Christ In Majesty Vs Copy
Christ in Majesty vs. Image with Christ Pantokrater:
An Essay of Visual Analysis and Comparison
From the dawn of Christianity, artists have drawn from Pagan traditions of the past by creating art to reflect teachings and to portray prominent figures of their religion. There have been countless renditions of Jesus Christ throughout the centuries; the son of God has been depicted in a variety of ways. With time, an evolution in the style of the representation of Christ inevitably took place. Christ as Majesty by Bernardus Gelduinus (Figure #1) is a sculpture from Romanesque France and currently decorates the ambulatory of Saint-Sernin in Toulouse. Image with Christ Pantokrater is a Byzantine work that came from the Thessaloniki Workshop in Greece and originated about four hundred years after Christ as Majesty (Figure #1) was raised. Although the subject matter and context of the two Christian works are alike in many ways, the style and presentation vary drastically. Christ as Majesty (Figure #1) is a figurative, marble relief sculpture. It features Christ sedentary and has a book propped up between his left hand and knee. The book is inscribed with “Pax vobis”; Latin for “Peace unto you” which appears in the gospels and is still used today as liturgy salutations.1 His other hand gives a gesture of blessing. The figure here is framed by an oblong, almond border—a vesica piscis or mandorla; “In Christian art the mandorla occurs most frequently in the Romanesque style and most prominently.”2 It is adorned with diamond and circular shapes engraved into the marble. There are also various symbols around the figure of Christ. Starting at the viewer’s top left, there is an eagle, opposite to that is an angel; on the bottom corners from left to right are an ox and a lion. These all denote the four evangelists, John, Matthew, Luke and Mark and respectively. Christ is also shown here with a halo with an implied equilateral cross within it. His eyes
An Essay of Visual Analysis and Comparison
From the dawn of Christianity, artists have drawn from Pagan traditions of the past by creating art to reflect teachings and to portray prominent figures of their religion. There have been countless renditions of Jesus Christ throughout the centuries; the son of God has been depicted in a variety of ways. With time, an evolution in the style of the representation of Christ inevitably took place. Christ as Majesty by Bernardus Gelduinus (Figure #1) is a sculpture from Romanesque France and currently decorates the ambulatory of Saint-Sernin in Toulouse. Image with Christ Pantokrater is a Byzantine work that came from the Thessaloniki Workshop in Greece and originated about four hundred years after Christ as Majesty (Figure #1) was raised. Although the subject matter and context of the two Christian works are alike in many ways, the style and presentation vary drastically. Christ as Majesty (Figure #1) is a figurative, marble relief sculpture. It features Christ sedentary and has a book propped up between his left hand and knee. The book is inscribed with “Pax vobis”; Latin for “Peace unto you” which appears in the gospels and is still used today as liturgy salutations.1 His other hand gives a gesture of blessing. The figure here is framed by an oblong, almond border—a vesica piscis or mandorla; “In Christian art the mandorla occurs most frequently in the Romanesque style and most prominently.”2 It is adorned with diamond and circular shapes engraved into the marble. There are also various symbols around the figure of Christ. Starting at the viewer’s top left, there is an eagle, opposite to that is an angel; on the bottom corners from left to right are an ox and a lion. These all denote the four evangelists, John, Matthew, Luke and Mark and respectively. Christ is also shown here with a halo with an implied equilateral cross within it. His eyes