony.

♦Guillaume Spiere (Palazzo Sclafani Master), The Triumph of Death, ca. 1440. fresco, Palermo, Palauo Ahatellis. 184

The fountain symbolizes the Garden of Delights, a place of pleasures where Death bursts m, unexpected and terrible.

Among worldly pleasures, music occupies an important place: here a young musician tunes his instrument, though he is already filled with deep sadness.

Death will strike anyone: not even culture, which elevates the human spirit and conferred honor and privileges in medieval society, can save an individual from death.

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The Triumph of Death Two skeletons have spread a wide net into which men and women who were trying to escape the cavalcade of Death have fallen.

Next to a ruined building reminiscent oj achurch, same skeletons stand behind a balustrade; covered with white shrouds, they blow their trumpets, a reference to the trumpets of the Last Judgment.

A king in armor, wearing the crown and an ermine cape and holding the scepter, has fallen to the ground: behind him, Death is showing him the hourglass.

• Pieter Bruegel the Elder, The Triumph of Death, is6x. Madrid, Musco dcl Prado. 186

Riding a nag and carrying a long scythe, Death chases the crowd into a giant coffin. Around it, skeletons holding tall white coffins like shields line up in guard-of-honor style.

In the background, armies of skeletons advance sowing destruction and death in a landscape filled with gallows, torture wheels with decaying corpses strung on them, and burning ships.

Distracted by the nuisic, two lovers are oblivious to all, though just behind them a skeleton is playing—a gruesome omen.

A few soldiers try to face Death by fighting, to no avail.

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The Triumph of Death In these four scrolls, Death recites the following: "Death the equalizer has come for you: I want you, not your wealth, and more than any Lordship I am worthy of wearing the crown"; "I am Death, called by my name, and I strike those whose fate has come; no man is so strong that he can save himself"; "Men and women die and leave this world, but bitterly if they have offended God"; and "He who has lived justly without disrespecting God . . does not meet death, for he proceeds to eternity"

At the macabre dance to which all are invited c o you who goodheartedly serve God, fear not, come dance with us, since all who are born are destined to die"), the skeletons dance as if in a procession, arm in arm with the vain woman admiring herself in the mirror, the Flagellant, the worker, the pilgrim, the innkeeper, etc.

♦Attributed to Jacopo Borlone, Triumph of Death and Dame Macabre, x485. Fresco. Clusonc, Chiesa dei

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Depicted in an unusual pose, Death wears a crown and an elegant mantle and is flanked by two assistants. The macabre figure stands on a tomb inside which two corpses lie, eaten by worms.

Some potentates on their knees are trying to buy off Death, some with money others with jewels or crowns.

A still life consisting of a number of objects that recall worldly pleasures and their transience, in particular, the skull, the principal symbol of memento mori, and the hourglass.

Vanity of Vanities When the still life became an independently defined art genre in the seventeenth century, Europe was in the throes of the Thirty Years' War, an economic crisis, a plague epidemic, and famine; it was beset by religious and social problems, aftereffects of the Protestant Reformation and backlash of the Council of Trent and the Counter-Reformation. The Vanitas vanitatum theme developed in this context, taking its place in the broader still-life genre. A renewed reading of Ecclesiastes inspired artists to fill compositions with objects that not only would show off the artist's excellent mimetic skills or suggest the art's original cultural milieu, but also would elicit meditations on the transience of life, and of worldly pleasures in particular. Among the recurring objects in Vanitas works are the skull, the hourglass or the clock, the candle burning out or extinguished—all symbols of the passing of time and the wearing out of life—to which were added symbols of earthly fame, wealth, war, or of the arts, such as musical instruments and books.

Name From the Latin Vanitas nanitatum, ultimately from chapter 1 of Ecclesiastes Thc original Hebrew expression is a superlative. Definition More easily abbreviated to just the first term, Vanitas, it refers to still lifts that express symbolically the transience of earthly affairs. Biblical Source Ecclesiastes Characteristics llsciie compositions suggest the greatness of man but also at times a sense of death.

1/illusion of the Image From the second half of the seventeenth century in all of Europe, particularly in the Netherlands

Sebastiaen Bonneeroy, Still Life with Skull, x668. St. Petersburg, Hermitage.

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Vanity of Vanities Askull crowned by a laurel wreath: a quintessential memento moat (reminder of death), it represents vainglory because ' the wreath, symbol of earthly fame, now adorns a lifeless skull.

The badges of earthly power: the miter, the papal tiara, and the bishop's crosier stand for spiritual power; the crown, ermine cape, bejeweled turban, and terraqueous globe, for temporal power.

The setting for this painting is a decaying building whose statues in niches recall a pagan temple

Thrown to one side are musical instruments.

The inscription on the sarcophagus, "Vanitati Stacrificiurn)," Vanity's Sacrifice, underscores the artist's intended meaning.

♦PierreBoel, V.mitas, 166;. Lille, Moserdes Beaux-Arts. 190

Scattered on the flour are symbols of the arts and of human endeavors: weapons, sculptures, and palettes are thrown confusedly together, including a lovely plate embossed with mythological scenes.

Next to two skulls is a mirror, the preeminent symbol of vanity in which the skull that rolled over next to the breastplate is ref▶ected.

The burned-out candle is a traditional symbol in Vanitas scenes. suggesting the quick wasting away of life.

An angel appears and delivers this judgment written on a scroll: Aeteme pungit / Ciro volat et occidit (It teases eternally / Then suddenly fades and dies).

An elegantly attired young man is asleep; his dream is a reference to a contemporary literary work. La vida essueno (Life is a dream) by (.:Akron de la Barca.

• Antonio de Pereda, Man Dreaming, ca. 1670. Madrid, RealAccademia de BeRasArtes deSan Fernando.

A mask suggests the difficulty of appearing different from one's essential being, too often a problem of those who are slaves to the ephemeral.

The clock has a complex meaning in Spanish Baroque iconography, ranging from temperance and justice to princely power and generosity. 191

Vanity of Vanities Perhaps the painter here refers to himself by including a palette with brushes and a canvas, representing his art.

The stack of books symbolizes culture and the human sciences.

♦Pablo Picasso, Still Life with Skull, 1908. St. Petersburg, Hermitage. 192

The skull, an ever-present reminder of death, reappears in twentieth-century Vanitas paintings.

A small boy, naked until the seventeenth century, afterward dressed elegantly, blows soap bubbles from a shell. The usual symbols of Vanitas still lifes, the skull in particular, may be present.

Man Is a Bubble (Homo bulla) The image of Homo bulla, represented as a child blowing soap bubbles, is a specific instance of the Vanitas theme; it is not a still life since the human figure is central to it, even if the scene is allegorical. The source of this iconography of the fragility of man—and of human activity in general—lies in Roman literature: Marcus Terentius Varro (second to first century B.c.) compares man's short life to that of a soap bubble. The straw and the soap bubbles, already present in several still lifes, soon became a successful independent theme. By the second half of the eighteenth century, the little boy, no longer naked, is dressed, preferably in elegant clothes, and the shell has been replaced by aglass or avase. In this new composition, the well-known Vanitas symbols appear less frequently (though they were essential elements of earlier works), as if to hide the allegorical motif behind a genre scene.

Name from the Latin homo bulla Definition A particular type of Vartitas in which man's fragility is compared to soap bubblcs Related Literature

Varro, De re rustica (On Agriculturel

Characteristics A child is always the central figure of this theme.

4 Jr:In-Baptism-Simeon Chat-din, Soap Bubbles, ca. 1745. New York, The Metropolitan Museum of Art.

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Man Is a Bubble The soap bubble suggests the fragility of human life: the artist underscores this concept by inscribing each bubble With letters that form the word nihil (nothing). The skull, an effective memento mori symbol, is a necessary element in Vanitas compositions; here it serves as the macabre seat for Homo hulla.

A recurring theme of Vanitas is the brazier, here depicted as a smoking vase; placed symmetrically opposite the flower vase, it suggests how quickly man's days burn out.

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A vase filled with field flowers that are lovely when first in bloom but fade and die quickly is a symbol of Vanitas.

Once more, the large soap bubble (now made from a small jar, not a shell), suggests the fragility of human life. In the eighteenth century, the young boy playing with the soap bubbles is drawn as an elegantly dressed young gentleman.

The young girl spreads her apron, perhaps to catch the soap bubble, a vain attempt to stop the inexorable passing of time that destroys everything.

♦Charles-Amedec-Philippe van too, soap Bubbles, 1764. Washington, D.C., National Gallery of Art.

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The soul is led away by an angel or a devil; we find this image in ars moriendi scenes and in some Crucifixions. Only rarely do the dead reveal what judgment was meted out to them.

The Particular Judgment Definition God's judgment, which the soul receives after death Time Right after death Related literature Saint John of the Cross, Words of Light and LINT, 057 Characteristic This is a personal, not a universal, judgment, which assigns the soul to eternal bliss or damnation, or to purification while waiting for the Last Judgment. Diffusion of the Image Rather rare, and hardly ever autonomous

▶Daniela Crespi, Resurrection of Raimondo Diocris, 1618. Fresco. Milan, Certosa di Garegnano.

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The Particular Judgment is definitive and eternal: the soul is presented to Christ, then immediately proceeds to heavenly bliss or spends a period of purification in Purgatory or is sent to eternal damnation. Its imagery, rendered in anticipation of the Final Judgment at the end of time, remained limited and never became independent. Several details are borrowed from the ars moriendi, such as the soul being flown to Heaven by an angel or removed by a demon. Likewise—especially in the Middle Ages—both angel and demon appear at the Crucifixion, one waiting next to the cross of the good thief as he dies, the other waiting next to the unrepentant thief. In rare cases, such as in the Resurrection of Raimondo Diocres, the condemned soul miraculously returns into the body to testify to its sentence of damnation.

Four mounted knights advance on horses of different colors, each carrying a different attribute: a how, a sword, a scale, and a scythe.

The Horsemen of the Apocalypse The image of four horsemen sowing death and destruction comes from Revelation, where Saint John describes the opening of the first four seals. Early renderings showed the four horsemen depicted separately; later artists preferred a more dramatic narrative, making eight verses of Revelation visible all at once. They probably based their interpretations on the last verse: "And they were given power over a fourth of the earth, to kill with sword and with famine and with pestilence and by wild beasts of the earth." Each horseman is assigned a terrible task, represented by his weapon and his horse's color. The first, on a white horse, perhaps a symbol of divine power, is armed with a bow and represents military power. The second carries a sword and rides a red horse, symbolizing bloodshed. The third, bearing a scale, advances on a black horse, symbolizing death and hunger. The fourth is Death itself, wielding a sword and riding a horse the color of a lifeless body. A personification of Hell follows Death.

Name I hr Fur exterminating horsemen cited in the hook of Revelation Definition he horsemen called by to xi at the breaking of the first tour seals; their task is to sow destruction. 'Time Retort- the Last Judgment Biblical source Revelation 6:1-g Characteristics I 'le appear in succession, on horseback. Diffusion of the Image Initially linked to cycles of the Apocalypse, starting in the \ fiddle Ages this motif spread across Europe; it practically disappeared atter the sixteenth century, except for the fourth knight, who came to represent the Triumph of Death.

4 Anonymous Spanish ifiuminatog The Four Horsemen of the Apocalypse. 1091-i log. Miniature from the Commentary to the Apocalypse by the Blessed One of Liebana. Santo Domingo de Silos iSpaint.

19'

The Horsemen of the Apocalypse According to the book of Revelation, the horseman called to break the fourth seal is Death, whose image is that of a scythe-wielding skeleton; Revelation mentions a sword, which the dreadful rider here holds fastened at the waist.

The horse that Death rides has the pale green color of alifeless body.

• The Fourth Rider of the Apocalypse, 1419-36. Fresco. Galatina, Santa Caterina cl'Alcssandria. 198

Heil, depicted as gaping underground maws, follows the arrival of Death, the fourth rider.

The task of the fourth rider is to sow death and destruction, here exemplified by women falling to the ground.

The third horseman is given a scale, which symbolizes advancing misery: he will starve mankind to death.

The second horseman is given the power to take away peace from the earth, and he is also given a large sword.

The first horseman, on a white horse, is given a bow and a crown,

to signify that he will return a winner.

Hell is here depicted as the gigantic mouth of a monster, open among the flames and devouring the men and women who have been knocked down by the four horsemen.

According to Saint John's apocalyptic book, the human race is The fourth horseman is called Death: t h e fourth of this is a skeletal male figure advancing on t h e earth over a similarly skeletal horse; he grips a pitchw h i c h the fork rather than the more common scythe h o r s e m e n or the sword mentioned in Revelation. h a v e power.

• Albrscht Diircr, The Horsemen of theApocalypse, 1498. Woodcut. 199

The Horsemen of the Apocalypse Death, the fourth horseman, should ride a green horse, but to give it a central, dominant position, the artist has depicted Death riding the third horse and holding a pole, perhaps a reminder of the scythe's pole, and wrapped in a billowing red cape that swells and bides the second horseman.

Dragged along in the whirlwind of the ride, this horse, also with a female rider, is almost thrown to the ground.

ACarlo Carta, The Riders of theApocalypse, 1908. Art Institute of Chicago. 200

Use of the divisionist technique makes it difficult to differentiate the horses' colors: according to Revelation, the second is red to symbolize the shedding of blood; the third, black to signify hunger and famine.

This twentieth-century artist has apparently adapted the iconographic tradition to his own sensibility he shows three riders, two of them women who, instead of riding aggressively seem dragged along by the horses' gallop.

There remains almost nothing of the Apocalypse tradition in the depiction of the fourth horsentan; the figure is riding a white (instead of agreen) horse and is a woman with none of the attributes of destruction. 201

In a flat, desolate plain, naked human bodies rise from the ground or from open sepulchres, sometimes assisted by angels, while angelic figures blow on long trumpets.

The Resurrection of the Flesh Definition The resurrection of the body Time At the Second Corning of Christ Biblical Sources Ezekiel 37:1-14; Daniel 12:1 ff.; John 5:28—.2.9; Thessalonians 4,16-17 Related literature Saint Augustine, City of God; Honorius of Autun, Speculum Ecclesiae (Mirror of the Church) Characteristics The common destiny of humankind Special Beliefs In the late Middle Ages, there was a belief that human Misfits would be resurrected in their prime (around the age of thirty), approximately the age of Jesus when he was crucified. Diffusion of the Image Part of Last Judgment cycles

▶Jean Belk-gambe, Final Judgment, ca. 152.5. Berlin, Gem kicgalcric.

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According to Christian belief, the resurrection of the flesh will come to pass after the Parousia, the Second Coming of Christ. The idea of bodily resurrection, present in the Old Testament, was passed on in the Gospels and became the central focus of the letters of Saint Paul. Resurrection of the human body, promised to both the blessed and the damned, would be an extension of Christ's Resurrection, Saint Paul's "first fruits of the dead," a confirmation of the close relationship between the paschal event of the Resurrection and the final universal resurrection. The body must he reborn because without it, the soul is incomplete and could not enjoy the full glory of God in eternal salvation, just as it could not receive eternal punishment. The scriptures do not specify what the appearance of the bodies will be after the resurrection of the flesh, but it is supposed that the bodies of the saved will be assimilated into God, and those of the damned into the Devil. The iconography drew inspiration from Ezekiel's prophecy where he speaks of vast plains with sepulchres and bodies leaving them, and the book of Revelation, where angels play the trumpets of the Last Judgment.

The Resurrection of the Flesh The standard is a symbol of Resurrection, of victory over death.

The resurrected Christ bears the marks of his Passion: the nail wounds in his hands and feet and the spear wound in his side are thsible on his newly transfigured hody.

The sleeping soldiers who had been stationed at the tomb to ensure that the body of Christ would not be spirited away are unaware of what is happening, but the landscape and the fiery sky emphasize the extraordinary nature of the event.

♦Albrecht Altdorfer, The Resurrection of Christ, 1.5i8. Vienna, Kunsthistorisches Museum.

Angels are present at the joyous moment of Resurrection.

'typical of the northern tradition is the representatirm of Christ standing on the closed tomb as a sign of a supernatural event.

203

The Resurrection of the Flesh The affectionately embracing figures signify that we shall find in the afterlife the people we loved during our earthly life.

According to Saint Paul, the first to be resurrected will be the elect, those who died in Christ's Grace: here depicted with their hands raised to Heaven, they express their strong desire for God.

Some bodies, already formed, come out of the ground with effort: they are vigorous, perfect bodies, possibly reflecting the age of Christ at the time of his execution, a sign of the perfection of the resurrected and transfigured body.

♦Luca Signorelli, The Resurrection of the Flesh, 499. Fresco, Orvieto, cathedral, San Brizio Chapel. 204

Heaven is painted with a gold background: by restoring this medieval symbolism, the artist is denoting the presence of God and his imminent encounter with saved humanity in the glory of Heaven.

Tim trumpetplaying angels (411 everyone to the Last Judgment. The trumpets bear the standard of the resurrected Christ: this is the day of the Lord.

Some human beings come out of the ground with imperfect bodies and wait for them to be reconstructed for their new existence.

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Christ separates the righteous from the damned; in very early works, there is a horizontal division with separate vignettes; starting in the sixteenth century, the scenes are simplified and unified.

The Universal Judgment Name Divine judgment, also known as "universal," "final," or "last" Definition It is "universal" because it is the destiny of all humankind; "final" or "last" because it will come at the end of history. Time At the Secxmd Coming of Christ Biblical Sources Daniel 7tr3; Matthew 2.4:30-32., 2.5t3t —46 Related Literature Vision of Saint Ephrem of Syria Characteristics A decisive event that shall expose down to the final consequences the evil or the good that each person did while living on earth Diffusion of the Image Very widespread in the East and then in the West, from the twelfth to the fifteenth century; it slowly decreased, with many variations, after the sixteenth century. In Italy, it was depicted most often in mosaics and frescoes: in France, in sculptural groups over cathedral portals.

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According to what may be inferred from the sacred scriptures, the Universal or Last Judgment will occur at the Second Coming of Christ and after the resurrection of the body. All human beings participate with their own bodies in the Particular Judgment meted out to the soul right after death. The Last Judgment, prophesied in the book of Revelation, decrees the final victory of Good over Evil, a subject that spread from the Byzantine world to all of western Europe. The selected aspects emphasized by European artists remained essentially unchanged until the innovations introduced by Michelangelo in his Sistine Chapel fresco. Composed in horizontal registers derived from the imperial art of Byzantium and Rome, Byzantine depictions usually included several scenes: Resurrection of the Flesh, Weighing of Souls, Christ the Judge, the Chosen, the Damned, Paradise, and Hell. Often eastern iconography also includes the Descent into Limbo and the Etimasia (the empty throne of Jesus, with the book and the cross on it). In the Sistine fresco, the composition is unified and Christ the Judge, no longer depicted as described in Revelation, is portrayed standing, showing his wounds, the sign of Redemption.

The Universal Judgment Christ the Judge, in the earliest iconographic model of the Last Judgment, is beardless and wears the halo marked by the cross typical of Early Christian art, With his outstretched right arm he welcomes the sheep, symbol of the elect.

The three sheep on the right are separated from the goats, in keeping with the symbolism of the Last Judgment found in the Gospel of Matthew 45:32-33).

Prtcr Paul Rubens, The Last Judgment, ca. i 62.o. Munich, Alte Pinakothek.

To the right and left of Jesus, two angels attend him on the day of the Last Judgment.

The three goats to the left of Jesus personify the damned: barred from eternal life, they will he forever banished to Hell.

• The Separation of theSheep from the Goats, sixth century. Mosaic. Ravenna, Sant'Apollinare Nuovn. 207

The Universal Judgment This Last Judgment scene is divided into horizontal segments the uppermost of which represents Christ's descent into Limbo.

Christ the Judge is depicted seated on two rainbows inside a mandorla: the Virgin and Saint John flank him as intercessors. Under the mandorla springs the river of fire that feeds into Hell.

The personification of Earth is rendered by wild beasts who return the bodies of the devoured dead. The Twelve Apostles are present at the Judgment of Christ.

A seated woman holding a horn of plenty personifies the sea; she is surrounded by monsters that spit out the bodies of the drowned.

The Etimasia, or the True Chair of Christ, is the throne readied for him since the day of the Ascension: on it are the cross and the book. The Archangels Michael and Gabriel stand guard, while Adam and Eve adore the cross.

The elect are arrayed in hierarchical groups.

• The Universal Judgment, eleventh to twelfth century. Mosaic. Venice, Island of Tureen°, Santa Maria Assunta. 208

In this representation of Hell (which is not i v y frightening), the Devil is shown holding the small figure of the Antichrist in his arms.

The gate of Paradise is guarded by one of the Cherubim: approaching are the repentant thief carrying his cross (the sign of Jesus' promise to raise him to Heaven), Saint Peter, the Virgin, and Abraham with the souls of the elect.

Psychostasis is the weighing of the souls preparatory to the judgment of whether they will be saved or damned.

Christ is seated on a beam of light; his feet rest on a sphere, symbolizing his power over creation. To his right is the cross, and to his left, the scourging pillar, reminders of the Passion he endured to redrein the human race.

The elect, among whom several saints are recognizable, are arrayed in orderly fashion in Heaven within sight of Christ the Judge. The battle in which Saint Michael defeats the Devil, taken from the book of Revelation, becomes part of Last Judgment compositions.

In the plain extending from the Netherworld to Heaven, the resurrection of the flesh takes place with naked bodies rising from the surface of the earth.

Death, the unequivocal sign of eternal death, shields with its skeleton the bodies of the damned.

The gaping maws in the pit of the • Penes Chrisrus. the Last Judgment, Netherworld are a personification 1452.. Berlin, Generldegalerie, of Hell ready to devour the damned. 209

The Universal Judgment Christ the fudge arrives on a throne of clouds escorted by angels: two of them announce the Judgment by blowing their king trumpets.

Following a Byzantine iconographic tradition, the Virgin Mary sits at the right hand of Jesus.

The city walls in the distance suggest Heavenly Jerusalem, the holy city that foreshadows Paradise, according to Saint Paul and Revelation.

The angels dance in a circle in the heavenly garden, signifying the eternal Joy of the blessed.

• Fra Angelico, The Universal Judgment, ca. 1431-35. Florence, Museo di San Marco. 210

An angel displays the cross of Christ, visible sign of the price the Son of God paid to save the human race.

Saint John the Baptist sits at the left hand of Christ, completing the deesis motif that Western Romanesque art drew from Byzantine culture and that became a frequent theme in Universal Judgment scenes.

The holy men of the Old Testament, the apostles, the martyr saints, and the confessors sit on shining seats and share in God's glory

To the left of Christ, the damned are pushed back and dragged into Hell: the demons torture men and women of all stations indiscriminately, the poor as well as the powerful, monks and soldiers, bishops and cardinals.

The open tombs indicate that bodily resurrection has just taken place, in preparation for the Last Judgment.

In the deepest circle of Hell, Satan sits in a fire pit and greedily devours the damned. 211

The Universal Judgment Standing at the gate of Paradise (here rendered as a portal), Saint Peter welcomes the crowd of the elect, who are escorted by angels. The portal, decorated with a tall pediment and spires, is typical of the architecture of Gothic cathedrals.

Hying angels carry the instruments of the Passion—the sponge moistened with vinegar, the nail, the spear, the cross, the crown of thorns—all signs of the price that Jesus paid to secure the Redemption of the human race.

Christ the Judge sits on two rainbows, symbolizing the covenant between God and man.

The resurrection of the flesh is represented by naked human figures that rise from the earth and pleadingly turn their eyes toward Heaven.

• Stephan Loch= The Last Judgment, ca. 1435. Cologne, Wallraf-RichartzMuseum. 212

Kneeling Virgin Mary pleads for the salvation of the human race.

Opposite Heavenly Jerusalem is the city of Dis, scene of the last battle between angels and demons.

Monstrous figures personify the Devil engulfed in flames, ready to devour the damned who are still resisting.

A demon pulls the fat body of one of the damned, who is still holding in his hands a hag of coins that scatter on the ground.

Two angels blow the G o d the Father is in mighty trumpets that t h e highest realm of announce the Final H e a v e n ; below him Judgment. i s the dove of the Holy Spirit. The livelve Apostles are already among the saved and in the sight of God's Glory; from their seats on the clouds, they observe the events of the Last Days,

Christ the Judge sits on the rainbow, ancient sign of the covenant between God and man.

The sword is mentioned in the apocalyptic narrative of the book of Revelation ("From his mouth issues a sharp sword with which to smite the nations" 1.19:15)), while the lily was introduced by Gothic art to signify the double judgment.

A dog-faced devil with hat's wings and a long tad pushes the bodies ❑f the men and women sentenced to eternal punishment toward Hell.

• Lucas van Leyden, The Last Judgment, syz6. Central panel of triptych. Leyden, Stedelijk Museum.

On a vast plain, echo of Ezekiel's vision, the recomposed, newly vigorous bodies rise from the earth, either to be led away by angels or seized by demons. 213

Angels busily picking grapes or harvesting wheat with a scythe. Some representations also show the grapes being treaded and collected in a press.

The Mystical Harvest Name The adjective "mystical" is joined to the earthly noun "harvest" to indicate its allegorical meaning, Definition The grape harvest or the symbolic harvesting of the fruits of man's labors Tune With reference to the Last Judgment Biblical Sources Revelation 4 : 4-T 8; Matthew 311o, xxit Characteristics This is the theme of the apocalyptic vintage and harvest, not to he confused with the mystical press, which represents Jesus as the Eucharistic sacrifice. Diffusion of the Image Particularly widespread during the Middle Ages

▶Roger Wagncy The Angels' Harvest at the End of the World, 1957. Private collection.

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Based on Revelation and subsidiary images of Last Judgment compositions, the theme of the mystical grape harvest was favored during the Middle Ages; representation of the wheat harvest sometimes included a group led by angels. Artists' decision to complement the Last Judgment narrative with the mystical harvest scene reveals a faithful adherence to the sources as regards the sequence of events. Yet artists did not represent "One like the Son of man ... who sat on a white cloud ... and swung his sickle on the earth" so that the wheat may be reaped and the grapes harvested. The most common image shows angels leaving the temple, some ordering that "the hour to reap has come, for the harvest of the earth is fully ripe," others reaping the wheat and harvesting the grapes. The first depiction of an angel throwing grapes "into the great winepress of the wrath of God" may be on a Vezelay church capital, which looks like a scene from everyday life. In later art, the subject was separated from events of the Last Judgment and interpreted Christologically as the sacrifice of Jesus; as such, it had widespread diffusion and independent development starting in the fifteenth century.

The Mystical Harvest The tong, sharp sickle is mentioned in the book of Revelation; the one depicted here was in use during the Middle Ages. The angel holding it wears a deacon's dalmatic as a sign of his office. An elegant ciborium, complete with a golden dome, tympana, spires, and marble decorations, exemplifies the heavenly temple.

♦JacobelloAlberegno, The Apocalyptic Grape Harvest, 1380-9.0. Venice, Galleric dell'Accademia.

An angel in a white robe emphatically gestures to the other angel, exhorting him to gather the grapes (according to the text, he did so "with a loud voice"). Facing him is an altar covered with a linen and with an open book on it, probably signifying the heavenly temple from which he came (Revelation 74:r7).

The earthly vineyard is luxuriant and heavy with bunches of grapes, "for its grapes are ripe" (Revelation 14:18). 215

The Mystical Harvest Aman, not an angel, throws the grapes from the earthly vineyard into the winepress.

Starting in the fifteenth century, the apocalyptic meaning of the mystical winepress fades; it eventually acquires meaning as a symbol of the Eucharist.

The winepress in this sculpture was the type in use at the time the column capital was carved.

♦The .Mystical Winepress, ca. ri z5. Column capital. Vezelay, Sainte Madeleine. 216

Psychostasis is represented by an angel, sometimes wearing armor, who weighs the souls on a scale; the souls are usually rendered as children or diminutive men and women.

Psychostasi The iconography of psychostasis, or "weighing of souls," has roots in the ancient Egyptian world, about a thousand years before the birth of Christ. According to the Egyptian Book of the Dead, the deceased was subjected to a judgment that consisted of weighing his heart, with a symbol of the goddess of justice, Maat, used as counterweight. This funerary art theme was transmitted to the West through Coptic and Cappadocian frescoes, and the function of supervising the weighing, originally a task of Horus and Anubis, passed to the Archangel Michael. In rare cases, Saint Michael is replaced by the hand of God appearing through a cloud. The static weighing composition becomes dramatic when the Devil appears next to Saint Michael and tries to snatch the soul being weighed. This weighing scene, initially part of Last Judgment cycles, became autonomous and one of the most popular images of Saint Michael. Faith and devotion added variants such as the chalice or the lamb as counterweights on the plate of the scale, both symbols of Christ's sacrifice for Redemption, or a rosary attached to the rod, a symbol of faith in the intercession of the Virgin Mary.

Name From the Greek, meaning "weighing of the souls" Definition Symbolic weighing of the soul to ascertain fitness to enter Paradise Time During the Last Judgment Characteristics The Archangel Michael is shown in the act of weighing a soul on the scales; sometimes he is obstructed by the Devil. Diffusion of the Image Mostly present in compositions of the Last judgment and the Archangel Michael.

41Scene with Psychostasis. Ancient Egyptian. Painted sarcophagus of Khonsu-mes. Turin, Muses Egizio.

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Psychostasis The Archangel Michael, shown here with large outspread wings and wearing a long tunic, is the weigher of the souls subjected to judgment.

On the scales, the souls are rendered symbolically and in a simplified manner: a face is either smiling or upset, depending on the outcome of the weighing.

♦The Weighing of Souls, 125o. Detail of The Last Judgment. Bourges, Cathkirale de Saint-Etienne

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Armed with a hook, a medieval tool of torture, the Devil approaches Saint Michael to snatch a soul.

A soul, represented as a child set to be weighed, is removed from the Devil's clutches.

The commander of the heavenly armies, Saint Michael is portrayed wearing armor.

• Juandc la Abadia, Archangel Saint Michael, ca. 490. Barcelona, Muscu d'Art de Cataluzia.

Assisting Saint Michael is an angel standing next to a kneeling soul already wearing the garb of the elect.

A dog-faced, scaly demon with dragon's wings tries to snatch from the scales a soul, which turns pleadingly to Saint Michael. 219

Men and women—often depicted naked, suffering and despairing—are thrown into Hell, where they undergo torture and torments of all kinds.

The Damned Name From the Latin damnare (to condemn) Definition Those fated to eternal damnation Place Hell Time Eternity Biblical Sources Luke t6:2.1; Matthew t3i4r-45, Related literature Apocalypse of Peter (apocryphal); Vision of Saint Paul (apocryphal); lionorius of Anton, Elucidations; Uguccione da Lodi, Book; Bonvesin dr la Kiva, Book of the Three Scriptures; Giacomino da Verona, Of Babylon, Infernal City; Bonn Giamboni, Of Human Misery; Dante Alighieri, Divine Comedy Characteristics Final sentence with no possibility of appeal Diffusion of the Image Part of last Judgment scenes

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After the Final Judgment the damned will be excluded, body and soul, from God's eternal love. Because the human race was created to love God, the torment that the damned undergo in Hell is the eternal lack of God. Over the centuries, the images of the damned writhing in the flames of Hell have been inspired by Jesus' few but explicit words reported in the Gospels (weeping and gnashing of teeth, the fire of Gehenna), by the highly visual, didactic admonishments of preachers, and by the literature of the Afterworld, in particular, Dante's immortal poem. As a result, the damned are usually depicted with recognizable human features, contorted in unseemly positions, grimacing, and wearing hideous expressions, as the demons relentlessly inflict all kinds of torture on them: beating, scourging, disembowelment, being devoured by the Devil, or lying in fiery rivers or icy ponds. A common feature of the many images of the damned in Hell is their futile attempt to escape eternal punishment.

The Damned The artist imagines the damned physically plunging into Hell, pulled down by monstrous animals.

Burning in the eternal fires of Hell is a frequent punishment of the damned.

A dreadful, hirsute devil with many eyes and mouths strikes one of the damned with a hook.

This image repeats the earliest iconographic motif of Hell: the Devil sitting in the deepest pit of the Netherworld and devouring the damned. After the Last Judgment, the entire human race will be resurrected. A condemned woman weeps about her destiny; next to her is a snake, a reminder, perhaps, of the deception by which the Devil ensnared the first couple.

4 Hell, eleventh to twelfth century. Detail of amosaic of The Universal Judgment. Venice, Island of Torcello, Santa Maria Assunta.

♦Dirck Bouts, Hell, i4to. Detail of the doors of a triptych with The Last Judgment. Lille, Museedes Beaux-Arts.

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The Damned A flying demon with bat's wings tears the ear of adamned with his teeth.

Demons are plunging into Hell togetl,, with the damned.

Signor& seems to have painted a self-portrait in the unique-looking demon with one horn and grayish body lifting a condemned woman who appears not to resist.

The place of eternal damnation does not lack fire where some of the damned are burning.

• Luca Signorelli, The Last Judgment: TheDamned, 1499-1502. Fresco. Onicto, cathedral, San Brizio Chapel.

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The demons are distinguished from man mainly by their muscular build, unnatural color, and horns: this demon wears a primitive skirt, an echo of some of the earliest images of demons.

Saint Michael, leader of the angelic cohorts, chases the Devil and his demon angels back into Hell together with the damned.

'livo armed angels, almost unmovable, witness the outcome of the battle against the Devil and sheathe their swords.

A sturdily built demon with horns and wings carries a woman un his back: in a break from tradition, the woman no longer looks beseechingly to Heaven but has a sour, mean expression.

A green, visibly muscular demon raises a scourge against a condemned man trying to flee, while at his back a winged demon bites a young man's ear.

Perhaps reviving classical representations, the artist has included a goat-horned demon blowing a large horn.

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During the Middle Ages, souls undergoing purification are depicted in Purgatory; later, as praying figures who are lifted from earth by angels who escort them to Heaven.

Souls in Purgatory Definition Souls waiting to enter Paradise Place Purgators Tune After death and before the Last Judgment Biblical Sources Matthew t V31-31,, r Corinthians Related literature Apocalypse of Saint Paul (apocryphal); Gregory the Great, Dialogues; Marie de France, The Purgatory of Saint Patrick; Dante Alighicri, Divine Comedy Characteristics Souls that are at once glad and tormented: they arc readying for Paradise hut suffer from the lack of God. Special Devotions For the souls in Purgatory, prayer shortens the period of purification. Diffusion of the Image Originally found in Last Judgment scenes, it later became an autonomous theme of prayer for the souls in Purgatory.

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Although they are not condemned in the Particular Judgment, these souls must spend time in Purgatory to become pure before entering Paradise. The souls in Purgatory have no special iconographic attributes except that they are placed in a locale midway between Heaven and Hell. Nevertheless, the transitory position of these souls eventually made possible the development of a specific iconography in which they were rendered as protagonists. This occurred with the passing of the Middle Ages and with it, the depiction of the Judgment and the Afterworld in superimposed registers. This occurs as early as the fifteenth century in some images that refer to hagiographic episodes of saints who had strongly supported praying for souls in Purgatory. This subject was quite popular from the sixteenth to the eighteenth century.

Souls in Purgatory Saint Gregory the Great is depicted at the altar as he celebrates with other priests the Eucharistic sacrifice for the souls in Purgatory

An unrolling scroll points to the path to Heaven, which is bathed in strong light. Inscribed on the scroll is the intercessory prayer that Saint Gregory said at the Mass.

These angels escort the souls from Purgatory to Paradise.

Some of the damned are enduring the eternal punishment of the infernal fire.

GiambattistaTicpolo, TheMadonna del Carmelo with Carmelite Saints and Souls in Purgatory(detail), 711-27. Milan, Beers.

♦GiovanniBattistaCrespi(11 Ccranol, TheMass of Saint Gregory, 161 5-17. Varese,San Vittore. 225

Figures of men and women whose garments and other visual attributes identify them as saints who have already reached Paradise.

The Righteous Definition Those who enjoy the delights of Paradise in body and soul Place Paradise Time Eternity Biblical Sources Cienesis 2; Revelation 7, 14, i t , 2.2 Related Literature fourth Bmik of Ezra laPocrYPhaik Saint Augustine, Confessions and City of God Characteristics A state of total bliss Diffusion of the Image Generally linked to Last Judgment scenes, it continued to he widespread even after the Last Judgment theme had faded into scenes of ecstatic visions where the righteous appear with Christ the Redeemer.

▶Anonymous The Banquet of the Righteous, thirteenth century. Miniature from a Bible. Milan, Biblioto.:a Ambrosia..

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The righteous arrive purified at the Final Judgment and are welcomed by God to eternal bliss. The iconography of the images of the just evolved through the centuries owing to the initial difficulty of choosing a uniform representation of Paradise. Early Christian depictions in Ravenna, the processions of virgins and martyrs appear clothed in white, wearing laurel crowns and carrying palm fronds of martyrdom. Medieval artists began to represent the righteous in the act of entering Heaven, naked and escorted by angels, who in some cases deliver the white garment to the souls. In the same period, the righteous were also portrayed as small souls, as children welcomed by Abraham under his mantle. Starting in the fifteenth century, the righteous in Paradise are dressed in a way that identifies them as celebrated saints; often they wear flower garlands or halos, embrace one another, and dance in circles expressing joy and serenity or ecstatic contemplation.

The Righteous An angel welcomes the righteous, those who were saved because they walked the 'Tammy path.

The last trial before entering Paradise is the weighing of the souls, supervised from a throne by Saint Michael.

A bridge so narrow at the center that a was dubbed "the hair-width bridge": only the nimble, light souls of the righteous, unencumbered by sin, could cross if.

• Master of Loreto Aprutino, The Universal Judgment (detail), early fifteenth century. Loreto Aprutino, Santa Maria in Piano. 227

The Righteous Some of the angels worshiping around the altar carry instruments of the Passion, such as the cross, the spear, the crown of thorns, the nails, and the scourging pillar. Others simply kneel in adoration; still others sprinkle incense with the censer.

The group of martyrs and holy confessors, some of whom hold palm fronds, is compact in size and partially hidden by the blooming vegetation of Paradise.

The great patriarchs are in the crowded group of the blessed from the Old Testament that worship the Lamb.

• Hubert and Jan van Eyck, Adoration of the Mystic Lamb. 1425-59. Central panel of the Ghent Altarpiece. Ghent, Cathedral of Saint Hayti. 228

The kneeling figures holding open books in their hands are probably prophets.

The women gathered in Paradise are virgin martyrs: they wear garlands of flowers, crowns of glory, and they carry palms of martyrdom. Some have attributes that identify them as being among the fourteen auxiliary saints. Blood flows from the breast of the Lamb on the altar and is collected in a chalice. The cross-shaped halo reveals that this is the Mystic Lamb of the apocalyptic vision.

Behind the apostles are representations of the Church hierarchy: popes. bishops, deacons, and other clerics.

The Fountain of Grace is one of the elements that identify this locale as Paradise.

The first who kneel to adore the Lamb at his left are the apostles. 229

THE INFERNAL COHORTS Classical Antecedents Rebel Angels The Tempter Snake Lucifer, Satan, Beelzebub The Antichrist The Leviathan Cerberus and Charon The Beast of the Apocalypse Judas Simon Magus

41Peter Paul Ruhens, The Fall of the Rebel Angels (detail), r6ao. Munich, Alte Pinakothek.

Classical mythology depicted satyrs with a human torso and head, and the horns, pointed ears, legs, tail, and split hooves of a goat. The Egyptian god Bes was a fat, bearded dwarf.

Classical Antecedents Biblical Source Leviticus 17:7 Related Literature Saint Jerome Characteristics Divine or semidivine mythological figures Diffusion of the Image Widespread in the preChristian era and until the second century B.C.

In Group sixth Par: and Olympus, version of an original dating to the second half of the second century B.C. Naples. National Archaeological Museum.

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Throughout the Early Christian era there were no representations of the Devil, nor could artists refer to a literary tradition that might supply useful hints for an iconographic model. Nevertheless, since Early Christian artists had drawn other images from the figurative sources already present in the classical world, they did likewise for the specific image of the Devil and his demons. When the problem arose in the Early Middle Ages, artists automatically turned to ancient art, in particular to images of satyrs and fauns. Although in Greco-Roman mythology, these creatures were not wholly negative and had, in fact, certain poetic aspects, their lascivious habits usually triumphed over their wisdom. The choice to represent the Devil and his cohorts in the guise of satyrs and fauns was supported by biblical I r e f e r e n c e s and by Saint Jerome's k b e l i e f that they were indeed symbols of the Devil. Although artists borrowed their attributes to form visual representations of the Devil, Pan should be considered not the prototype but rather the inspiration for such images. In fact, some images of the Devil recall the features of the Egyptian god Bes—a deformed dwarf with a big head, beard, and disheveled hair—more than those of Pan.

Classical Antecedents Curiously, the many wings of the god Bes also influenced positive images, such as the Cherubim, the many-winged angels.

The hearded face, disheveled hair, and frontal nudity of BO influenced the first representations of the Devil,

• Relief with the Egyptian Deity Bes, .O5-31B.C.Rome,M11500 Barracco.

Although Bes was a protective, benevolent divinity to the populations that worshiped him in antiquity, his grotesque, deformed features led Christians to see him as an image of the Devil. 233

Classical Antecedents The small winged figure is Eros, the child god of love. His presence beside an actor on the couch next to Dionysos and Ariadne emphasizes their love.

Dionysos and Ariadne embrace on a Mine (couch or bed) placed at the center of an elaborately staged scene.

The actor impersonating Hercules is identified assuch by the dub, the lion skin, and the mask he is carrying of the hero he is about to play,

The dancing actor rehearsing his steps is wearing a satyr mask; the furry costume he is wearing will be one of the earliest attributes of the Devil.

♦PronomosKrater withstaging of a theatrical play, late fifth century 8,c. Ceramicvase.Naples, National Archaeological Museum. 234

The image of the demon tormenting Job with a hook is derived from representations of satyrs; the skirt worn by the demon recalls the furry loincloth, but unlike the satyr, he has taloned feet. According to the biblical narrative, Job's three friends tried to justify his misfortunes by seeking evidence of his having sinned.

• Anonymous French illuminator, Job and the Comforters, late twelfth century. Miniature from the Bible de Souvigny, initial from the Book of Joh. Moulins, Bihliotheque Municipalc.

Marked by leprous sures, Job listens helplessly to his friends' accusations as they try to explain his predicament. 235

Demonic-looking beings that fall from Heaven, having been banished by Saint Michael and the angels. Sometimes the rebellious angels change their appearance as they fall.

Rebel Angels Definition Creatures of God who rebelled against him out of pride; led by Lucile; they became God's enemies. Time After the Creation Place Hell Biblical Sources Isaiah 4:12-15; Revelation 12:7-9 Related Literature Book of Enoch (apocryphal) to; Lateran Council EV (A.D. 1 2 1 5 )

Characteristics They aid Satan in fostering evil. Diffusion of the Image From the ninth to the middle of the sixteenth century

▶Giambattista liepolo, The Expiilsion of the Rebel Angels (detail), 1716. Palauo Arcivescovile.

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Generally called rebel angels, these angels joined Lucifer in his revolt against God. According to scriptures and Christian tradition, they were originally good angels who willfully became irreversibly evil, turning against God; out of pure wickedness, they lead man to sin. Church fathers wrote that the rebellion took place at the time of Creation, when the angelic hosts divided into two opposing factions, with the rebels following Lucifer and the rest of the angels following the lead of Saint Michael. The iconography of the rebel angels, foot soldiers in the army of Lucifer and therefore demons like him, evolved with that of the Devil, changing over time. Generally, they were pictured in semihuman form with hideous deformations, such as bats' wings, horns, tail, talons, hairy body—in sum, frighteningly negative versions of the angels. The depiction of the Fall of the Rebel Angels, a popular theme present in illuminated manuscripts as early as the ninth century, was strongly influenced by the passage in Revelation that describes the struggle of the angelic hosts with the dragon, which symbolizes Satan.

Rebel Angels God the Father, enthroned inside the holy mandorla and wearing the triple crown, the headdress of the highest ecclesiastical office, witnesses the rebel angels falling from Heaven,

Some angels are depicted as sitting, mute spectators of the event; this arrangement reflects the earliest images of rows of angels, at this time no longer clearly defined.

A group of angels armed with swords witnesses the headlong fall of the creatures that dared to challenge God,

The original beauty of the angels is still visible as they plunge headfirst and almost burst into flames as they approach Hell.

• Limbourg Brothers, The Fall of Lucifer and the RebelAngels, before r416. Miniature from the Tres riches bellies du due de Berry. Chantilly, Musee Conde.

Lucifer is the first of the rebel angels and the first to sink into the flames of Hell, dragging the others along. 237

Rebel Angels Archangel Michael is a warrior angel, described as the commander of the angelic cohorts.

Saint Michael's strength and that of his angels repel the dragon, the apocalyptic beast that symbolizes the Devil.

The artist uses traditional animal features to illustrate the angels' transformation into fiendish creatures: the snake's tail, the spines growing from the backbone, and small butterfly wings serving as a loincloth, one last reminder of their past as angels of God. • Frans Folris, The Fall of the Angels, 1544.Antwerp, Koninklijk Museum voor Schone Kunsten. 238

The muscular body with still recognizable semihuman forms, but disfigured by a head comprised of snakes, is a clear sign that the angels who rebelled against God chose evil.

Distant flames are visible in the background: it is Hell, where the Devil and his demons are cast forever.

Behind Saint Michael, who is busy striking blows and defending himself with a shining shield, is a strong light, the divine light of Heaven, which seems to be darkened by the mighty battle.

Saint Michael, chief of the heavenly armies, valiantly fights the 'ancient serpent" that had been defeated and routed from Heaven.

The fall of the angels behind the dragon causes an endless chain of men and women to be dragged down the path of evil and plunged into Hell.

A greenish winged figure falls from Heaven: its wings are a reminder that this was an angel who rebelled and is now an angel of the Devil, a devil himself.

The dragon, defeated and forced to the bottom of Hell. eats the damned.

• Peter Paul Ruhens, The Fall of the RebelAngels, 16so. Munich, Akc Pinaknthek. 239

Rebel Angels Faithful to the first book of Paradise Lost, the artist has portrayed Satan with the heroic features of a Greek god: raising his arms in the depths of Hell, he speaks to his angels with the power of a leader.

AWilliam Blake, Satan Instigating the RebelAngels, .18o8. Preparatory watercolor for an engraving of Milton's Paradise Lost. London, Victoria and Albert Museum. 240

Hell is forever marked by the flames of eternal fire; it is here that the arrays of rebel angels who have forever chosen evil have fallen.

Like Satan, the rebel angels are depicted in human form; their rebellion caused them to be cast into Hell, where they lie about crushed and dismayed.

The image of thesnake is linked to the Temptation of Adam and Eve. Sometimes the snake is a symbolic element: the creature, depicted with ahuman head or asa monster, talks to Eve or offers her the apple.

The Tempter Snake The Bible could not be clearer on this point: it was a snake that led Eve to sin; she, in turn, dragged Adam into sin and with him all of humankind. The choice of the serpent came out of contemporary Judaic thought, which saw in this image not only an animal but also an ancient cult associated with and according to which magicinduced knowledge and sexuality were divine attributes. Snake worship was practiced until the intervention by King Hezekiah (716-687 B.c.); undoubtedly, one of the intentions of the editor of the book of Genesis was to strongly denounce this ancient ritual in an effort to wipe it out since it included strong elements of evil and sin. But the image of the snake survived, if not in the Four Gospels, in the letters of Saint Paul and in Revelation. As time passed, the original Judaic significance of the snake was lost but not the connection to Satan and to evil, and so different explanations were given for identifying the Tempter as a snake, which sometimes influenced the iconography. For Clement of Alexandria (second to third century A.D.) and Vincent of Beauvais (1494), it was a woman-headed snake that tempted Eve, because in Syriac the female snake is called "heva."

Definition The deceit by which Satan led Eve to commit the original sin Place Earthly Paradise Time After the Creation Biblical Sources Genesis 3:1.; z Kings 8:4i Corinthians r r..3; Revelation 12:9, 12:14-15, 10:2

Diffusion of the Image Ver). widespread sin"' the Early Christian era

4 Masolino da Panicale, Temptation of Adam and Eve, ca. 413. Fresco. Florence, Santa Maria del Carmine, Brancacci Chapel.

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The Tempter Snake Having eaten the fruit that the snake offered her from its mouth, Eve gives it to Adam.

In the final act of this scene, Adam eats the fruit of the Tree of Knowledge of Good and Evil.

The Tempter is not depicted as a true snake: in addition to his serpentine tad, he has the snout of aweasel and catlike paws.

• Anonymous French miniaturist, The Temptation of Adam and Lie, thirteenth century. Miniature. Florence, Biblioteca Metliceo-Lautenziana. 242

This portrayal of Eve with the long, blond tresses recalls a northern beauty, though her proportions betray Diirer's knowledge of the "golden ratio," which he studied in the works of Euclid and Luca Pacioli.

This splendidly rendered snake is the result of painstaking observation of nature and masterly painting skills.

The artist has inscribed his name and the date of the painting on an elegant card that hangs from a small branch of the Tree of Knowledge of Good and Evil.

▶Albrecht Durer, Eve, rso7. Madrid, Museo del Prado. 243

Depicted with a semihuman, sometimes hairy body, the Devil was on occasion pictured with goat's horns, tail, claws on hands and feet, and split hooves. His attributes are a hook and a pitchfork.

Lucifer, Satan, Beelzebub Name Lucifer, the hearer of light, refers to the fairest of the angels who rebelled against God; Satan (from the Hebrew) means "accuser"; Beelzebub, from Baalzcbul, Beezehul, or Baalzehuh, "lord of the flies," was a Syrian divinity. Definition The Prince of Evil Place Hell Biblical Sources Isaiah 14i12. K i n g

James Version); 1Chronicles st: t; Joh s, 2; Z e c h a r i a h 3 : r—z:

Gospels; Acts 5, in; 1 Romans z Corinthians; and z Thessalonians; Timothy; Revelation Related Literature Gospel of Nicodemus {apocryphal); Dante Alighieri, Divirer Comedy Characteristics Out of hatred for God, the Devil tempts man to do evil. Diffusion of the Image Present nt all Christian iconography, starting in the early Middle Ages

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There is no real iconographic distinction between Lucifer, Satan, and Beelzebub. The name Lucifer occurs only once in the Bible, in Isaiah, yet from this passage was derived not only the proper name of the Devil, but also the story of his origin: an exceedingly handsome angel who sinned intentionally by setting himself against God, thus falling from his position of heavenly creature to become the Prince of Evil. Representations of the Devil, however, rarely took into account the splendor of his original beauty. He is mentioned much more frequently (almost fifty times in the Hebrew and Christian scriptures) than Satan. This is the earliest definition, which in Hebrew meant "the accuser"; through translations and revisions in Greek and later in Latin, it became the proper name of the Devil. The world "devil" itself is of more recent coinage, being derived from the Latin diabolus, Greek didbolos, literally "the slanderer." Baalzebub, "the lord of the flies," is mentioned in the Gospels of Matthew, Mark, and Luke: he was a Syrian divinity, identified as Satan in the apocryphal Gospel of Nicodemus.

Lucifer, Satan, Beelzebub One of Satan's servant demons—here shown naked, covered only with the ancient-style loincloth—approaches irreverently and makes an offensive grimace as he bows.

The notches simulate a crown, legitimate attribute of a king, but more probably represent a flaming mane.

According to an iconographic model that was common from the ninth century to the Renaissance, the Lord of Hell sits on

a throne and crushes a sinner under his feet, while snakes coil around his legs.

• Attributed to Bonifacio Bembo, The Devil, ca. 1441-47. Tarot card of Visconti di Modrone. New Haven, Yak University, The Beinecke Rare

A Satan, Ca. 1130. The last Judgment (dctaill. Sculpted relief. Saint Foy,

Book and Manuscript library.

Conques, Aveyron.

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Lucifer, Satan, Beelzebub The hairy; taloned, winged little monster instigating Pilate is an indication of the varied iconography of the Devil during the Middle Ages, when it oscillated between representations of the monstrous lord of the Netherworld and depictions of a cunning, spiteful creature.

• Winchester miniaturist, The Scourging of Christ, it 5o. Miniature from the S. Swnithun or E. de Blois psaltey Winchester. London, British Library. 246

Often the medieval artist was more comfortable depicting the wicked action provoked by the Devil than showing the Devil himself.

Christ is tied to the scourging pillar. His condition of innocent victim is underscored by the blindfold and by the look of impotence on his face, in clear contrast to the jailer's grimaces.

According to the apocryphal Transitus Mariae (Dormition of Mary) (post-fifth century), the apostles found the Virgin's tomb without the body but filled with flowers and a heavenly scent.

♦Dosso Dossi and Battista Luteri, Saint Michael with the Devil and the Assumption of Mary with Angels, t 534• Parma, Galleria Nazionale.

Mary is lifted up to Heaven on a cloud.

Saint Michael has hung the scales for the weighing of the souls back on his belt.

Since at least the beginning of the fifteenthcenturycentur35the Devil has been represented with human traits corrupted by ugly faunlike features and webbed feet (and hands); the wings are perhaps the last residue of Satan's angelic past. 247

Lucifer, Satan, Beelzebub In this scene, monsters and frightful animals surround Saint Michael's battle with the Devil: in the dark background, the bright eyes of a birdlike demon stand out.

An enormous insect that resembles a fly makes its appearance to assist the nonetheless defeated Devil.

A fortified city lit by fires may suggest the infernal city of Dis.

• Raphael, Saint Michael and the Dragon, 15o5. Paris, Muses du Louvre. 248

Figures of condemned men and women are grasped and held by coiling snakes.

The Devil is shown as a dog-faced, horned dragon with large, partially feathered wings. Starting in the sixteenth century, some Italian artists seemed to prefer the monster image to the anthropomorphic one.

Wielding his long sword, Saint Michael drives out the Devil. The flying pose is an innovation on the traditional arrangement that shows the angel standing triumphant over the Devil.

♦Lorenzo Lotto, Saint Michael Drives out Lucifer, 155o. Loreto, Musco della SantaCasa dcl Palazzo Apumlico.

Surprisingly; Lucifer here has the sernihuman traits of an angel but is stripped of his clothes (therefore, he is shamefully naked) as he falls from Heaven. His face resembles Michael's, as if Lucifer were Michael's opposite (dark) side. 249

Lucifer, Satan, Beelzebub With an elegant gesture, the Archangel Michael moves the scales away from the Devil's paws. On the two plates of the scale, two small figures representing souls look to Michael fur their salvation.

With his clawed foot the Devil tries to hit the large wings of the archangel.

♦Perino del Vaga, Saint Michael Pierces the Devil, I54o. Celle Ligurc, Parroechiale di San Michele. 250

Goatlike horns and beard, faun's ears, and frightening eyes popping out of his head complete the Devil's semihuman face.

The head with goatlike horns, large pointed ears, and sharp teeth define the image of Satan as a satyr type.

TWo large bat's wings seem to protect the seemingly impotent Devil.

• Jean-Jacques Fuechirc, Satan, 1834. LosAngeles, County Museum of Am

The clawed feet complete the bestial image, but the figure lacks any unsettling or frightening characteristics. 251

Represented as the beast of the Apocalypse, the Antichrist has also been portrayed as a child sitting on Satan's lap, or simply as a man.

The Antichrist Name From the Latin antichrishmt, in turn front the Greek anrichristos, opposed to Christ Definition The Antichrist will claim to he God before the end of time, to seduce and lead men to evil, Time Before the end of the world Biblical Sources John 1:18, rat, 4:5; aJohn 7; Revelation zo Characteristics A wicked, mendacious being Diffusion of the Image Rather limited, mostly in depictions of the Apocalypse

▶Unknown artist, The Antichrist, ca. fifteenth century. Miniature. Florence, Bibliateca Medicco-Laurenziana.

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The Antichrist is the false Messiah, who before the end of the world will seduce men with false miracles and mendacious preaching, persecuting those who dare to resist his powers of seduction. He is mentioned explicitly only in the book of Revelation, where John narrates the last deeds of this false prophet and describes him as a hideous animal. Because this was the first description of the Antichrist, he was still portrayed at times in the Early Middle Ages as the beast of the Apocalypse. A new iconography began to emerge after Saint Jerome wrote that the Antichrist would be a man conceived by the Devil, and Saints Ambrose and Augustine agreed that he would be simply a man; the new conception was of a child held by a fatherly Satan on his lap. This was followed by another image— more common in the narrative of events prophesied by Jesus ("for false Christs and false prophets will arise and show great signs and wonders, so as to lead astray, if possible, even the elect" [Matthew 14:14D—that of a man, even one very much like Jesus.

The Antichrist Satan is drawn with human features, but nothing about him is terribly frightening, even though the artist intentionally made him black, bearded, and with long fingerand toenails. Small demons, here depicted as black, naked, disheveled angels, torture the damned engulfed by flames.

The throne on which Satan sits is a two•beaded serpent that devours the damned.

♦Satan Holding the Infant Antichrist, eleventh to twelfth century. Mowie. Detail of The Universal Judgment. Venice, Island of Torcello, Santa Maria Assunta.

Because the Antichrist is called the "son of the Devil," he is represented as a child, here caught with a somber expression, sitting on the knees of Satan. 253

The Antichrist The lord sends the Archangel Michael precisely when the false Messiah has risen from earth to launch the definitive attack on God.

Defeated, the Antichrist plunges headfirst and falls on his followers.

The traits of Antichrist, the deceiver, are very similar to those shown in the traditional images of Christ, but the demon that holds him tight while suggesting the words of the sermon is a telltale sign of the deception.

In this corner, the artist, visibly pleased with his completed masterpiece, has painted his selfportrait. The monk next to him has been identified as the painter Pea Angelico.

▶Luca Signorelli, Preaching and Acts of theAntichrist, 1499—i fox. Fresco. Orvieto, cathedral, San Brizio Chapel. 254

The Antichrist Saint Michael, dressed in rich armor, pierces the Antichrist with his spear. The false Messiah is about to crash onto the same podium from which he had been pronouncing false prophecies. A grotesque demon with long horns and long ears, a hairy body a tail, and webbed feet tries to flee from the battle scene.

Once definitively beaten by Saint Michael and his cohorts, the Antichrist will be thrown into the fiery pit.

Kings, aristocrats, and religious men are in the crowd that witnesses the defeat of the Antichrist.

A long scepter, symbol of the power of the Antichrist, now lies broken on the ground.

• Asguis Master, Saint Michael's Victory over the Antichrist,CS.1440. Madrid, Musee del Prado. 256

A triple crown, the papal headdress which the Antichrist had earned from the people by making them believe through his falsehoods that he was the Messiah, lies on the ground.

A large sea creature usually depicted with a gaping mouth that devours human bodies; in this guise it is assimilated into the personification of Hell. It can also assume traits of other animals.

The Leviathan Derived from Phoenician mythology, the Leviathan was a monster from the primordial chaos that lived in the sea, having been defeated by Yahweh. It was believed that this was the same mysterious monster that ate the moon (a mythological explanation of eclipses). The book of Job speaks of it as a mighty enemy that obstructs the dialogue with God in a manner similar to the Devil. For this reason, placing this and the reference in the Psalms in their proper context, we might infer that "Leviathan" was one name used to indicate Satan, though always with the memory of the mythological sea monster in the background. Called "ferocious Leviathan," it represents a dreadful force that lives in the sea, and like the sea is dangerous, frightful, and lethal. Like the sea, it evokes in man feelings of vulnerability and insecurity. The book of Job describes this monster as a crocodile, although this did not particularly affect artists' representations of Satan. In art, the Leviathan hasbeen rendered most often as a gigantic fish with a huge mouth, which swallows up the damned; usually it lies at the bottom of Hell. In somecases, it has the features of a wolf or a bear.

Name From the Hebrew frwyacin, "twisting" Definition Asea monster mentioned in the Bible

Biblical Sources Job 3:8, 40:25; Psalms 74:14, 104:26; Isaiah 2.7:i

Characteristics A frightful monster that inhabits the bottom of the sea Diffusion of the Image Related to illustrations of the Bible and of Hell

4 The Three Primitive Animals, thirteenth century. Miniature from a Bible. Milan, Biblioteca Ambrosiana.

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The Leviathan

The bodies of the damned have fallen inside the maws of the monster and are about to be swallowed.

The original hideousness of the sea monster can he further modified: in

this case, with horns and wolf's ears.

Tongues of fire recall that the Leviathan is a symbol of Satan and that it devours its victims in the pit of Hell. • Late Gothic French sculptor, The Mouth of Hell, early fifteenth century. Bourgcs, Musee du Berry.

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▶Padua illuminator, illustration front Dante's Divine Comedy, early fifteenth century.

Cerberus is represented as a ferocious dog with two or more heads; Charon is an old man with burning eyes: he strikes the damned with his oar.

Cerberus and Charon In Dante's Divine Comedy, Cerberus and Charon are two pagan demons stationed by Satan to guard the gates of Hell. With them, in Dante's universe, we also find Minos, Geryon, Pluto, and Phlegyas. In taking these figures from classical mythology, the poet revived the tradition found in Virgil's Aeneid—thus exemplifying how Christian thought assimilated classical culture. Charon, son of Erebus (Primordial Darkness) and Nyx (Night), had the task of ferrying the souls of the dead to the Netherworld (they had to pay a special fee for the passage, the obolus or coin that was placed in their mouth before burial). Cerberus, sired by Typhon and Echidna, was the guardian of Hades, kingdom of the dead. Dante placed him as the guardian of the third circle of Hell. Charon is represented as a sulky old man with burning eyes who strikes the damned with his oar; and Cerberus, as a two- or three-headed dog, though according to mythology, this creature could have up to fifty heads.

Name From the Latin Cerberus and Charon Place Next to the NetherworId

Related literature I lesiod, Theogony, 3r I; Apillodorus, 114.: a; Virgil. Aeneid, VI, z918-394. 396, 419; Ovid, Metamorphoses, 450-51; Dante Alighieri, Divine Comedy, Inferno, canto Ill and canto VI Characteristics Figures from classical mythology that appear in Dante's Inferno as demons

Beliefs Cerberus prevented the damned from leaving Hades; Charon ferried the damned for a fee of one otiolus.

Diffusion of the Image In antiquity they appeared in illustrations of the Aeneid and of the Labors of Hercules; subsequently in illustrations of the Divine Comedy or in Last Judgment scenes with strong Dantesque influence.

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Cerberus and Charon The fires visible behind the high walls of the city of Dis indicate that Hell's landscape is the opposite of that of the kingdom of the elect with its vast horizons and never-ending views. Angelic figures stroll in a lush landrape painted with cool hues. A crystal edifice rises in the distance. These are the Elysian Fields of classical antiquity.

At the center of the composition, in the middle of the River Styx, Charon ferries a soul on his boat: he is headed not only to the pagan Netherworld, but also to Hell where, according to Christian belief, the damned are punished.

• Joachim Patinir, Landscape with Charon's Boat in the River Styx, 5so. Madrid, Museo del Prado.

A monstrous, threeheaded dog guards Hell: it is Cerberus.

Charon's image here is faithful to Dante's description: "And to! towards us coming in a boat An old man, hoary with the hair of eld, .Charon the demon, with the eyes of glede, . Beats with his oar whoever lags behind." (Dante, Inferno, canto Ill, Henry W. Longfellow translation)

The crowd of sinners is pushed and pulled out of the boat by C.haron's assistant demons.

♦Michelangelo, The Damned, 537-4r. Detail of The Last Judgment. Fresco. Vatican City, Sistine Chapel. 261

Cerberus and Charon The fire of Hell represents the Netherworld, guarded by the monster Cerberus.

In his eleventh labor Hercules must confront and capture the three-hezuled dog that guards the mouth of the River Acheron. Forbidden from using weaponi, he can only threaten it with a club.

With his left hand the hem firmly grasps the chain with which he will tie up and overwhelm the monster.

• Francisco dc Zurbarin. Hercules andCerberus,1634. Madrid, Musco dcl Prado. 262

The image of Cerherus, the insatiable monster, is that of amany-headed dog (it can have as many as fifty), though it is usually depicted with two or three heads; sometimes, it has a serpent's tail.

The gluttons are punished by a storm of mud, water, and hail.

At the close of the fifth canto, Dante faints after learning about the sad fate to which Paolo and Francesca were sentenced; their punishment was to be buffeted and flung about by relentless storms.

Cerberus is the hideous three-headed dog that deafens the damned and prevents anyone from escaping. The artist, differing from Dante's description, shows Cerberus without a beard and with legs ending in claws that scratch, flail, and quarter the damned.

One of the sinners lying prone on the ground rises as hesees Dante and Virgil pass by is Ciacco, who was punished "for the pernicious sin of gluttony" (Dante, Inferno, canto VI, Henry W. Longfellow translation).

AFederico Zuccaro, Inferno: Canto VI. The Gluttons; Cerberus, 1586-88. Florence, Biblioteca Nationale.

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A seven-headed, long-tailed dragon sometimes ridden by a woman holding a cup. In scenes of the Immaculate Conception, the dragon is sometimes subjugated by the Virgin and Child.

The Beast of the Apocalypse Definition A representation of Satan from the book of Revelation The Biblical Source Revelation xi., 17 Characteristics Battles constantly to defeat the good hut is defeated by God's angels Diffusion of the Image Initially found in illustrations of the Apocalypse, the dragon, as described in chapter xi., also appears in scenes of the Immaculate Conception

P. Anonymous Spanish illuminator, Harlot on the Beast, third quarter of the clefaith century. Miniature from the Apocalypse of Saint Sever. Paris, Bibliotheque Nationale.

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This beast appears in two different visions of the book of Revelation. In the vision reported in chapter 12, this frightening, powerful, ferocious, bellicose monster has seven heads with horns and diadems. In chapter 17, the author focuses on the need to explain the appearance of the beast and its totally unexpected return. The beast makes its first appearance after the portentous dream of the woman clothed with the sun and undergoing the pangs of childbirth; the dragon appears ready to devour the child that she will bring forth. Its appearance is terrifying: red, with seven heads crowned by seven diadems, ten horns and a tail that sweeps down a third of the stars of Heaven. As the child is born, atremendous battle ensues between the angels of Heaven and the dragon and its angels. Defeated, the great beast is flung down to earth where it goes off to make war on the followers of God and gives its power to another beast; other beasts then appear with the power of seducing humankind. In a later vision, the seven-headed dragon reappears; this time it is ridden by a woman, a harlot, symbol of perdition and of those who have rejected God.

The Beast of the Apocalypse The Archangel Michael, the only angel depicted in armor, strikes the beast on its fire-spitting snout with his spear.

The male child just delivered by the woman in the left corner is immediately rescued from the dragon, who wants to devour it, and carried to God's throne,

The enormous red dragon has seven heads, one much larger than the others.

At the center of the apocalyptic scene, right above the battle, is a manclorla with Christ enthroned in Glory This scene, painted as it was on the interior wall over the entrance, was meant to be imposing and reassuring to the faithful as they left the church.

The dragon's tail is so long and frightening that it sweeps down a third of the stars of Heaven, and, in fact, the artist has painted them below the tail.

• The Great Sign, eleventh century. Civate, Basilica di SanPietro al Monte.

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The Beast of the Apocalypse The woman "clothed with the sun," a vision from the book of Revelation, has just been attacked by the dragon. She is surrounded by a halo of light; under her feet is the moon.

AGiorgio Vasari, Immaculate Conception, r 54 r. Florenix, Galleria degli Uffizi. 266

At the center of the composition is the Tree of Knowledge of Good and Evil, around which the beast is coiling its tails.

The beast has been explicitly rendered as Satan: with a semihuman body but horned head, bat's wings, and a long tail. With his arms tied behind his back, Satan seems already defeated.

In a clear departure from the narrative of Revelation, but still with allegorical intent, Adam and Eve, the first human beings to he seduced and deceived by the beast, are tied at the foot of the tree. With them are Old Testament figures; they will all be set free at the Resurrection of Christ.

The final segment of the dragon's long tail shakes as it sweeps the stars down from Heaven—according to the biblical text, one-third of all the stars.

Upon the Lord's command, an angel affixes two wings of agreat eagle on the Virgin's shoulders (Revelation 12:74) that she might flee to the midge that has been prepared for her.

The woman holds her newborn son aloft; an angel approaches from the right to rescue hint and take him to God's throne.

Saint Michael uses sparkling thunderbolts as his sword.

♦Peter Paul Rubens, The Virgin of theApocalypse. ca. 1623. Ion Angeles, J. Paul Getty Museum.

The beast dragging its demon angels down is heavily built: its long tail coils around the angels in combat as the beast twists its seven necks and seven howling heads in a last effort to defeat Saint Michael's decisive attack.

Very popular in the Counter-Reformation era is the depiction of the star-crowned woman, identified with the Virgin, who has the moon under her feet and crushes the serpent. 267

The Beast of the Apocalypse

Though rendered in static medieval style, the attacking posture of the three armed and stern-looking angels presages their victory against the dragon.

♦The Battle of theAngels and the Dragon, fourteenth century. Illustration from the book of Revelation. Toulouse, Museedes Augustins. 268

The traditionally frightening traits of the three devils riding the dragon—the hairy body, the split hooves, and the horns—are almost farcical here; the three creatures seem totally defeated, even harmless.

Strangely; the beast, the seven-headed horned dragon wearing a sort of crown that suggests the diadem of the apocalyptic text. is depicted with only two legs and a tail that winds around itself

An angel carries Saint John in spirit to the desert; there, he has a dreadful vision that pains him so much that he is depicted holding his own hand, a gesture suggesting that he is deeply disturbed about a hopeless situation.

• The Woman Riding the Beast, fourteenth century. Illustration from the book of Revelation. Toulouse, Museedes Augustins.

The woman riding the beast is arrayed in purple and gold and holds in her hand a golden cup "full of abominations and the impurities of her fornication... Mlle is drunk . . . with the blood of the martyrs (Revelation 17:4-5)." The woman stands for Babylon, that is, the Roman Empire, a place of perdition and idolatrous paganism.

The beast that frightens and astonishes John "was and no longer is. but will come again." The seven heads suggest seven kings, just like the ten horns on the heads suggest forms of power that will last for different periods of time and are fated to struggle with the Lamb, but the Lamb shall prevail.

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Like the other apostles, Judas is portrayed wearing a tunic and cloak or pallium; his iconographic attribute is the pouch with coins, his payment for having sold Christ. He is often shown frowning.

Judas Name From the Aramaic jebesda, zealot of God Time Lived in the first century A.D. Biblical Sources Matthew 10:4, 26:14, 2.6:15, 2.6:47, 12:3; Mark 3:19, 4: to, 1443; Luke 6:16, 2.u3, 2247-48; John 6:7o, 124, 13:2., 18:1-.5; Acts 1:16-18 Characteristics One of the Twelve Apostles, he is the one who betrays Jesus. Dante places him at the very bottom of Hell, with the traitors. Diffusion of the Image Judas usually appears in the cycles illustrating the life of Jesus and his Passion ithe Last Supper and the Kiss of Judas). Especially in the Middle Ages, there were representations, though limited, of his suicide by hanging.

▶Francesco Cairo, The Kiss of Judas, mid-seventeenth century. Milan, Pinacoteca dell'Arcivescovado.

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The apostle Judas Iscariot, who betrayed Jesus, exemplifies the Devil's action of undermining man's freedom and leading him to wicked deeds. The Gospels unanimously affirm that the Devil entered into Judas when he decided to deliver Jesus to the Sanhedrin. Judas always appears in scenes from the Gospels, where he is recognizable by his iconographic attribute—the small bag of coins—since he was the treasurer for the apostles, but also, and especially, because he sold the Savior for thirty pieces of silver. He is the protagonist in scenes of the capture of Jesus, where he points out Christ to the guards by greeting him with a kiss; images of Judas repenting and hanging himself are rarer. From the end of the Middle Ages to the Renaissance, his halo was sometimes black or he had none, while in the Middle Ages he was often portrayed with dark skin and harsh features. In late-fifteenth-century renderings of the Last Supper, Judas was assigned a table seat on the opposite side from where the group of Christ and the other apostles sat, thus making him readily identifiable to the viewer. In some cases, the artist aided identification by placing a demon standing like a prompter behind his back.

Judas Behind the traitor is the unequivocal figure of the Devil, who supports and counsels him. Hairy, winged, with shin faunlike legs and claws, this image faintly suggests a caricature of Judas's profile.

Gestures of agreement and warnings to arrange for the capture of Christ, who has just been sold.

By painting this architectural motif of art altar canopyt Giotto suggests the entrance to the Sanhedrin building where the secret meeting between Judas and the priests was held.

Judas grips the bag containing his compensation for betraying Jesus: thirty silver coins. • Giotto, Judas's Betrayal, 13o6. Detail of the fresco Stories of the Passion. Padua,Scrovescrii Chapel.

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Judas On the wall of the hall of the Last Supper, or seenas if through the windows beyond it, appear the episodes that unfold soon thereafter, starting with the Prayer in the Garden of Gethsemane and ending with the Crucifixiim.

Jesus' anguished prayer is comforted by an angel, who nevertheless shows him the chalice, sign of the forthcoming Passion.

Peter has a violent reaction and attacks Malcus, a servant of the high priest, cutting off his ear.

A Cosimo Rossetti, The Last Supper, I481. Fresco. Vatican City, Sistine Chapel. 272

The garden of Gethsemane was a private garden, therefore it was fenced.

Judas identifies Jesus to the guards by greeting him with a kiss.

The city of Jerusalem, Christ is crucified between two thieves. not far from Mount Golgotha, where the events of the Passion take place.

According to the Gospel, the Devil entered Judas and persuaded him to betray Jesus. Although Judas is depicted with a halo around his head like the other apostles, his halo is dark. He is also identifiable by his lone position across the table from the others and by the small devil on his shoulder.

Acat, symbol of the Devil, often appears next to Judas in scenes of the Last Supper painted in the fifteenth and sixteenth centuries. Here the cat is fighting with a dog.

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Judas Realizing the enormity of his deed, Judas tried to undo is by returning the money so as to ransom Jesus, but the money was not accepted. Believing that he would never be forgiven, he hanged himself.

The artist underscores the presence of the Devil in the actions of Judas by imagining that two devils prepared the gallows and hanged him after undressing him.

• Judas Hanging, twelfth century. Column capital. Amin, Music dc Saint L.azarc. 274

A flying figure sustained in flight by demons or plunging headfirst from the sky with Saints Peter and Paul kneeling on the earth below.

Simon Magus The life of Simon Magus, banished by Dante to the third pit of Hell with the aptly named simoniacs, is treated briefly in the Acts of the Apostles, which narrate that a man in Samaria by the name of Simon had gained a large following with his magic. When the Apostle Philip came to preach the good news, Simon lost many of his followers; he then asked to be baptized and would follow Philip around, amazed at the miracles that the holy man performed. When Peter and John came to Samaria to lay their hands on the newly baptized so that they might receive the Holy Spirit, Simon offered them money: he wanted to buy that power, but Peter cursed him and dismissed him. Only the apocryphal texts and their later revival in the Golden Legend relate the continuation and end of the story. Simon Magus moved to Rome, where he continued to deceive with his tricks; even Emperor Nero came to believe that he was the Son of God. After many confrontations, Peter and Paul finally demonstrated that all his powers came from the Devil. They unmasked his flying trick, which cost Simon his life, according to most sources. But Simon's death greatly distressed Nero, who then ordered the martyrdom of Peter and Paul.

Definition A magician and impostor, as reported in the Acts of the Apostles Place Samaria Time First century s.P. Biblical Source Acts

Related Literature Acts of Peter {apocryphal); Acts of Peter, Paul, and the Pseudo-Marcellus (apocryphal); Apostolic Memoirs of Abdias (apocryphal); Jacobus de Voragine, Golden Legend

Actions and characteristics He offered money to purchase the apostolic power of the laying on of hands to impart the Holy Spirit. Beliefs The apocryphal texts indicate that the fall of Simon Magus caused the arrest and martyrdom of Saints Peter and Paul, ordered by Nero,

Anonymous master from Hildesheirn, The Fall of Simon Magus, Ca. I r7o. Miniature from the Stammheim Los Angeles, f. Paul Getty Museum.

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Simon Magus

Saint Peter, who has just implored God to unmask the sorcerer, and Saint Paul, who also prayed, witness the fall of the impostor Simon of Samaria.

The wings that Simon had attached to his shoulders to make believe that he could fly fail with him to earth. According to popular legend, his body was ripped into four parts, though according to a different version, he survived with a triple leg fracture, as Peter had asked in his prayer.

The Devil has been revealed: with a perfunctory sneer and downcast wings, he stops supporting Simon's flight.

♦The Fall of Simon Magus, twelfth =miry. Column capital. Autun, Saint lazare. 276

Following Saint Peter's beseeching Prayer, the Devil's angels, who had been supporting the sorcerer's miraculous flight, let him fall.

According to the Acts of PseudoMarcellus, Simon the sorcerer had called the crowd to gather at the Campus Martius, where he had prepared a tall tower from which he was going to fly,

♦Jac:obeli° del Fiore, The Fall of Simon Magus, fourteenth century. Denver, Art Museum.

Among the throng seduced by Simon was Nero; grieving deeply for Simon's debacle and death, he ordered that Peter and Paul be seized and executed.

Peter and Paul kneel in prayer: the apocryphal texts report that a tearful Peter implored the Lord to unmask the diabolical trick by which Simon was able to IN 277

THE ANGELIC COHORTS Classical Antecedents Angels Age and Sex of Angels Angelic Hierarchies Seraphim Cherubim The Tetramorph The Elders of the Apocalypse Heavenly Battles Musical Angels Warrior Angels Adoring Angels Angels in Action The Guardian Angel The Archangel Gabriel The Archangel Michael The Archangel Raphael The Archangel Uriel

Leonardo da Bcsozzo, Coronation of the Virgin, ca. 1450. Fresco. Naples, San Giovanni a Carbonara, Caracciolo Chapel.

Winged figures of men, women, youths, and children in flight, kneeling, or standing next to mythological figures or imperial insignia.

Classical Antecedents Characteristics Semidivine creatures Diffusion of the Image Widespread in Assyria and the pm-Christian world

▶So-called Monument of Rocco, King of Mauretania, from the Campidoglin, first century B.C. Carved stone relief. Rome, Musei Capitolini, Centrale Montemartini.

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The image of the angel is very ancient, in all likelihood prebiblical, as Hebrew culture and religion were influenced by contacts with the Egyptian and Babylonian worlds during the Israelites' years of captivity. Already present in Zoroastrian religion, the idea of the angel became infused with the clear spiritual connotations of mediator or revealer, in addition to the more earthly one of messenger; in the evolution of historical expectations of waiting for an envoy, it was also accepted into Hebrew thought. Parallel to this development, contacts among various populations transmitted images that gradually acquired distinctive forms, each with its own characteristics. Christian artists drew inspiration from Assyrian images of winged genies, the daimons, divinities tied to the ancestors, the deceased, and protectors of the dead. Erotes, winged putti that go back to representations of Eros and enjoyed great popularity during the Renaissance, furnished another model. Finally, Christian artists found a source for angelic poses and attitudes in ancient images of the winged Victory, though with decidedly different attributes of sex and clothing.

Classical Antecedents These wings may have inspired the imagination of the prophet who, during his exile in Babylon, wrote of his visions of winged Cherubim.

• Winged Genie, 883-859 B.C. Assyrian stone relief. Rome, Museo Barracco.

The object held in the hand and the pose indicate a ritualistic action of aspersion. This figure was probably placed (in a symmetrical position with another) as a guardian of the "Tree of Life."

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The earliest images depict angels simply as men; later, they are human figures with wings and of different genders and ages.

Angels Name From the Greek angelos, which means "messenger" Definition A spiritual, incorporeal creature Biblical Sources Psalm to3:2o; Marrhew t o Related Literature Saint Augustine, Enarratio in Psalmos (Exposition of the Psalms) 103, 1, 15 Characteristics Personal creatures having a spiritual and an incorporeal nature; messengers and attendants of God Diffusion of the Image Present in Fatly Christian art, this subject developed extensively and became diffuse during the Middle Ages.

▶Pietro Cavallini, Angels, 1293. Detail of The Last Judgment, Fresco. Rome, Santa Cecilia in Trastevere.

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Decidedly distinct from pagan images, the oldest depictions of angels date back to the earliest Christian centuries. These Christian images are not direct transpositions of classical pagan forms, which were used as models only after the Edict of Constantine (3T3) granted the new religion freedom from persecution. In the first known image of the Annunciation, found in the Catacombs of Priscilla (second to third centuries), the angel has no wings. Other early images of divine envoys probably had similar traits to distinguish them from the pagan repertory and to be faithful to the Bible, which speaks of angels who resemble men. The angels wear Christian garments, with the pallium over a tunic. To differentiate them from pagan figures, they do not wear the chiton of the winged Victories, nor are they naked. In later centuries, they may wear the attire of court dignitaries or liturgical vestments, such as stoles or dalmatics. At a certain point in the history of art, angels with wings made their appearance, implying the concept of God's heralds and flying creatures. In the Renaissance, they were also pictured as erotes—no longer at risk of being confused with pagan beings.

Angels In the oldest depiction of the Annunciation, the angel Gabriel is portrayed without wings.

The Virgin Mary, sitting on a throne of sorts, receives the angel's announcement; it is the iconography of Mary as a queen. ♦Annunciation, second to third centuries. Fresco. Rome, Catacombs of Priscilla.

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Owing to Byzantine influence, the shape of the tomb is that of the burial chapel in the Basilica of the Resurrection in Jerusalem. The angel who announces the Resurrection to the women is portrayed asa youth sitting on the lid of the tomb: he has no wings and wears a tunic and a paihuM. His head is circled by a halo different from that of Jesus in the following scenes, as it has no sign of the cross.

The women had gone to the tomb early in the morning to prepare the body of Jesus for burial.

Jesus appears to the women: the iconographic motif of the apparition is drawn front the Gospel of Matthew z8:9—to ?.

Jesus, resurrected, meets the eleven disciples on Mount Galilee; the women had brought the apostles the message regarding this rendezvous (Matthew 18:76-171.

♦The Resurrection, ninth century. Oneside of an ivory diptych, the other side of which depicts The Passion. Milan, Museo del Duomo.

Christ shows his side wound to the incredulous apostles as proof of his Passion anal Resurrection. 285

Angels The artist depicts human expressions of pain felt by the angels, who nevertheless move about Heaven.

The angels' human traits appear to dissolve into the air, enhancing their spiritual nature.

Despite their wings and halos, all the angels express their profound sorrow and take part in mourning the death of Christ.

♦Giotto, Crying Angels, 13o5-13, Detail of The Lamentation of Christ. Fresco.Padua, Scrovcgni Chapel.

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An angel covers his face with his dress and uses it to wipe away his tears of grief.

With wings spread in mid-flight and arms outstretched. the angels share in the pain and sorrow of Jesus' death.

Twelve angels carrying olive branches dance in a circle in the sky.

Inscribed on the scrolls are not only glory hymns, but also quotes from a treatise by Savonarola that had a profound influence on llotticelli's spirituality

The Nativity, according to customary Renaissance iconography portrays the Virgin kneeling M adoration of the child while Saint Joseph sleeps nearby

Defeated, a small demon with human features and small wings is chased back into the ground.

• Sandro Botncelli, Mystical Nativity, i5oi. London, National Gallery.

An angel pointing out the birth of Christ to men crowns them with olive branches, a symbol of the new covenant of peace offered by God.

The embrace between men and angels shows the nets bond between Heaven and earth.

In the lower part of the painting are five demons, symbol of Evil defeated, not only In the birth of the Redeemer but also, in a parallel interpretation, by the battle between the woman "clothed with the sun" and the dragon from book 12 of Revelation. 287

Angels An angel announces to the shepherds the great joy of the birth of the Redeemer:

Youthful figures represent the worshiping angels.

Some angels— the Cherubnn— are represented in Late Renaissance paintings only as winged heads of infants.

• Philippe de Champaigne, The Nativity, i643. Lille, Music des Beaux-Arts. 288

Figures depicted as young men characterized by manly build and attire or as young women wearing precious robes and headdresses; sometimes rendered as child angels.

Age and Sex of Angels From an iconographic point of view, the angel was born male: biblical passages describe angels as men, and the apocryphal Enoch relates that angels fell in love with the daughters of men. The choice of gender was probably dictated by contemporary culture, which preferred a divine messenger to be a man rather than a woman. Some early catacomb paintings depict angels with beards, an attribute that returns, surprisingly, in fifteenthcentury scenes of angels of the Apocalypse, at a time when angels with clearly feminine traits and hairdos also occur. Nevertheless, although these heavenly creatures were portrayed with human shapes and equipped with wings, they were to be understood as having no sex and no age. Artists thus had great latitude to portray angels in different ways, depending on the context: the angels of biblical apparitions and the warrior ones of the Apocalypse are more mature and male, while the adoring angels of Renaissance Nativity scenes are more feminine. And, in a time of full rediscovery of the classical world, the child angel was invented, reviving the image of Eros, or Cupid, now absorbed into Christian iconography.

Definition An attempt to define the possible age and sex of spiritual creatures Biblical Sources Genesis 18:2., 19:1, 31:2.5-30 Related Literature Book of Enoch iapocryphali

Diffusion of the Image hi earlier representations, the male adult angel is more common; male child angels first appear in the twelfth century but become prevalent only much later the Renaissancek while the female angel appears from the late fifteenth century on,

4 Giovan Antonio Pordenone, God the Farber and Angels, t 530. Fresco. Corternaggiore, San Francesco, Pallavicino Chapel.

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Age and Sex of Angels The tower, a traditional attribute of Saint Barbara, is placed in the background, almost hidden by the curtain.

The child faces of cherubic angels take shape amid the heavenly clouds.

The tiara is the pope's headdress and as such serves as an attribute of Saint Sixtus. 290

Two young angels, the same ageas the child Jesus whom the Virgin presents to the faithful, are shown naked, with windtussled hair and a pair of small, multicolored birds' wings.

• Raphael, The Sistine Madonna, '525-16. Dresden, GernAldcgalerie.

Young angels without wings are dressed as elegant pages but with longer tunics. They form a crown around the Virgin and Child.

The two groups are singing, possibly psalms, in alternating choruses. They read them out of a small, gem-encrusted hook of prayers.

Two delicate hands descending from the heavens place the crown of Mary the Queen upon the head of the Virgin.

Asa symbol of Mary's purity, the eight angels bear branches of blossoming white lilies. • Sandro Botticelli, Madonna with Child and Fight Angels, ca. 1478. Berlin, Gcmaldegalerie. 291

Age and Sex of Angels Despite their delicate hairstyles and jeweled diadems, the four angels of the Apocalypse have large wings and halos, as well as the traits of adult bearded men who are armed and determined.

The angel rising from the east orders the four angels stationed at the four corners of the earth not to wreak destruction until Cod has placed his seal upon the forehead of all his servants (Revelation

Saint Michael fights the strenuous battle with the dragon with the aid of the celestial ranks.

♦Puglicse school, Four Angels, ca. 141s/3410-3o. Detail of The Deferment of Vengeance.Fresco. Galatina, Santa Caterina crAlessandria. 292

Together with the halo, the wings are unmistakable angelic attributes.

• Masolino da Panicale, Angels, 1435. Detail of The Baptism of Christ. Fresco. Castiglione Olona, Chiesa della Collegiata.

A profile of a pretty feminine face combined with hair gathered in the back makes this angel resemble a woman. But the angel close by. with short curly hair, looks more like a young man.

The angels assisting in the baptism of Jesus are responsible for holding the garments. The number of angels, three, is probably meant to emphasize that the Trinity was manifest at this event: the voice of the Father, the dove of the Holy Spirit, and the presence of the Son. 293

Angels are arrayed hierarchically around God in scenes of Paradise. They may have more than one set of wings and different iconographic attributes, such as spheres, sticks, or lances.

Angelic Hierarchies Definition Hierarchical classification of angelic creatures according to their different roles Place Heaven Biblical Sources Isaiah 6,2; Ezekiel m4-14, roia-zz; Colossians r:r6; Ephesians 1:11 Related literature Pseudo-Dionysios the Acropagitc, De cnefesti hierarchia (On Heavenly Hierarchies); Gregory the Great, Homiliae in Erangelia (Homilies on the Gospel); Dante Alighieri, Parceliso, canto XXVIII, 97-13y Characteristics Their mle is one of purification, enlightenment, and contemplation, helping to lead 'nail hack to God. Diffusion of the linage Limited to the Middle Ages

▶Michele Giamhono, Coronation of the Virgin, ca. 1448. Venice, Gallerie dell'Accademia.

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The Bible does not contain a precise typology of angels, though it does mention angels with different functions. The Syrian Church Fathers subdivided the angelic cohorts into three orders of three choirs each, also known as hierarchies, but a clearly structured theory of angels emerged only in the late fourth century. Set down by Pseudo-Dionysios the Aeropagite at the beginning of the sixth century, it described a broader conception that included, for the first time, the hierarchical order of the entire Christian universe, a harmonious linking of humankind to the heavenly creatures. The Aeropagite defined nine orders subdivided into three triads, whose level is determined by the degree of intellectual participation in the divine mysteries. In the uppermost hierarchy and closest to God are Seraphim, followed by Cherubim and Thrones; then come Dominions, Virtues, and Powers; and finally Principalities, Archangels, and Angels. Gregory the Great revived this theory, which was widely accepted throughout the Middle Ages. Starting in the fifteenth century, humanists began to question such theories, and consequently, this particular iconography began to fade.

Angelic Hierarchies The Virtues are in the second angelic order; according to the Pseudo-Dionysios, they receive God's light and transmit it to the human soul.

• School of Coppo di Marcovaldo, Christ and theAngelic Hierarchies, thirteenth century. Mosaic. Florence, dome of the baptistry.

The Principalities in the third order have a leadership and guidance role similar to that of God.

TheArchangels are in the middle of the third order. They hold a scroll inscribed "Animadvertes," signifying their protective, guardian role.

TheAngels are found in the lowest choir of the third order. They are depicted in simple clothing and with a scroll in hand, befitting their role as messengers.

According to the Pseudo-Dionysios and Gregory the Great, the Thrones The Dominions are in mentioned by Saint Paul are in the first the second angelic angelic order. Dante reports a teaching order. According to the The Powers, of Saint Thomas Aquinas: the Thmnes Pseudo-Aeropagite, spiritual creatures of the second are Mirrors or Amors upon which the they are free of all ties order, raise the judgment of God is reflected. Perhaps to earthly things and soul toward the light blue mandorla that they hold are entirely devoted to things divine. refers to the reflective purpose of mirrors. the Sovereign God. 295

Angelic Hierarchies The Principalities' role as leaders and commanders is clearly shown by their depiction as armed angels. They turn toward God as a superior principle to which they direct inferior beings.

♦Guariento di Arpo, Principalities, 1354. Padua, Mused Civico. This and the next four paintings once decorated the private chapel in the palace of the Carrara rulers of Padua.

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The rainbow-colored wings symbolize the alliance between God and men.

• Guariento di Arpo, One of the Powers, 13 54. Padua, Musco Civico.

The demon tied to a chain and trampled upon by this angel exemplifies the thought of Gregory the Great, who likened to the Powers those men capable of banishing evil spirits by way of prayer. 297

Angelic Hierarchies The lily branch is chosen by the artist as an attribute that indicates purity; ire fact, the Thrones are above earthly gratifications and are not contaminated by them.

These angels are seated upon concentric circles of rainbows. ♦Guariento di Arpo, Thrones, T354. Padua, Musco 298

With a scepter in one hand and a globe in the other, the crowned angel represents perfect control, detached from base elements and directed toward the supreme power of God.

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♦Guariento di Arpo, One of the Dominions. 1354. Padua, Mused Civico.

The throne signifies the ability to control: according to Gregory the Great, those believers who can control within themselves all possible evil impulses can approach the choir of the Dominions. 299

Angelic Hierarchies The image of the angelic Virtues is drawn from the quality of virtue, which is why the angels of this choir are often depicted in the act of assisting humans. Gregory the Great wrote that those who act in a worthy manner may rise to the level of the Virtues.

Kneeling, a pilgrim and a beggar ask for help and assistance.

♦Guariento di Arpo, One of the Virtues, 1354. Padua, Musco 300

▶Gentile da Fabriano, Coronation of the Virgin, xiioy. Detail of the Romita Valley polyptych. Milan, Brera.

Often painted red, the color of burning love, Seraphim have three pairs of wings; they appear standing close to God, in prophetic visions, or in depictions of Saint Francis receiving the stigmata.

Seraphim According to a collation of the various references from apocryphal and canonical sources, the Seraphim were believed to be the angels who stand in the sight of God. The only passage in the Bible that mentions the Seraphim is in Isaiah, where the prophet recounts the vision of his being called to the temple of Jerusalem (Isaiah 6:z). From this passage, Pseudo-Dionysios the Aeropagite identified the Seraphim as the first of the angelic choirs, linking their nature of ardent, burning love to light and purity. It was difficult to draw out from this definition a precise visual image, which seems to have its roots in preexisting types of spiritual creatures that were part of Syrian myth dating to the first millennium B.C., or in Assyrian-Babylonian iconography from which in all likelihood the first representations of angels migrated to the JudeoChristian world. The Seraphim were portrayed preferably with six redcolored wings, though over time their image was confused with that of the Cherubim. After the Middle Ages, the complex iconographic distinction of the angelic choirs was lost.

Name -Fire brings,' from the Hebrew seraph, which means "to burn," -to scorch" Definition Angels of the first angelic choir

Place Next to God; for Dante, in the Crystalline Heaven

The Biblical Source Isaiah rita

Related Literature Book of Enoch (apocryphal) Apocalypse of Moses (apocryphal) Pseudo-Dionysios the Aeropagite, De coeksti hierarchia (Heavenly Hierarchies) Gregory the Great, Honnhae in Evangeiia (Homilies on the Gospel); Dante Alighieri, Paradisa, canto XXVIII; Thomas of Celano, Vita di San Fratteescn (Life of Saint Francis)

Characteristics Angels who stand in the sight of God

Diffusion of the Image Found in scenes of Paradise And angelic choirs; starting in the fifteenth century, a dear differentiation begins to disappear

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Seraphim Without the specific Seraphim attributes of the six wings and the red color, the place of this being in the angelic hierarchy must be inscribed on top of the lightemanating rod, which signifies that this angel is on fire. By the thirteenth century, a kind of iconographic laziness had set in, and artists felt free to depict the Seraphim with only one pair of large wings.

♦Seraph, detail4-if the dome, thirteenth century. Mosaic. Venice, Basilica di San Marco. 302

In this composition, a beardless Christ in the guise of aSeraph appears to Saint Francis. According to Thomas of (.elan, the wings of the Seraphim are loaded with symbolism: the pair pointing upward signifies the commitment to do God's will; the pair stretched out horizontally, the flight to bring material and spiritual aid to one's neighbor; the pair that covers the body vertically, that the body has been cleansed of sin and clothed in innocence through contrition and confession.

The cord that ties the saint's cowl has three knots, signifying the three vows of poverty; chastity, and obedience.

• Saint Francis Receiving the Stigmata, mid-thirteenth century. Miniature in a hook of hours. Carpentras, Ribliotheque Inguibertim.

Theeves painted on the Seraph's wings indicate confusion on the part of the artist, since a is the Cherubim's wings that are dotted with eyes like a peacock's feathers.

The hands of Saint Francis exhibit the bleeding wounds of the stigmata received from the Seraph Christ. 303

Seraphim The Seraph who illuminates the composition by bringing divine light revives an ancient iconography but he is depicted with only two pair of wings.

Joyful-looking acrobatic angels are gracefully circling about thejadder that the patriarch saw in a dream.

Contrary to traditional representations, Jacob is represented not sleeping on the ground, but standing, withdrawn into himself.

• Marc Chagall, Jacob's Dream, 1966. Nice, Music National Message Biblique Marc Chagall. 304

▶Niccolo di Giovanni, Cherub, ca. logo, Detail of The Last Judgment. Vatican City, Pinacoteca.

Six-winged angels, Cherubim usually have two wings pointing upward, two spread out horizontally, and two folded in front; their wings are often strewn with peacock feathers' eyes.

Cherubim Although references to the Cherubim are found in the early books of the Bible, description of these angels is not easy because it differs considerably from the later vision of Ezekiel. In fact, in Exodus, the statues of the Cherubim that the Israelites build for the ark recall the images of griffinlike guardian animals from Mesopotamia. Yet we do not find similar a description of the Cherub in the Expulsion from Paradise or in the later vision of Ezekiel, who saw humanlike figures with four wings and four faces and even glimpsed an arm under their wings and a sparkling wheel next to each one. Other hints may be gathered from Revelation and from a passage in Saint Paul's Letter to the Hebrews that recalled the Old Testament tradition, accepting what would become the predominant image of the Cherubim. Once the clear distinction in the angelic hierarchy faded (and with it, the placement of the Cherubim in the second choir after the Seraphim), the two types of images merged and were transformed during the Renaissance into winged heads of small children.

Name From the Hebrew kerub, derived from the Akkadian karibu, "praying" Definition Angels of the first angelic choir after the Seraphim Place Next to God; for Dante, in the Starry Heaven Biblical Sources Genesis 3:14; Exodus 15:19, 37:8; z Samuel 2.1:14 r Kings 6:25-16; z Chronicles 3:11-11.; Psalms 7:11, 69:2., 98:1; Sirach 49:8; Isaiah 37:16; Ezekiel 9:3, io:2-14. 28:14-16, 41:18; Daniel 33:55; Hebrews 9,5 Related Literature Book of Enoch lapocrmshali; Apocalypse of Moses (apocryphal); Pseudo-Dionysios the Aenmagite, De cuelesti hierarchal (Heavenly Hierarchies); Gregory the Great, Homiliae in Evangelia (Homilies on the Gospel); Dante Mighieri, Paradiso, canto XXVIII

Characteristics Angels who stand in the sight of God Diffusion of the Image Found in scenes of Paradise and angelic hierarchies; a clear differentiation is already starting to vanish in the fifteenth txntury.

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Cherubim

This image of awinged being with four heads—man, lion, ox. and eagle— corresponds somewhat to F:zekiel's v&cion.

This four-headed figure of a man with one pair of wings is a departure from Ezekiel's description of his vision. The miniaturist has transformed the prophet's reference to what appeared to be a man's hand into a full human body.

A: the center of the vision is the image of God seated on a throne, enclosed in a polychrome frame. ♦Unknown artist, The Vision of Ezekiel, ninth century. Miniature from the Bible of Charles the Bald. Borne, SanPaolo fuori Ic Mora. 306

The young child's head with a collar of clouds and a pair of wings bears only a distant resemblance to the Cherubim of earlier iconographies, which by this time had been largely forgotten. Baby Jesus stands, his arms clasping Mary's neck. He seems to be listening to the singing of the angels that surround him like a crown.

• Andrea Mantegna, Madonna and Child, 1481. Milan, Brcra,

The artist's novel way of painting angels' wings, which take form from the clouds, simulates flight, one of the characteristic iconographic traits of an angel. 307

Each of the four winged figures—a man, an ox, a lion, and an eagle—holds a book. In some older depictions, a wheel may appear instead of feet and paws.

The Tetramorph Name From the Greek, meaning "four forms" Definition A living being with four natures: ox, lion, min, and eagle Biblical Sources Ezekiel 14-9; Isaiah 6; Revelation 4:7-S Related literature Saint frenaeus Characteristics After the original representation of a four-natured being, the image was split into four separate winged beings. Diffusion of the image Initially linked to illifst-rations of the Bible,

it became autonomous starting in the tenth and eleventh centuries, and developed into a very popular iconography of the symbols of the Four Evangelists.

▶Antonio de Lohny, God Enthroned Surrounded by the Symbols of the Evangelists, 1 465 -66. Illuminated page from the Missal of Jean des Martins. Park, Ribliorheque Nationale.

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In classical pagan culture, the term "tetramorph" generally referred to a being composed of four different natures, such as the Sphinx. The same term in a biblical context designated living beings with a quadruple nature—with the heads of a man, an eagle, a lion, and an ox—who appeared to the prophet Ezekiel and to Saint John in Revelation, where he described the four animals placed around the throne. According to Saint Irenaeus's interpretation of these visions (second century), the four animals stood as symbols of the Four Evangelists, while for Saint Gregory (seventh century), they might refer to the four crucial moments in the life of Christ: birth, death, Resurrection, and Ascension. The interpretation of Irenaeus was to find more favor, which led believers to see in the tetramorph the same revelation of salvation that the evangelists proclaimed to the world. For this reason, when the very complex representations of the visions of Ezekiel, Isaiah, and the Apocalypse disappeared, the emerging iconography of Christ Enthroned (between the tenth and the eleventh century) showed Christ surrounded by the tetramorph, that is, by what had by then become the symbols of the Four Evangelists.

The Tetramorph An early Christian text, The Discourses of Job, describes an apparition of two Cherubim that bears partial similarities to the descriptions in Isaiah (6:1-.3) and in Revelation (4:7-8): confusing these angels with the Seraphim, the text declares that each angel is equipped with six wings; it also speaks of their proclaiming a glorious song to God.

Two six-winged Seraphim flank God.

The figure of God Enthroned has been influenced by an admixture of the biblical visions of Isaiah, Ezekiel, and John's vision of the Apocalypse.

• Florencio, Majesty, 945. Illuminated page from The Discourses of Joh. Madrid, Ribliotcca Nacional.

This miniature seems to show the tetramorph as a being with the features of four creatures: a winged man/angel, a lion, an eagle, and an ox. They symbolize the Four Evangelists: each one is depicted holding a Gospel in his hands.

In a faithful reproduction of the biblical description of Ezekiel's vision, the artist has depicted wheels instead of feet or paws; they looked like topaz, were full of eyes, and were called "turbines." 309

The Tetramorph In this painting, the tetramorph is disguised. The Four Evangelists appear as fully human figures. Three of their animal symbols (eagle, lion, and ox) are portrayed naturalistically within the composition, and the fourth, the man, symbol of Saint Matthew, is portrayed as the illuminating angel.

The eagle is the symbol of Saint John, the most spiritual of the evangelists. His Gospel opens with: "In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God," a text that takes the reader metaphorically into the heavens, where the eagle soars.

The lion became a symbol of Mark the Evangelist because his Gospel opens with Saint John the Baptist preaching in the desert. The ox became a symbol of Luke the Evangelist because his Gospel opens with the sacrifice of Zechariah, and the sacrificed animal was an nx. 310

♦Peter Paul Rubens, The Four Evangelists. ca. 161 4. Potsdam, SchlossSanssouci Bildgalerie.

Elders wearing crowns and white garments are shown rendering homage to God. In the Middle Ages they were depicted holding various musical instruments.

The Elders of the Apocalyps The twenty-four elders are among the heavenly cohorts that Saint John, rapt in ecstasy, sees standing next to the throne of God in the long description of his vision (Revelation 4). Saint John speaks of the homage paid by the elders to God who sits on a throne. In a very meaningful gesture, casting their crowns before God's feet, the elders signified that all power must submit to God's supreme authority—the opposite of the beast that fights him. Saint John narrates that each of the elders carried a harp and a bowl full of incense, which is the prayer of the saints, and that prostrating themselves, they sang a new song. As this image evolved over time, the elders or sages of the Apocalypse were included only in scenes illustrating the prophetic book, though some passages from the book led to their being interpreted as angels; one such was the memory John has of the multitudes of angels who either sang or stood by the throne. It is also likely that from the images of the elders holding harps or other musical instruments, which appear frequently on the portals of Gothic cathedrals, grew later iconography of musical angels.

Definition The elders described in Saint John's vision Time The end of time Biblical Source Revelation 4: 10-11

Characteristics They prostrate themselves to worship the Lord.

Diffusion of the linage Linked to illustrations of the Apocalypse, in Early Christian art they also appear in representations of Paradise as the Heavenly Jerusalem.

The riders Present Crowns to the Lamb of the Apocalypse, 8 t 7-824 Mosaic. Rome, Santa Prasscdc.

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The Elders of the Apocalypse The multitude of angels—"myriads of myriads" and "thousands of thousands"—who sang around the throne (Revelation pr r) are here represented by six angels occupying all the available space in the upper part of the composition.

Seized by an ecstatic rapture, Saint John watches the homage being rendered to God. The anonymous miniaturist has painted him outside the frame, as if he is looking through a window, a timorous, discreet witness to the scene.

♦Anonymous English miniaturist, The Twenty-Four Elders Pay Homage to God's Throne, Is5 5-6o. Miniature from the Dyson Perrins Apocalypse. LosAngeles, J. Paul Getty Museum. 312

According to John's description, the throne was enclosed in a rainbow resembling an emerald; here the rainbow appears as a mandorla.

The twenty-four elders fall to their knees and offer their crowns, a sign that their power depends upon that of God.

Each elder held a harp, here depicted in a thirteenth-century version of the instrument, with which he sang a new song.

Battles raging in Heaven between warrior angels and a dragon attended by figures such as black angels, monsters, and devils with horns, tails, and bats' wings.

Heavenly Battles The heavenly battle fought by Saint Michael and his angels against the seven-headed dragon shows the decisive struggle between God's angels and Satan. Under Michael's command— made explicit in Revelation—God's angels attack the dragon ("the ancient serpent"), which is hurled hack to earth and captured later, to be forever confined to Hell, whose gates are sealed for eternity. From this one literary source are derived all the representations of heavenly battles between the two armies. The angelic cohorts are always superior in number: often they are fully equipped, winged soldiers; at other times the only armored figure is Saint Michael, their leader. The enemy army, composed of Satan's rebel angels, the demons, usually displays clear marks of evil that is about to be defeated. In the Late Middle Ages, many scenes included small monsters or black angels escorting the dragon; later, human fighting figures were depicted— perhaps with a tail and bat's wings—engaged in one last battle or falling from Heaven.

Place Heaven Tune Ar the end of rime Biblical Source Revelation t i

Characteristics Combat between the angels led by Saint Michael and the demon armies Diffusion of the Image Very widespread starting in the Middle Ages

.11Anonymous German miniaturist from Hildesheim, Saint Michael, ca. 117o. Miniature from the Stammhetin Missal. Los Angeles, J. Paul Getty Museum.

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Heavenly Battles The angels with six red wings are the Seraphim who stand next to God, depicted inside a tondo.

In this symbolic composition of heaven—the stage for the battle between the seven-headed dragon and the heavenly armies—the buildings visible at the right are those of Heavenly Jerusalem.

Saint Michael, fully armed, is the leader of the heavenly armies that will defeat the ancient snake, the beast, the dragon—in short, Satan.

APacino di Bonaguida, Apparition of Saint Michael *mill, ca. 134o. Miniature. London, British Library. 314

Satan's army is composed of his angels, the demons,

Saint Michael leads the battle against the dragon, symbol of the Devil. He inflicts the final blow that will send Satan into HeIt forever. The artist has chosen to portray Michael without armor; his only weapon is a long spear. The curly-haired angel armed with bow and arrow wears no armor as he assists Michael; he is dressed in a tunic with the stoles crossed in front.

• Albrecht Muter, Saint Michael Defeats Satan and His Angels, 1498. From The Apocalypse. Woodcut.

The final engagement described in the hook of Revelation unfolds in Heaven, though Difier has placed it in a recognizable sky above a familiar view of a small town. 315

Heavenly Battles

Angels wearing dalmatics and blowing trumpets: they are the last Judgment trumpets announcing the final battle.

At the center of the entangled warriors is a long reptilian tail: it belongs to the dragon of the Apocalypse, Satan, the first of the angels who rebelled against God and became his great adversary.

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A large reptile, the original form that inspired the iconography of the apocalyptic dragon, appears from under the sword wielded by a fighting angel.

▶Meter Bruegel the Elder, The Fall of the RebelAngels, x 562. Brussels, Musecs Ruyaux des Beaux-Arts. 316

The being that rebelled against God and followed Satan, falling from Heaven, is no longer recognizable, but perhaps the butterfly wings suggest his original benevolent nature.

Saint Michael is the only fighting angel to wear resplendent armor which, along with his cape, identifies him as the leader of the heavenly armies: his slender figure suggests that his strength comes from God.

In representing diabolical beings as monsters, the artist's imagination was inspired by the earlier work of Bosch.

Even among the infernal cohorts there is a certain order: here a partially human creature blows mightily on a trumpet to incite the demons to battle.

As he falls, the rebel angel's appearance changes: his original nature, which he denied, has disappeared except for the garment that no longer fits his new fishlike features. 317

Angelic figures with musical instruments often accompany singing angels; they are found in representations of Paradise and in biblical or hagiographic scenes.

Musical Angels Definition Angels playing different musical instruments, chosen according to a symbolic hierarchy of the harmony of God and creation Biblical Source Psalm iso characteristics Music takes on the same function as that of an angel—being God's herald. The choice of instruments is dictated by a strong need for symbolism only until the mid-sixteenth century; after this, aesthetic and decorative tastes tend to be the deciding factors. Diffusion of the lmagc Starting from the end of the Middle Ages

▶ Hubert and Jan van Eyck, Singing Angels (detail), 1431. Exterior panel from the Ghent Altarpiece, Ghent, St. & I V O .

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The first images of musical angels appear in fourteenth-century Italian and French illuminated manuscripts. The image of the angelic singer is derived from the concept of musical and singing angels as mediators between the divine harmony and that of Creation, a concept that the Middle Ages inherited from Pythagorean and Platonic thought and would transmit to Humanism and the Renaissance. Although for a very long time instrumental music was deemed a lesser art than song (the latter derived its importance from the primacy of the word), angelic music has been depicted in a multitude of variants, though predominantly instrumental. In these compositions, the instrument plays a key role in a metaphor which, starting from the richness of the sound, exemplifies concord, the ultimate symbol of the divine harmony of the cosmos. Among the instruments depicted, the trumpet signifies the power of God (including destructive power, as in the case of the Last Judgment trumpets); the string instruments, the Divinity manifesting itself; and percussion instruments, profane music, which makes them essentially decorative elements.

Musical Angels Recent studies have deciphered the music sheet that Saint Joseph holds in his hands: it appears to be a FrancoFlemish motet composed by Noel Rauldewjin, who put several verses of the Song of Songs to music.

The violin depicted here is a modern instrument perfected only at the close of the sixteenth century

The image of the sleeping Virgin, portrayed with auburn hair, is to be read with reference to the key text of the painting, the verses from the Song of Songs in which the bride is described as a maiden with red hair.

The violin-playing angel is a double representation, being at once an apparition to Joseph and a symbol of the redemptive power of heavenly music.

• Caravaggio, The Rest during the Flight into Egypt, Ca. 599. Rome, Galleria Doria Pamphilj. 319

Musical Angels A young classical-looking angel with large widespread wings instructs Saint Cecilia. His instrument is a double bass with six strings. In the Middle Ages, the number of strings in musical instruments referred to the days of Creation: though this symbolism has been lost, the notion of music as a mirror of divine harmony persists.

♦Guy Francois, Saint Cecilia, ca. 1613. Rome, Palazzo Corsini. 320

Saint Cecilia is playing a chitarrone, an early stringed instrument of the lute family The musical instrument as an attribute of this saint originated in the fourteenth century, when the liturgy celebrated on her feast day began to include, incorrectly, "organ music" repeated three times.

Several instruments lie at Cecilia's feet, from the ancient harp to the flute and the modern violin.

The episode of the musical angel appearing to Saint Francis is recorded in the Fioretti (Little Flowers of Saint Francis). Other biographies, including Thomas of Celano's Second Life, mention an angel playing the lyre. An angel appears on a cloud, a vision brought on by the ecstasy of the saint: with his music, he is to seek divine harmony.

♦Guertin, The Ecstasy of Saint Francis, 162o. Warsaw, Muzeum Narodowe.

Saint Francis, who had an eye ailment, seems troubled by the strong light surrounding the apparition of the angel. The saint, who was deep in prayer, as suggested by the open book, experienced a moment of ecstasy. 321

Musical Angels The trumpet marine, also called "angers trumpet." is a stringed instrument; it has a long, narrow body, trapezoidal in shape, and it is played with a small, bent bow. It apparently originated in Northern Europe to reproduce the male voice in female-only choirs of nuns.

The psaltery is an ancient instrument with a long iconographic tradition. It is an attribute of the biblical King David, who is traditionally considered to be the author of many psalms.

• Hans Memling, Christ Salvator .Afiendiamong Musical and Singing Angels, ca. 1487-9o. Antwerp, Kuninkink Museum your Schone Kunsten. 322

The two groups of three angels each represent a voice classification (bass, lyric tenor, and tenor) that was already obsolete when this painting was made, but the artist chose them precisely to re-create a sense of antiquity.

Musical Angels Music and song accompany the prayer of praise, as is clear from this rendering of a praying angel.

Psalm z 0:f proclaims, "Praise him with sounding cymbals; praise him with loud clashing cymbals!" In the Middle Ages and the Renaissance, percussion instruments were considered profane. Introduced into pictorial compositions, they were used more decoratively than symbolically.

Singing angels follow the written text of the hymn.

Two angels are playing the flute; one of them seems to be listening to the choir above him.

Two angels are playing a zither, an instrument mentioned with the harp in Psalm 150 that invites the faithful to praise God by dancing and making music with eight different instruments.

♦Gaudenzio Ferrari, Musical Angels, 1531. Detail of the dome fresco. Saronno, Santuario della Beata Vergine dei Miracoli. 324

Adance step seems to move the garment folds of the angel holding a lute, an echo of Psalm t so:4, "Praise him with timbre, and dance."

In the foreground, the angers harmonious gesture accompanies the melodious sound he is creating.

A small organ fed by bellows: of all the musical instruments, the organ was the first to be used officially in sacred music.

An unusual detail: an angel plays the lyre by holding it in his arms and plucking it. 325

Musical Angels Completing the concert scene are winged heads of angels flitting about.

The figure surrounded by a halo of light has been difficult to interpret: she could be the Virgin Mary after the Annunciation or an unidentified female saint.

An angel with more than a single pair of wings is most unusual since by this time, the need to differentiate between choirs of angels had disappeared.

From the highest heavens, God bestows the power of the Holy Spirit on Mary and the child Jesus.

A primitive viola da gamba is played kneeling; the incorrect position of the bow is perhaps explained by the compositional arrangement. ♦Mathias Gnincwald, Angel Concert at the Nativity, 1512.-16. Colmar, Musk d'Unterlioden. 326

The tub used for the Child's bath brings this Nativity composition, with its high allegorical content, back to everyday life.

Figures of angels wear armor or carry weapons, both usually reflecting the fashions of the artist's own time.

Warrior Angels The first warrior angels mentioned in the sacred scriptures are the Cherubim who were stationed at the eastern end of the Garden of Eden to guard it after the Expulsion of Adam and Eve. Genesis gives a very scant description, but the text does speak of "a flaming sword which turned every way," undoubtedly a weapon. Weapons are not the principal visual attributes of angelic creatures, but the definition of God's army, which is a recurring one, led artists, among others, to interpret them according to a hierarchy that is also military and to represent them as armed. In the subdivision of the nine angelic choirs, the Dominions in the second level carry either a spear or a scepter and may wear a helmet or a crown; in the third level, the angels with the roles of commanders and guides—the Principalities—are usually depicted armed instead of wearing deacons' habits. After the Principalities, the archangels battling the Devil (as in the book of Revelation) may also be represented as soldiers; Saint Michael is explicitly called commander of the heavenly army.

Definition Angels who have been assigned the task of guardian or defender

Biblical Sources Genesis 5:14; Joshua 5:14; Kings 2.1:19; I Chronicles 18:78; Nehemiah 9:6; Joel r a t ; Matthew 1.6:55; Luke Revelation 11; 19:19 Diffusion of the Image The iconography is connected to specific biblical episodes, and diffusion follows that of the representation of each episode.

4 Hans Mauling, Angel with Sword, r479-80. London, Wallace Collection.

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Warrior Angels

The sword raised by the angel to banish Adam and Eve from the Garden of Eden is the only clear element from the Bible about the appearance and role of the Cherubim.

The hoe Adam is carrying symbolizes the fate that awaits him: "to till the ground from which he had been taken" (Genesis 3:23).

Eve carries a spindle: she too is fated to work in order to earn her bread. The progenitors of the human race are dressed in garments of animal skins, which the Lord made for them and with which he clothed them (Genesis 3:27).

The guardian angel is dressed in a complete suit of armor of the type used in the fourteenth century; as is true in most paintings, however, he does not wear a helmet,

♦Giusto de' Menabuoi, Expulsion of Adam and Eve from Earthly Paradise, 1376-78. Fresco. Padua, Cathedral baptistry. 328

As described in the book of Revelation, God is shown sitting on a throne surrounded by the Seraphim—red angels with three pairs of wings. A group of fully armed warrior angels carrying shields and long swords assists at the heavenly battle between Michael with his angels and the rebel angels.

The rebel angels are depicted as demons with hairy, dark bodies, horned heads, claws on their feet, and angular bats' wings.

In this heavenly battle, God's angels are armed with swords and spears.

♦Master of the Rebel Angels, Fall of the RebelAngels, fourteenth century. Paris, Miss& du Louvre. 329

Angelic figures kneel next to the Virgin and Child, arranged around the figure of the enthroned God or of God the Father, or shown at moments of epiphany.

Adoring Angels Definition Angels worshiping and contemplating God, the Trinity, and the Madonna and Child Biblical Source Psalm 145 Characteristics Personal creatures with a spiritual, incorporeal nature dedicated to the worship and service of God Diffusion of the lmagc Widely diffused throughout the history of art, this theme starts to lose popularity in the nineteenth century.

▶Anonymous English master Angels Adoring the Madonna and Child, ,397-99. Detail of the Wilton House diptych. London, National Gallery.

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The act of adoration is an homage owed to God by his creatures; and the angels, who are his creatures, adore him incessantly. This is the business of Heaven, according to the exhortation of Psalm 148: "Praise the Lord! ... Praise him, all his angels, praise him, all his host!" The image of the adoring angel occurs at moments of epiphany, such as scenes of Paradise with the manifestation of Christ in Glory, God the Father, or the Trinity, or in scenes of festive events, such as the Coronation of the Virgin. In these cases, the angels, especially the red Seraphim, are arranged like a garland around the divine persons, sometimes forming an almond-shaped aureole, or mandorla, around them. In medieval images of the Virgin enthroned or the Madonna and Child, multitudes of angels are depicted in the act of silent adoration. In the Sacred Conversation compositions of the Renaissance, adoring angels were retained in altarpieces or included as simple worshiping figures with different tasks, such as swinging the censer, opening a curtain, or inviting the faithful to worship. And in Nativity scenes, the angels join the Virgin and shepherds in adoring the Child.

Adoring Angels In the background, two angels with pale blue hooded habits and blue wings are kneeling. They vaguely recall the older images of Cherubim in the hierarchies of the angelic choirs.

Following the example of the Virgin and the angels, the shepherds kneel to worship the infant.

Mary, dressed in a blue robe and kneeling, following a pictorial model that became diffused starting in the late fourteenth century, worships the Son of Cod.

Two white-robed angels (the one in the foreground is wearing a clerical stole) kneel facing the Child. ♦Hugo van dcr Goes, Nativity, i 475. Detail of the Portinari triptych. Florence, Galkria degli Uffizi.

Several angels in the foreground are wearing crowns and rich copes; the angels behind them wear the dalmatics of deacons. This is another attempt to portray the various ranks of angels. 331

Angels appear as protagonists in human affairs in scenes from the Old and New Testaments and in narratives of the lives of the saints.

Angels in Action Definition Messengers and executors of God's commands Place The Earth Time At all times in history Biblical Sources Genesis 1 8 , 2 . 1 , 2 2 , 32,

Kings iy; Luke; Acts t it; Revelation Related Literature Apocryphal Gospels; Jacobus de Voragine, Golden Legend; Lives of the saints Characteristics In addition to conveying God's message, the angels' tasks in the lives of men also include sustaining them in times of temptations or while in ecstasy, consoling them, and helping them in the most mundane everyday circumstances. Diffusion of the Image Vastly diffused throughout the history of art, but tends to diminish during the nineteenth century

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The presence of angels in human history is attest since the Old Testament. These heralds and messengers of God appear in many stories in which they often wear human guise and are not readily recognizable until they are revealed to be divine creatures. Solicitous and attentive, they are described as messengers who bring aid and sustenance, but also God's chastisement, as did the angels who sought lodging with Lot before the destruction of Sodom and Gomorrah. The New Testament describes the actions of angels throughout the events of Christ's life on earth, at joyous moments, such as his birth, and in hours of agony, such as the flight into Egypt or the prayer in the garden of Gethsemane. Angels are also present in the biographies of saintly men and women who, as followers of Christ, could count on the support of angelic creatures in times of temptations or during ecstasy, for whom angels were comforters and even aides in everyday chores (see, for example, the hagiographic narratives of the lives of Saint James and Saint Isidore}— evidence of the widespread belief that Heaven helps the faithful even in the most mundane circumstances.

Angels in Action With his left hand, the angel points to the road Lot must take to leave the city. The two "men," called angels only at the beginning of this chapter of Genesis (19:r-2), do not escort Lot and his family, but stay behind in Sodom to punish the city

4 Lorenzo Lotto, Madonna and Child with Saints (detail), r 617-2.8. Vienna, Kunsthistoriches Museum.

The angel who is saving Lot takes him by the arm with his right hand and urges him to hurry because Sodom's ruin is fast approaching.

♦Peter Paul Rubens, Lots Family FleesSodom, ca. t 6r4. Sarasota (Florida), John and Mable Ringling Museum of Art.

Behind the elderly Lot, the second angel urges him to take his daughters with him.

Lot's family leaves in a hurry, taking with them as much as they can carry, including (in this picture) golden vessels. His daughters and his wife leave with him, but the future sons-in-law remain in the city because they do not believe in the imminent danger. Lot's wife was soon to be turned into a pillar of salt (shown behind her) for not heeding the warning not to look back at the city. 333

Angels in Action The three men who visit Abraham are portrayed as angels (Genesis z 8), and he recognizes them as his Lord. They are interpreted as being an apparition of the Trinity. Abraham offers the three visitors bread that he asked Sarah to prepare: he does not touch it with his hands because in the textual exegesis of this event, the gesture takes on a sacred quality.

• Abraham Attends to the Three Angels, twelfth to thirteenth century. Mosaic. Monreale (Sicily), cathedral. 334

Sarah, Abraham's wife, is in the tent, here rendered as a masonry building. Her gesture is one of disbelief at the angels' prophecy: they are announcing to Abraham that he and Sarah, who is already old, will have a son. Sarah's gesture is the same as that of the Virgin in Annunciation iconography.

The table is set with a cup, a large bowl with a lamb (though the text mentions a calf), and the bread that Abraham is carrying: a clear foreshadowing of the Eucharistic sacrifice.

The artist has rendered Sarah's biblical tent as a hovel.

Sarah kneels reverentially, afraid of the angel, who has just predicted that she will bear a sun. Her expression betrays a smile, for being old, she does nut believe the prophecy.

• Giambattista Ticpolo, The Angel Appears to Sarah, r72.6-29. Fresco. Udine. Palazzo Arcivcscovile.

A handsome, stern, and authoritarian angel scolds Sarah. He firmly reiterates that in a year's time she shall hear a son and reprimands her for laughing in disbelief at God's omnipotence. 335

Angels in Action A young angel appears to Hagar and points to a well from which to refill her goatskin and quench the thirst of the little Ishmael. The angel speaks as God's messenger: "Fear not; for God has heard the voice of the lad" ( G e n e s i s 2. : 1 7 ) .

♦Giambattista Tiepolo, Hagar and Ishmael, i n z. Venice, Scuola Grande di San Rocco. 336

Hagar was Abraham's Egyptian slave with whom the patriarch had fathered his first son, but he had cast them out after Isaac's birth. Lost in the desert and with no more water to drink, Hagar had broken down weeping and despaired until the angel came to her rescue.

Ishmael is dehydrated. According to the Bible. Hagar left him at the distance of a bowshot because she did not want to see him die. For compositional reasons, however, the artist has arranged them next to each other. The pose of mother and child suggests that of the Pica

The artist has dressed the angel in contemporary clothes: vest with wide sleeves, a shirt, and, probably hidden by the shadows, pants.

This painting was made without a preliminary sketch; this is discernible by the lack of alignment of the angel's eyes, a detail that adds softness to his glance as he stares into Abraham's eyes.

The Bible mentions only the angel's voice, not his appearance, and notes that as Abraham heard the voice, he noticed a ram caught in the thicket by its horns. The more popular iconography of this scene shows the angel coming to stop the patriarch's hand. Here, the angel is also holding the ram for the sacrifice.

Hearing the angers gentle coming and his words, Abraham slowly loosens his grip on Isaac's head; the boy, in turn, listens in disbelief to the angers message.

A splendid detail is the burning firebrand gleaming in the darkness, a sign of the sacrifice that was about to be carried out.

♦Caravaggio, The Sacrifice of Isaac, ca. 1599. Princeton, Barbara Piasecka Johnson Collection.

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Angels in Action .4 light in the distance breaks up the night's darkness: the episode of b:cab's vision and strenuous battle with it takes place before dawn (Genesis 32:24-29).

The vision, who does not reveal his name to the patriarch, is interpreted as an angel and therefore rendered as a winged youth. One of the wings is spread out in the excitement of the struggle.

The angel's curly hair, as beautiful as gold and lit by a beam of light, appears disheveled by the struggle.

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not reveal his name to Jacob becauseman is not permitted to know the intimate essence of the Divine.

• II Morazzone (Pia Francesco Ntazztuxhellil, Jacob Struggles with the Angel, ca. 1609-1o. Milan, Museo Diocesano. 338

The bent leg suggests the dislocated hip caused by the angel's simple movement: only then does Jacob understand that his rival is a superior being.

After eating the food brought by the angel, Elijah became so strong that he walked forty days and forty nights to reach Mount Horeb, the mountain of God. The angel touches Elijah and awakens him twice, telling him to rise and eat the food he has placed by his head (a Kings 19:6-8).

The angel prepared for Elijah a cup. a jar of water, and a loaf of bread cooked on hot stones, so that he could eat and resume his journey instead of giving up and dying in the desert.

• Dirck Bouts, The Prophet Elijah in the Desert, 1464-68, Louvain, Saint-Pierre. 119

Angels in Action Three little angels are busy arranging the straw covering on the roof of the Nativity hut.

An obliging angel arranges a pillow on the Virgin's pallet, already covered with a rich carpet. Behind her, the ox and the donkey are visible at the manger.

The naked baby Jesus, walking hesitantly and pulling his swaddling clothes, waves to his mother as he goes to play with Joseph.

Three singing angels gladden this portrait of family life.

• Lower Rhine school, Sacred Family with Angels, ca. x4.15. Berlin, Clemiildegalerie, 340

The tradition that a choir of angels was always ready to provide for the Holy Family's necessities derives from apocryphal sources and popular religion. Here two angels busy themselves with cooking.

A water-carrying angel has drawn water from an elegant fountain, very similar to the Fountain of Grace, placed just outside the hut.

Still sleeping, this shepherd has his back turned to the vision and has not noticed the angel.

The angel bearing the news of the Savior's birth is surrounded by divine light. The rendering of the angelic figure, whose legs are not visible, underscores his spiritual nature.

The shepherd who was asleep is struck by the angel's light and by his message.

The yelping dog cannot comprehend the supernatural event and is frightened by it.

• Taddeo Gaddi, The Announcement to the Shepherds, ca. i 3z8. Fresco. Florence, Santa Croce, Baroncelli Chapel. 341

Angels in Action According to the Apocryphal Gospels, a young angel escorts the Holy Family during its flight into Egypt, leading the donkey and pointing the way.

Saint Joseph, in a marginal role, follows the small caravan and gags ; the donkeys

• Attributed to Benedetto Briosco, Flight into Egypt, ca. s 4yo. Sculptural relief. Acquanegra nil Chiese, San Tommasu. 342

Sitting on the donkey with the baby in her lap and a book in her hand, Mazy looks detached from the events surrounding her. Her pose is a revival of the Virgin and Child iconography in which the book is Mary's attribute as the Seat of Wisdom.

Ton putti hold a large crown over the Virgin's head.

In the workroom, Saint Joseph is assisted by a putto who sweeps up the wood shavings.

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A putto sweeps the floor. A putto pours water on the floor to wash it.

While the Virgin worships the Child, an angel attends to him by shooing away the flies that could annoy him, a suggestion that the fly is also a symbol of the Devil.

• Albrecht Darer, Madonna and Child, Ca.1496. Dresden, Gemildegalerie. 343

Angels in Action Mary has fallen asleep while rocking the baby and does not sense the angers arrival in their grotto in Bethlehem. An angel in a radiant robe, his wings still outspread, puts his hand on Joseph's shoulder and speaks softly to him.

According to the Gospel, the angel appeared to Joseph in a dream: thus he is pictured sleeping.

• Rembrandt, Saint Joseph's Dream, 1645. Berlin, Gcmaldegalcrie. 344

A young wingless angel is a faithful representation of biblical narratives that speak o f visions of angels with human traits but spiritual bodies that cast no shadow,

The angel's hand points upward to the place from which comes the announcement he bears.

The pages open on old Joseph's knees could signify the need to understand the events based on the holy scriptures. ♦Georges de La Tour, Saint Joseph's Dream, ca. 1640. Nantes, Mtn& des Beaux-Arts.

Saint Joseph is in a deep sleep: he receives the angel's announcement in a dream.

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Angels in Action Saint John the Baptist is depicted wearing a tunic made of animal skins, in accordance with the Gospel's description.

Wanting to make visible the words that were heard asJesus was baptized, the artist has represented God the Father appearing in Heaven inside a starstudded rainbow.

During the baptism, the dove of the Holy Ghost alights on Jesus, who is immersed up to the hips in the waters of the Jordan River.

♦Giovanni Baronzio, Baptism of Christ, ca. 1330-40. Washington, D.C., National Gallery of Art.

Two angels wearing precious robes wait on the shore, holding Jesus' garments.

According to the Gospels of Mark and Matthew, after Jesus overcame the Devil's temptations, angels came and ministered to him.

Two child angels decorate this composition in a style that became popular during the Renaissance.

Someangels approach Jesus in adoration after he has overcome the temptation of the Devil, who warned Jesus to worship him.

After Jesus refused the Tempter's request to turn stones into loaves of bread, young angels approach him bearing food as well as flowers to worship him.

• Jacques Stella, Christ Attended by Angels, ca. 165o. Florence, Galleria degli Uffizi. 347

Angels in Action Five young angels appear so Jesus carrying the instruments of his imminent Passion: the scourging pillar, the cross, the reed with the sponge full of vinegar, and the spear that would pierce his side. Jesus leaves his disciples to offer his anguished prayer to God the Father.

Peter, James, and John (the youngest, asleep with his mouth open) have fallen into a deep sleep and are thus unable to keep vigil with Jesus.

♦Andrea Mantegna, The Agony in the Olive Garden, ca. I.459. London, National Gallery. 348

Judas leads the squad of soldiers preceded by members of the Sanhedrin: they have come to arrest Jesus.

In the most typical iconography of this theme, the angel offers a chalice to Jesus, a reference to the words Jesus spoke when he asked "to let this cup pass" from him.

The angel sent to sustain Jesus during such a sorrowful, anguished prayer—his agony before the Passion—is clothed in luminous white garments, a sign that he is the herald of God. Kneeling in prayer, in the anguish of his Passion, Jesus sweats blood.

In the far distance, led by Judas, the guards approach to capture Jesus.

Asleep next to James and Peter, John is the youngest of the three disciples whom Jesus wanted with him as he went to pray in the garden of Gethsemane,

• El Greco, The Prayer in the Garden, 16os-so. Ancidjar, Santa Maria.

The ivy is a symbol of faithfulness: it is painted next to Peter, who will deereJesus three times but who will repent and become the Church's founder and its witness, until martyrdom. The rock against which the ivy is growing alludes to Jesus' words, "Thou art Peter and upon this rock 1 will build my church" (Matthew 76:181. 349

Angels in Action An angel with a large chalice collects the blood oozing fmm the side wound, inflicted to verify Jesus' death (John 19:34). This motif, linked to the liturgy of consecration, became widespread in the Middle Ages; the great popularity of the Holy Grail legend was also a factor in its diffusion.

The Virgin Mary stays at the foot of the cross until the end; Jesus will entrust her to John. • Attributed to Matteo Giovannetti, Crucifixion, second half of the fourteenth century. Fresco. Viterbo, Santa Maria Nuova.

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An angel collects into a howl the blood streaming from the hand wound of Jesus.

At the foot of the cross, John is the grieving witness of the death of Jesus, about which he will write in his Gospel.

The crown of thorns has been lifted, and all signs of agony have been removed from Christ's body.

♦Paolo Veronese, Pieta, x576-8z. St. Petersburg, Hermitage.

The angel's hand clasps the hand of Jesus' dead body in a merciful gesture of mourning, the last adoration of his body before the burial.

Jesus' legs are still one on top of the other, as if the lifeless body maintained the position it had taken when the feet were nailed to the cross. 351

Angels in Action

The women are frightened by the sight of the empty tomb and the apparition of the angel.

The light of dawn suggests the time when the women went to Jesus' tomb: it was early in the morning (Mark 16:2).

• Annibale Carracci, The Women at the Tomb, ca. t s 9o. St. Petersburg, Hermitage. 352

The woman holding the jar of ointments is Mary Magdalene because she not only brought ointment jars along with the . other women to prepare Jesus' body for burial, but also, in other episodes of the Gospel, had used perfume to anoint the head and feet of Jesus.

An angel dressed in white appears at the tomb, announcing to the women that Christ who had been crucified has risen: for this reason, he points to the empty tomb.

According to the sources, Peter woke up when the angel arrived because the angel touched him on the side, but the painter suggests that the light and the voice of the divine herald roused Peter in prison. The angel appears and a light shines in the cell: the light painted behind the angel follows the movement of his arm and touches Peter's face.

The chains that bound Peter in jail are already unfastened here, but they fall off his hands when the angel appears and urges him to rise (Acts 12:71.

♦Gent van Honthorst, Liberation of Saint Peter, ca. x 6x8. Berlin, Gon.ildegalene. 353

Angels in Action The trumpet used by the angel of the Apocalypse to announce the Judgment stimulates reflection about death, when the soul rejoins God: this motif was particularly widespread during the Counter-Reformation.

According to the Golden Legend, a lion whose paw had been wounded by a thorn was healed by Saint Jerome in the Bethlehem monastery and after that the creature never left his side. This episode is interpreted to signify that mercy conquers brute force.

The angel plays the seventh trumpet. This angel has no specific description in the book of Revelation: thus he is generically depicted as a winged youth. The spiritual creature arrives on a cloud, and no complete human body is visible.

The skull is one of Saint Jerome's attributes. symbol of Vanitas and of meditation on death.

The cardinal's scarlet mantle, in some cases complemented by the hat, is another element that identifies Jerome, though it is based on the mistaken belief, current in the Middle Ages, that he was a cardinal.

The hook and the written parchment scroll are iconographic attributes of the scholar. In the case of Saint Jerome, they refer both to his many works of exegesis and to his translation of the Bible into Latin—the Vulgate. The • Juscpc de Ribera, Saint Jerome and the Judgment Angel, t6z6. Hebrew characters recognizable on the Naples, Capoditnontc, scroll recall his work as a translator. 354

Among the attributes of the penitent hermit is the hourglass, used to measure time, which calls us to meditate on the transience of earthly things.

An angel is vigorously thrashing the devil that torments Romualdo; he presents himself as the defender of spiritual life and of the saint's ascesis,

♦Guertin, Saint Romualdo, ca. 164o. Ravenna, Pinacoteca Comunale.

Temptation is rendered as a diabolical image: a dark-skinned being with claws, following very ancient beliefs that represented demons as Natl.

The white Benedictine habit indicates that the saint followed the rule of Saint Benedict, 355

Angels in Action While praying, San Diego of Akald is lifted in a moment of ecstasy. It was his task at the convent to prepare supper for the friars, and when he was carried to Heaven, it is said that the angels took over his kitchen duties.

Two young, extremely graceful angels supervise and organize work in the kitchen.

• Bartolome Esteban Murillo, The Angels' Kitchen, 1646. Paris, Music du Louvre.

356

A friar has come into the kitchen and is astonished to seea team of angels busy with chores.

Areangel near the oven.

An angel diligently sets the table: note the upper shelf for second-course plates, at one time customary in convents.

A splendid still life of vegetables and kitchen utensils, worthy of an artist from the Spanish golden age. Two child angels—also known as hummingbird angels because of their diminutive size—are busy doing chores in the large convent kitchen.

357

Angels in Action In eighteenth-century compositions with depictions of the open skies, in addition to the angels artists often added small child angels—or putti of the air—that vaguely recalled the Renaissance models, except they are a bit more roguish.

Although the presence of the angel comforting Saint Francis in ecstasy originates in Franciscan sources, it became a regular iconographic detail thanks to postTridentine devotion.

Saint Francis is here portrayed with his traditional iconographic attributes of the stigmata and the friar's cowl and cord. but the artist also added the heads used to recite the rosary, a devotional prayer that was introduced only after 1470.

Brother Leo is present in scenes of the ecstasy of Saint Francis, as well as in depictions of the stigmata.

• Gian Bartista Piarzerta, Saint Francis in Ecstasy, 1759. Vicenza, Palazzo Chiericati, Pinacoteca Civics. 358

In portraits of Saint Francis doing penance or meditation painted after the Council of Trent, the skull, a general attribute of the hermit, becomes a Vanitas symbol.

An angel holding a child by the hand: he may be depicted as he teaches the child to pray, points to Heaven, or protects him from evil with his shield.

The Guardian Angel Belief in the existence of a guardian angel to whom each person is entrusted from birth to death derives from several biblical passages: for example, the book of Job; the events of Tobit's life when the angel explains to him and his son Tobias that he has always been with them; and the words of Jesus as set down in the Gospel of Matthew. In the fourth century, Saint Basil the Great, of Caesarea, affirmed that every human being has an angel at his side, a protector and shepherd who guides him through life. The iconography of the guardian angel is derived in part from that of the Archangels Raphael and Michael: the first in the act of escorting the young Tobias, the second in the act of defeating the Devil: It was extremely popular from the seventeenth century onward, following the publication of texts about devotion to the guardian angel and the addition to the Catholic calendar, according to the wishes of Pope Paul V, of a feast day reserved for him. The iconography of the guardian angel was defined by the image of a child whom the angel protects from evil, sometimes with a great shield, and escorts down the path of good.

Name The protecting angel Definition The angel that every human being has at his or her side, from infancy to death Biblical Sources Job 33:23-14; Tobit (apocryphal) II:12-15; Matthew 18:10 Related Literature Saint Basil the Great, AdversusF.UYIUM iUM (Against Eunomius) 3:1; Bartolomeo da Salmi

Characteristics The guardian angers tasks are 10 protect, advise, and intercede.

Diffusion of the Image Starting in the seventeenth cetigury

4 Domcnichino (Domenico La mpieri T h e Guardian Angel, x615. Naples, Capodimonte.

359

The depiction of Gabriel as a young, winged, androgynous figure conforms to the standard angel image-type; one of his attributes is the lily that he holds at the Annunciation to the Virgin.

The Archangel Gabriel Name Gabriel is derived from the Hebrew and means "Gisd is strong" or "man of God." Actions and Characteristics Ile brought God's message to mankind at various moments Ill biblical history. Protector Patron saint of communications workers, post office workers, radio operators, ambassadors, newspaper vendors, messengers, stamp collectors, television and telecommunications workers link to Other Saints Archangels Michael and Raphael Worship The cult had a late beginning, around the year moo. Feast Day September 2.9, together with Michael and Raphael

IssJan van Eyck, The Annunciation, Ca. z 5-5o. Washington, D.C., National Gallery of Art.

360

Gabriel is God's messenger. In the Old Testament he appears twice to the prophet Daniel, to help him interpret the meaning of a vision and to foretell the coming of the Messiah. In the New Testament he announces two important births: he appears to Zechariah to announce the birth of his son John the Baptist, and in what is considered his most important mission, he announces to the Virgin Mary the birth of Christ. The Israelites attributed other interventions in human history to Gabriel, such as the burial of Moses and the destruction of the Assyrian army. In the Apocryphal Gospels, Gabriel becomes an archangel, but without any particular change in iconography; he is recognized from the episodes in which he figures rather than from his outward attributes. For this reason, he is not always portrayed wearing the attire of a court dignitary, the white dalmatic tunic covered by a chlamys, but he is always shown carrying the long, thin rod of the ostiaries, an attribute of both angels and archangels, which is sometimes replaced by the lily he offers to the Virgin.

The Archangel Gabriel The archangel Gabriel appears in a beam of light, bearing the news of the birth of John the Baptist: with one hand, he points to the elderly priest and with the other he bears a scroll

The faithful who wait for Zechariah in the temple are frightened by the angelic apparition; according to the Gospel of Luke, however, only Zechariah saw the angel.

Elizabeth, Zechariah's wife, is the first to utter the name John for the child, and Zechariah confirms it. Note their halos, which have been rendered as square, possibly to ` differentiate the holiness that preceded the coming of Christ.

Kneeling in the temple and offering incense, the priest Zechariah seems troubled by the angel's apparition and does not believe his announcement.

• Lorenzo Salimbcni, Jacopo Salimbeni, and Antonio Alberti, TheAnnouncement to Zechariah, ca. 1416. Fresco. Urbino, San Giovanni Battista oratory.

Punished by Gabriel for his disbelief, Zechariah has become mute and is forced to write down the name he intends to give his baby; but at that very• moment, his tongue is loosened and he recovers the power of speech. 361

The Archangel Gabriel The dove of the Holy Spirit that "shall lay his shadow" on the Virgin is present at the angel's announcement, in keeping with the iconographic tradition.

Gabriel carries a flowering lily branch. symbol of Marys virginity; which has become his attribute in representations of the Annunciation of the birth of Jesus.

♦Dante Gabriel Rossetti, Ecce Ancilla Domini!, 185o. London, Tate Gallery. 362

In a change from a long artistic tradition, Gabriel is here depicted without wings, but his feet are engulfed in a supernatural fire.

Mary's disquiet is expressed by her fixed stare into the void and her drawing back against the wall.

The image of Gabriel recalls that of the Cherub with many blue wings. The feminine face emanates a strong divine light, and the hands are raised in the greeting that accompanies the announcement. Shorn of his traditional attributes, the angel is recognizable simply by the context.

Mary does not raise her eyes to the vision, almost as if the apparition were occurring to her in a dream. ♦James Tissot, The Annunciation, 1886-96. New York, The Brooklyn Museum of Art. 363

Michael is depicted with wings, wearing armor, and holding a sword or a spear with which he defeats the Devil; sometimes he holds the scale that he uses to weigh souls.

The Archangel Michael Name Derived from the Hebrew. Michael means "Who l is) like God r' Actions and Characteristics !host of an archangel Protector Patron saint of shopkeepers, stuntmen, policemen, haberdashers, grocers, scale manufacturers, swordsmen Special Devotions He is invoked for a good death. Link to Other Saints Archangels Gabriel and Raphael Worship Initially his worship was confined to the eastern Mediterranean, but after his apparition in Apulia (southern Italy) at the close of the fifth century, his cult quickly spread throughout Europe, Feast Day September z9, together with Gabriel and Raphael

▶Denys Ca!yarn, Saint Michael Archangel. 158 z. Bologna, San Petronio.

164

Michael is mentioned in the book of Daniel as the first prince and custodian of the people of Israel. In the New Testament, he is identified as an archangel in the Letter of Jude, while in the book of Revelation he leads the other angels in the battle with the dragon, which represents the Devil, and defeats him. The image of this archangel—whether because of the devoted cult that rapidly became attached to him or because of his iconography—is taken directly from the passages in Revelation. Based on this text, encomiums were written dedicated to Michael that hailed him as a majestic being with the power of weighing the souls just before the Judgment. Byzantine art preferred to portray Michael as a court dignitary rather than as a warrior battling the Devil or as a weigher of souls, both of which became popular in the West.

The Archangel Michael In his right hand Michael holds the long rod of the ostiaries, those who were charged with guarding sacred places.

Wings, the first attribute of angels, are derived from classical rept4sentations of winged Victories and the even earlier images of the winged genies of Assyrian culture,

As a member of the heavenly army, here Michael wears a loron, a typical item of clothing worn by nobles at the court of Byzantium.

♦Anonymous, The Archangel Michael, ca. 1299. Icon. Moscow, Tretyacov Gallery.

In the Byzantine world, Michael was customarily represented in the attire of a court dignitary rather than in armor. 36S

The Archangel Michael Michael's shield bears the image of the cross; like the standard of Christ's Resurrection, it is a sign of victory of Good over Evil.

In the background the heavenly army is battling the rebel angels—the Devil's angels—and casting them to the ground.

The weapon that Saint Michael uses in his battle to defeat the Devil is are astylar cross--a rare but meaningful iconographic detail.

AGerard David, Saint Michael Defeats theSeven Deadly Sins, ca. 1510. Detail of the Saint Michael Triptych. Vienna, Kunsthistorisches Museum. 366

Several monsters representing the Devil and the evil he brings into the world are crushed under the archangels feet.

Imaginary walls of the city of Rome at the time of Pope Gregor); sixth to seventh century. The miter surrounded by the halo identifies the pope who takes part in the procession headed by a cleric.

The Golden Legend narrates an episode in the life of Saint Gregory that took place during a major plague. At the end of a penitential procession around the city of Rome during which litanies instituted by the pope had been sung, Gregory saw an apparition atop the mausoleum of Hadrian (since then renamed Castel Sant'Angelo): it was Saint Michael sheathing his sword, signifying that their prayers would be answered and the terrible epidemic would cease.

Men, women, and clergymen kneel during the procession, indicating the participation of the entire population.

♦Agnolo Gaddi, Apparition of the Archangel Saint Michael on Castel Sant'Angelo, ca. 1470. Vatican City, Pinacoteca, 367

An angel with large wings, he is distinguishable from the other angelic figures because he escorts a teenage boy who is holding a fish. In medieval representations, he is dressed as a pilgrim.

The Archangel Raphael Name Derived from the Hebrew, it means "God healed me." Actions and Characteristics The angel who escorts Tobias Protector Patron saint of adolescents, travelers, and the blind Special Devotions He has always been worshiped as a healer. Link to Other Saints Archangels Gabriel and Michael Presence of Worship Vast, especially in the eastern Mediterranean Feast Day September iv, together with Gabriel and Michael

In the Old Testament, Raphael is one of the seven angels always ready to enter into the presence of the Lord's Majesty; only in the apocryphal texts is he referred to as an archangel. In the book of Tobit he is the messenger sent by God to answer the prayer of Tobit, a righteous old man who has become blind. The angel escorts the man's son Tobias on a voyage to collect a twenty-year-old debt of ten silver talents. During the trip from Assyria to Rages in Media (Persia), Raphael, who reveals his identity only at the end of the tale, guides Tobias to safety and saves him from many dangers, even helping him catch a large fish that was trying to eat his foot as he was bathing in the Tigris River. Raphael is also instrumental in Tobias's marriage to Sarah, daughter of Raguel. The angel teaches Tobias how to free her from a demon that was killing all her husbands on the wedding night (seven had already died). After the debt is collected, Raphael safely brings the couple home, and Tobias cures his father's blindness by following the angel's instructions.

• Domenichino (Domenk-o Zampicri), Landscape with Tobias and the Angel, ca. r6ro—rz. London, National Gallery.

365

The Archangel Raphael The old woman helping Tobias to cure his father's eyes is Anna, mother of Tobias and wife of Tobit.

Raphael is customarily depicted with wings, although he will reveal his true nature only at the end of his mission.

76bias, who is normally rendered as a young boy or a teenager, heals his father's blindness with the gall he saved from the fish, as Raphael had instructed him.

The dog is not the fruit of the artist's imagination but appears in the biblical text, where it is written that even the dog followed Tobias.

The large fish that was going to devour Tobias is one of Raphael's attributes. Its liver and gall were used for two healings.

• Bernardo Strozzi, The Healing of Tobit, ca. 1635. St. Petersburg, Hermitage. 369

The Archangel Raphael Raphael refuses the compensation offered to him by Tobias and Tobit and reveals His true nature as one of the seven angels who stand in the presence of God.

♦Giovanni Bilivert, The Parting of Raphael and Tobias, last quarter of the seventeenth century. St. Petersburg, Hermitage. 370

Among the women shown in the background tme must be Sarah, wife of Tobias, and another, Anna, wife of Tobit. They stand bath as the two men, who are called aside by Raphael, discuss the payment.

Together with his son, Tobit is ready to offer a large reward to Raphael for the service hehas rendered them.

Tobias is kneeling: according to the biblical text, when Raphael revealed his identity; Tobias "was alarmed and fell on his face" (12:161.

Sometimes angels have wings made of peacock feathers, a symbol of immortality.

Saint Michael is depicted as the commanderdn•chief of the heavenly armies; his sword is drawn and he wears full armor.

♦Francesco Botticini, The Three Archangels and Tobias, ca. 147o. Florence, Galleria degli

The Archangel Gabriel, who brought the announcement of Jesus' birth, is represented with his iconographic attribute, the flowering lily branch, an allusion to Mary's virginity.

The Archangel Raphael, to whom this painting is primarily dedicated, is depicted with all his iconographic attributes: the young Tobias whom he holds by the hand, the small dog following them, the fish which the boy carries, and the remedies extracted from the fish's gall and liver. 371

Represented as a man with wings, Uriel may be armed or surrounded by planets as iconographic attributes. He escorts young Saint John the Baptist.

The Archangel Uriel Name Of Hebrew origin, from 'FL meaning "God is my light." Actions and Characteristics According to the apocryphal literature, he was the fifth angel to he created; he brought alchemy to earth and was sent by God to announce the Last Judgment. Protector Custodian of time and the stars Special Devotions He is highly respected in modern angeMlogy. Worship The Council of Aachen (789) excluded this angel from worship.

▶Andrea di Nerio, Saint John the Baptist Led to the Desert by the Archangel UrteL ca. 13 5o. Bern, Kunstmuseum.

372

The Archangel Uriel was widely worshiped at the time of Saint Ambrose, but over time he has been forgotten, primarily because he is mentioned only in apocryphal sources. For this reason, following the Council of Aachen (789), the Church excluded him from the list of bona fide angels. The protagonist of the apocryphal book of the Ethiopian Enoch, he is mentioned in the fourth book of Ezra, which narrates how God sent him to announce the Last Judgment. The apocryphal Gospel of Bartholomew narrates that Uriel was the fifth angel to be created. Although he is remembered in modern angel typology especially for alchemy—he is credited with bringing it to earth—cabala, and knowledge of the stars, his iconography did not evolve, probably because art has been largely linked to the official Church, which did not encourage his worship. He is readily recognizable, however, in stories about John the Baptist because, according to tradition, he was the angel who led the young John into the desert to be educated.

The Archangel Uriel Multicolored wings for the archangel who is leading the child precursor of Jesus by the hand.

♦Painter active in Genoa, Stories of Saint John the Baptist: The Angel Guides Saint John the Baptist to the Desert, ca. a592.. Genoa, Museo di Sant'Agostino.

The gesture of the escorting angel as he penetrates into an impervious desert is one of care and attention.

As a child, John the Baptist was entrusted to Gud's tutelage. According to apocryphal texts, Uriel, one of the seven archangels mentioned in the book of Enoch, escorted him to the desert. 373

INDEXES General Index Index of Artists

Fra Angelico,The Last Judgment (detail), ca. 1431-35. Florence, Musty di San Marco.

General Index

Abraham, 2.o8, zz6, 334, 336, 337 and Hagar, 336 and Isaac, 336, 337 and Sarah, 334, 335 bosom of, see Bosom of Abraham Adam and Eve, r I, 14, 16-19, 21, 103, 2 0 8 , 1 4 1 , 242, 266,

327,328 Afterlife, 8, 5r, 204 Angels, 2.82-373 adoring, 330-31, 347 in action, 332-58 age and sex of, 289-93 Cherubim, 17, 18, 19, 208, 133, 281, 288, 294, 301, 303, 305-7, 308, 327,32.8, 331 child, 12.8, 153, 155, 289, 343, 347,357,358 choirs of, 40, 150, 2.94-300 classical antecedents for, 28o-81 guardian, 170, 328, 359 hierarchies of, 294-300 musical,55,58,311,3,8 -26 putti, see child angels rebel, 2.31, 236-40, 313, 317, 329, 366 Seraphim, 55, 294, 301-4, 305, 309,314, 319, 330 warrior, 313-17, 32.7-29 Animals, demonic, 89-98, 157 Anna, wife of Tobit, 370 Anthony, Saint, 45, 67, 75, 76, 77, 105, 118, 119 Anthony Abbot, Saint, 12.9 Antichrist, 208, 252-56 Apocalypse, 152, 189, 308, 309, 313,315,317,354 angel of the, 62, 354

376

beast (dragon) of the, 93, 165, 2.51., 262,264-69 book of the, see Revelation Elders of the, 3 xI-T 2 horsemen of the, 185, 197-201 Virgin of the, 167 Apollo and Marsyas, myth of, 106 Archangels, 360-73 Gabriel, 69, 90, 208, 283, 284, 36o-63 Michael, 31, 48, 71, 93, 156, t 65, 173, 208, 209, 217, 218, 219, 223, 227, 236, 238,2.39, 248, 249, 250, 155, 156, 265,

319, 359, 360, 364-67, 368, 371 Raphael, 359, 360,364, 368-71 Uric!, 372-73 Ars moriendi (art of dying), 167, 2922317,

1168:2.5712 Augustine, Saint, 51, 141, 150, 6 4 Basilisks, 75, 92, 99 Beast of the Apocalypse, 2.62., 264-66 Beelzebub, /44-51 Bernard, Saint, 98, 143, 153, 163 Black Mass, 118-19 Borgia, Saint Francis 171 Bosom of Abraham, 54, 59-6o Cecilia, Saint, Iso, 282, 320 Cerberus and Charon, 259-63 Cherubim, 17, 18, 19, 2.08, 233, 281, 2.88, 294, 301, 303, 305-7, 308, 32.7, 318, 331 Christ Ascension of, 208, 308 birth of, 2.87, z88, 308, 332, 341,360, 362, 371

Chair of, see Etimasia crucifixion of, 95, 96, 196, 273, 350 disciples of, 91, 95, 96, 148, /85, 348, 349 in the Garden, 2.72, 273, 348, 349 Last Supper of, 9r, 14o, 270, 273 Resurrection of, 46, 47, 48, 1 3 4 , 2 0 1 , 2 0 3 , 2 6 6 , 2.85

Second Coming of, 202, 2.06 Classical precedents, 63, 232-35, 280-8I Constantine, Emperor, 108, 161, 282 Creation, 1z-13 Damned, the, 28, 19, 33, 34, 42, 44, 51, 71, 92, 143, 202,2.06, 2 0 7 , 1 0 9 , 211, 212, 2 2 0 - 2 5 , 239, 253, 257-63

Dance, macabre, 18z, 188 Dante, 37, 38, 39, 40, 44, 51, 52, 53, 63, 220, 258, 159,2.61, 263, 270,1.75, 295

David, King, 47, 322, 323 Death, 32, 35, 50, 71, 1o6, 170, 172-78,18o, 182, 198, 199, 200, 209

triumph of, 183-88, 197 Deesis, 23, 32, I I I Devil as Tempter, 17, 21, 74-77,85, 99, 103, 130, /31, 132, 241-43,347 as fallen angel (Lucifer), 2.8, 34, 37, 41, 236, 237, 244, 245-51 disguises and deceptions, 85-88 pact with the, 78-79, I I I , 114,115,145,146

exorcism of the, 80-81, 102 Dis, city of, 34-35, 38, 41, 44, 212, 248, 260 Dragons, 97, 99, 100-1oz, 116, 121, 156, 157, 158, 159, 160, 1 6 1 , 1 6 2 , 1 6 5 , 2.19, 2.36, 2 3 8 , 239> 2 4 8 1 2 6 4 - 2 6 9

Ecstasy, 148-55, 311, 321, 332, 357, 358 Elizabeth, Saint, 361 Ezekiel (prophet), ,o6, 202, 213, 305, 306, 308, 309

Empyrean, 63-65 End o f Time, see Last Days Etimasia, z06, 208 Expulsion from the Garden of Eden (or Earthly Paradise), 11, 2, r8, 19, 48, 74, 103, 305, 32'7,328 Fall, the of man, 49, 74 of the Rebel Angels, 231, 236-40 Forbidden fruits, 17, 22, 48, 57, 103-5,142 Francis, Saint, 130, 132, 133, 1 5 4 , 3 0 1 , 3 0 3 , 3 2 1 , 3 11 , 3 5 8 Gabriel (archangel, 69, 90, 2.08, 283, 284, 360-63 Garden of Eden, 11, 14, 17, 19, 22, 23-26,57,103,317,328 and Fountain of Grace, 20-13, 51,54,229,340 Paradise, earthly, 14-17, 18, 20, 21, 24, 48, 52, 60, 74, 241, 328 George, Saint, t o o , 1 5 6 , r h o Ghosts, 108-10 Grace see Fountain of

state of, 2 2 , 4 0 , 4 6 1 1 4 3 1 1 7 5 , 205

Gregory, Saint, 1 52, 225, 308, 367 Harvest, Mystical, 214-16 Heaven, 13, 54, 63, 65, 71, 124, 139, 141, 143, 150, 196,105, zo9, 223, 224, 247, 265, 287, 313, 341, 346 battles in, 313-17 Bosom o f Abraham, 54, 59-6o Crystalline, 301 Empyrean, 63-65 see Angels; Archangels Heavenly battles, see Heaven, battles in Heavenly Jerusalem, 54, 58, 6 1 - 6 2 , 174, 211, 212, 311,

314 Hell, 28-53, 59, 68, 71, 92,93, 107, 1 to, I I I , 143, 177, 197, 198, 199, 206, 245, 257, 258, 259, 260, 262, 270, 275, 313, 315 circles and torments in, 40-42 Dante and Virgil in, 37, 38-39 fires and flames, 43-45 gates of, 33, 177, 259 infernal rivers and swamps, 36-39 Island of the Dead, 5o Limbo, 46-49 Purgatory, 51-53, : 2 4 - 2 5 See Angels, rebel; Damned, the; Dis, City of; Judgment, Universal Hercules, 50, 234, 259, 262 at the Crossroads, 122-24, 125,128 Homo tuella, see " M a n Is a Bubble"

Horsemen of the Apocalypse, 185,197-201 Inquisition, 82-84, 155 Isaiah (prophet), 28, 106, 244, 301, 308, 309 Jacob, 108, 139, 140, 141, 304 Jacobus de Voragine, 69, 159, 161 Jerome, Saint, 151, 232, 252, 354 Jesus, see Christ Job, 144-47, 235, 257,359 John/Saint/Apostle, 95, 96, 348, 349 John, Saint/Evangelist, 23, 28, 32, 61, 68, 98, 91, 14o, 150, 197, 208, 252, 269, 175, 308, 309-12,350 John, Saint, the Baptist, 210, 310, 346, 360, 361, 372, 373 Joseph (biblical), t 0 8 Joseph, Saint, 287, 319, 340, 342, 343, 344, 345 Joseph of Cupertino, Saint, 155 Judas, 41, 91, 270-74 Judgment, Particular, 196 Judgment, Universal (Last), : 8 , 29, 32-, 51, 54, 57, 58, 71, 93, 167, 183, 187, 196, 202, 205, 206-13, 214, 217, 2 1 8 , : 2 1 , 223, 224, 226, 245, 159, 261,

282,304,317,318,372,375 Ladder of Virtues, 141-43 Last Days, see Judgment, Universal Limbo, 46-49 Leviathan, 159, 257-58 Lucifer, see Devil Luke/Saint/Evangelist, 25, 28, 43, 59, 244, 284, 310, 361 " M a n Is a Bubble," 193-95 Mark/Saint/Evangelist, 43, 8o, 244, 310, 347, 351

377

Margaret, Saint, 99, 156,161 Martha, Saint, 156, 159 Mary Magdalene, Saint, 95, 129, 134, 150. 156,352 Mary, Virgin, 2.2., 23, 55, 65, 88, 90, 93, 95,96, 138, 155,

Netherworld, gates of the, see Hell, gates of Nightmares, 0 8 - i o Paradise, 54-58; see Bosom of Abraham; Empyrean; Heavenly Jerusalem Paradise, earthly,

1 7 5 , 2 0 8 , 2 11 , 2 1 2 ,

24.48, 52, 6o, 74, 241, 328 Paradise, gates of, 18-19 Parousia, sec Second Coming of Christ Peter, Saint/Apostle, 33, 43,58,71,162,208,

2 1 7 , 2 4 7 , 164s 2 6 7 , 279, 283, 284, 287, 290, 291, 294, 300, 319, 326, 330, 331,

334, 340, 342, 343, 35o, 36o, 362, 371 Matthew, Saint/Apostle, 28,43,51,236,248, 156, 158,207, 244, 252, 285, 310, 347, 349,359 Meeting of the Three Living and the Three Dead, The, 179-81 Michael (archangel), 32, 48, 71, 93, 156, 165, 173, 2.08, 209, 217, 218, 219, 223, 227, 136, 238, 239, 248, 249, 150, 255, 256, 265, 267, 292, 327, 3 1 9 0 5 9 0 6 0 , 364-67,368,371;

see Heaven, battles in; Psychostasis Mercy, Seven Works of, 136-38 Mystical Harvest, see Harvest, Mystical Mystic Lamb, 23, 25, 54, 61, 62, 229

378

1 4 - 1 7 , 18, 20, 21,

212, 273, 275, 276,

177,348,349,353 Peter Martyr, 8,, 88 Pieta, 336, 351 Philip, Saint/Apostle, 97,156,157,275 Prayer, 148-55 Psychomachy, 125-2.8 Psychostasis, 227-18 Purgatory, 51-53, 224-25 Raphael (archangel), 359, 360, 364, 368-72 Resurrection of Christ, 46, 47, 48, 134, 2 0 2 , 2 0 3 , 1 6 6 , 285

of the Flesh, 2.02-5 weighing of souls, 217-19 see Judgment, Universal (Last) Revelation, book of, 28, 32, 33, 54, 61, 62,

92, 99, 156, 165, 197, 198, 199, 201, 2.06, 2 0 9 , 2 1 1 , 213, 214, 215, 241,

252, 264, 266,267, 2.68,2.69, 287, 2.92, 305, 308, 309, 311, 312,313,315,317, 329, 354, 364 Righteous, the, 46, 48, 53, 2.06, 2z4, 2.2.6-2.9 Sabbat, 112,1 14, 115-17 Saints battling the Devil, 156-65 Anthony, 45, 67, 75, 76,77,105,118,119 Anthony Abbot, 129 Augustine, 51, 141, t 50, 164, 251 Bernard, 98, 143, 153, 163 Cecilia, 150,2.82., 320 Francis, 13o, 132, 133, 1 5 4 , 3 0 1 0 0 3 , 322, 3 2 2 , 3 5 8

Francis Borgia, 171 George, 100, 121, 156, t 6o Gregory, 152., 225, 308, 367 Jerome, 151, 2.32, 152,354 Joseph, 287,3,9, 340, 342, 343, 344, 345 Joseph of Cupertino, 155 Luke, 25, 2.8, 43, 59, 244, 184, 310, 361

Margaret, 99, 156, 161 Mark, 43, 80,2-44, 310, 347, 352 Martha, 156, 159 Mary Magdalene, 95, 1/9, 134, 150, 156,352 Matthew, 28, 43, 51, 136, 148, .156, 158, 207, 144, 151, 285, 310, 347, 349, 359 Peter, 33, 43, 58, 71, 162, 208, 212, 273, 275, 2769277, 348,

349, 353 Peter Martyr, 81, 88 Philip, 97, 156, 157, 175 Sylvester, 156, 162 Sarah, wife of Abraham, 334, 335 Sarah, wife of Tobias, 370

Satan, see Devil Second Coming of Christ, 201„ 206 Seraphim, 55,294, 301-4, 305, 309, 314,319,330 Serpent, the Tempter, 241-43; see Devil Ship of Fools, 72-73 Simon Magus, 2.31, 275-78 Sins Seven Deadly, 5z, 68-71, 366 enticements, musical, 106-7 Souls

in Hell, 220-23; see Hell in Heaven, see Heaven in Purgatory, 114-15 Souvigny Bible, 13, 135 Sylvester, Saint 156, 16z Tetramorph, 14, 308-10 Trials of Job, see Job Uriel (archangel), 371-73 Vanitas, 193,194,354, 358 Vanity of Vanities, 189-91 Virgin Mary, see Mary, Virgin Virtues, Ladder of, 141-43 Witches, 111—I4, 115-19 Zechariah, father of John the Baptist, 360,361 Zechariah, prophet, 28

379

Index of Artists

Ahadia, Juan de la, 219 Alberegno, Jacobello, 2.15 Alberti, Antonio, 361 Alkmaar, Master of, 136, 137 Altdorfer, Albrecht, 203 Andrea di Buonaiuto, 41 Andrea di Nerio, 37: Angelico, Fra, 42, zro Anthonisz, Cornelis, 89 Antolinez, Jose, tz8 Antonio de Lohny, 308 Arguis Master, z56 Bagetti, Giuseppe Pietro, II5 Balaam Master, 139 Baldung Grien, Hans, 112 Baronzio, Giovanni, 346 Bartolo di Fredi, 145 Bellegambe, Jean, 2o2 Bembo, Bonifacio, 145 Benvenuto di Giovanni, 122 Bcrnini, Gian Lorenzo, 148 Berruguete, Pedro, 83 Bilivert, Giovanni, 370 Blake, William, 140, 240 Boccati, Il (Giovanni di Piermatteo), 95 Bocklin, Arnold, 5o, rob Boel, Pietre, 190 Bonnecroy, Sebastiaen, 189 Borlone, Jacopo, 188 Bosch, Hieronymus, 20, 35, 64, 68, 7o, 73, tog, 107, 118, 119, 170 Botticelli, Sandro, 287, :91 Botticini, Francesco, 372 Boucicaut Master, 21 Bouts, Dirck, 221, 339 Bramantino, II (Bartolomeo Suardi), 93 Briosco, Benedetto, 342 Bruegel, Pieter, the Elder, 186, 316

380

Buffalmacco, Buonamico, 87 Cagnacci, Guido, 134 Cairo, Francesco, 155, 270 Calvaert, Denys, 364 Caravaggio, 138, 319, 337 Carpaccio, Vittore, toz Carra, Carlo, 200 Carracci, Annibale, 123, 352 Castiglione, Giovanni Benedetto (11 Grechetto), 153 Cavallini, Pietro, 282 Chagall, Marc, 304 Champaigne, Philippe de, 288 Chardin, Jean•Baptiste-Simeon, 193 Christus, Petrus, 209 Coppo di Marcovaldo, School of, 295 Correggio, 65 Costanzi, Pietro, 155 Cranach, Lucas, 16 Crespi, Daniela, 196 Crespi, Giovanni Battista (II Cerano), 225 David, Gerard, 366 Delacroix, Eugene, 38 Domenichino (Domenico Zampieri), 359, 368 Domenico di Michelino, 51 Dore, Gustave, 37

Dossi, Battista, 109 Dossi, Dosso (Giovanni Luteri), 247 Duccio di Buoninsegna, 47, 131 Diirer, Albrecht, 48, 72, 144, 174, 199, 243, 315, 343 Escalante, Tadeo, 92. Ferrarese master, anonymous, 94 Ferrari, Gaudcnzio, 324 Fiammenghino, II (Giovanni Mauro della Rovere), 132 Florencio, 309

Florentine master, anonymous, 52 Floris, Frans, 238 Foppa, Vincenzo, 88 Francois, Guy, 3zo Fuechere, Jean-Jacques, 251 Fuseli, Henry, 1 to Gaddi, Agnolo, 367 Gaddi, Taddeo, 85, 341 Gentile da Fabriano, 8o, 300 Ghirlandaio, Domenico, 67 Giambono, Michele, 294 Giotto, 29, 271, :86 Giovannetti, Matteo, 350 Giovanni da Modena, 3o Giovanni di Paolo, 12, 57, 183 Giovanni di Piermatteo (II Boccati), 95 Giusto de' Menabuoi, 55, 97, 328 Goya, Francisco, 82, 108, 114, 117, 171

Grechetto, II (Giovanni Benedetto Castiglione) Greco, El (Domenico Theotokopulos), 349 Grimewald, Mathias, 75, 326 Guariento di Arpo, 296, 297, 298,299,300 Guercino, 321, 355 Hals, Frans, I Hildesheim Master, anonymous, 275 Hogarth, William, 177 lsenbrandt, Adrien, 152 Jacobello del Fiore, 159, 277 JS Monogrammist, 44 Klimt, Gustav, 178 La Tour, Georges de, 147, 345 Leonardo da Besozzo, 279 Ligozzi, Jacopo, 175 Limbourg Brothers, 11, 29, 53, 237

Lippi, Filippino, 157 Liss, Johann, 77 Lochner, Stephan, 212 Lorenzetti, Ambrogio, 86 Lotto, Lorenzo, 90, 249, 333 Lucas y Velasquez, Eugenio, 84 Luteri, Battista, 247 Maelesskircher, Gabriel, 158 Mandyn, Jan, 45 Mantegna, Andrea, 307, 348 Marcovaldo, Coppi di, School of Marmion, Simon, 36, 43 Martini, Francesco di Giorgio, 126 Masaccio, 18 Maso di Banco, 162 Masolino da Panicale, 241, 293 Master of Cologne, 47 Master of Loreto Aprutino, 227 Master of the Legend of Saint Barbara, 146 Master of the Legend of Saint Catherine, 146 Master of the Little Garden of Eden, 22 Master of the Low Countries, 47 Master of the Rebel Angels, 329 Master of the Rohan Hours, 173 Master of the Virgo inter Virgines, 96 Master of the Vitae imperatorum, 34 Master Robert, 125 Mauro della Rovere, Giovanni (Il Fiammenghino), 132 Mazzucchelli, Pier Francesco (II Morazzone), 338 Memling, Hans, 58, 172, 322, 327 Metsys, Quentin, 1o5 Michelangelo, 167, 261 Montiglio Master, 179

Murillo, Bartolome Esteban, 356 Nardo di Cione, 41 Niccolo di Giovanni, 304 Niccolo di Pietro, 8o Pacher, Michael, 164 Parini-) di Buonaguida, 314 Padua Miniaturist, 2.58 Pagano, Francesco, 165 Palazzo Sclafani Master (Guillaume Spicre), 184 Patinir, Joachim, 105, 2.6o Pereda, Antonio de, 191 Perino del Vaga, 25o Piazzetta, Gian Battista, 358 Picasso, Pablo, 192. Piero della Francesca, 151 Pinturicchio, 142. Pordenone, 11 (Giovan Antonio de Sacchis), 2.89 Poussin, Nicolas, 149 Puigcerda Master, 98 R a p h a e l , 1 2 1 , 1 5 0 , 2.48, 2 9 1

Rembrandt, 79, 344 Ribera, Juscpe de, 354 Rosa, Salvator, 113 Rosati, Giuseppe, 194 Rosselli, Cosimo, 272 Rossetti, Dante Gabriel, 362 Rubens, Peter Paul, 2.07, 231, 239, 267, 310, 333 Ryckaert, David, III, 77 Sacchis, Giovan Antonio de (II Pordenone), 2.89 Saint-Aubert, Antoine-Francois, 116 Salimbeni, Jacopo, 361 Salimbeni, Lorenzo, 361 Signorelli, Luca, 204, 2.12, 254 Snellink, Jan, II, 15 Sons, Giovanni, 15 Spicre, Guillaume (Palazzo Sclafani Master), 184

Stella, Jacques, 347 Strozzi, Bernardo, 369 Suardi, Bartolomeo (II Bramantino), 93 Tiepolo, Giambattista, 12.9, 1.15, 2 3 6 , 3 3 5 , 3 3 6

Tintoretto, II (Jacopo Rohusti), 55, 16o Tissot, James, 363 Tura, Cosimo, too Valdes Leal, Juan de, 176 Van der Goes, Hugo, 331 Van der Weyden, Rogier, 169 Van Eyck, Hubert, 318 Van Eyck, Jan, 2.3, 32, 228, 318, 360 Van Honthorst, Gerrit, 353 van Lathem, Lieven, 156 van Leyden, Lucas, 2.13 van Loo, Charles-AmedeePhilippe, 195 Vasari, Giorgio, 2.66 Velazquez, Diego, 135 Venusti, Marcello, 163 Vermiglio, Giuseppe, 91 Veronese, Paolo, 351 Vivarini, Antonio, 81 Vouet, Simon, 133 Wagner, Roger, 214 Winchester Miniaturist, 2.46 Zuccaro, Federico, 263 Zurbaran, Francisco de, 262.

381

Photographic Credits Archivi Alinari, Florence Archivio Comune di Roma, Sovrintendenza ai Beni Culturali, Rome Archivio Fotografico Oronoz, Madrid Archivio Mondadori Electa, Milan Archivio Musei Civici, Venice 0 Archivio Scala Group, Antella (Florence) Artothek / Blauel, Weilheim Centre regional de documentation pedagogique d'Auvergne / Alain Jean-Baptiste, Clermond-Ferrand Antonello Idini Studio fotografico, Rome The J. Paul Getty Museum, Los Angeles Office de Tourisme de la Ville d'Autun Paolo Manusardi, Milan 0 Photo RMN / M. Beck-Coppola, Paris Antonio Quattrone, Florence By permission of the Ministero per i Beni e le Attivita culturali: Soprintendenza per it patrimonio storico, artistico e demoetnoantropologico di Bergamo, Como, Lecco, Lodi, Milan, Pavia, Sondrio, Varese Soprintendenza speciale per it Polo Museale Veneziano, Venezia Scala Group, Antella (Florence) The publisher would also like to thank the many photographic archives of museums and public and private entities that provided photographic material. Mondadori has made all reasonable efforts to identify the owners of photographic rights and is at their disposal to fulfill all rightful obligations.

382

The J. Paul Getty Museum

t h e GUIDE TO IMAGERY series

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