The Lambeth Tree
The Lambeth Tree of Jesse’s theological theme of Christ’s royal lineage is graphically divided into page sections that tell the story of his family history. "The patriarch Jesse belonged to the royal family, that is why the root of Jesse signifies the lineage of kings. As to the rod, it symbolizes Mary as the flower symbolizes Jesus Christ.” Jesse lies centrally at the bottom border of the page literally and visually grounding the tree as it rises upwards through a figure of the Virgin Mary, who stands tall and erect at the heart of the composition. Her stylized frame leads the eye upwards and wraps around the bust of her son, Jesus Christ, encapsulating him within her own self. Her clothing is of semi-formal dress, highly characterized and
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The Tree of Jesse does not only show a mastery of the art of illustrated illuminations during Medieval and Romanesque times, it represents the cultural importance and integration of religion and society as well as the artistic influences of the Byzantine empire on Western European secular and non-secular productions. The Tree of Jesse in the Lambeth Bible shows a unique and creative retelling of the biblical passage in the Book of Isaiah which metaphorically describes the descent of the Messiah through its use of the visual and physical composition of the page in relation to the subject matter — including the figures and context. Scale and color is also used to signify a hierarchy of figures; it is seen that both Jesse and Mary hold the dominant amount of space and form as they give life and support to the bust of Christ at the center top of the page. The unification of form and function becomes increasingly evident in the creation of the illuminated manuscript, especially in the Lambeth Bible, as illustration and text coincide with each other, working in tandem to create aesthetically stunning pieces of art that simultaneously educate and entertain society regarding the life of Christ. The Tree of Jesse shows remarkable progress and advancement of artistic technique from the Byzantine era that became before it and obviously influenced the work of Romanesque artists as evident in the graphic line weights, bold colors, and extremely stylized interpretation of the figures and contextual
The Tree of Jesse does not only show a mastery of the art of illustrated illuminations during Medieval and Romanesque times, it represents the cultural importance and integration of religion and society as well as the artistic influences of the Byzantine empire on Western European secular and non-secular productions. The Tree of Jesse in the Lambeth Bible shows a unique and creative retelling of the biblical passage in the Book of Isaiah which metaphorically describes the descent of the Messiah through its use of the visual and physical composition of the page in relation to the subject matter — including the figures and context. Scale and color is also used to signify a hierarchy of figures; it is seen that both Jesse and Mary hold the dominant amount of space and form as they give life and support to the bust of Christ at the center top of the page. The unification of form and function becomes increasingly evident in the creation of the illuminated manuscript, especially in the Lambeth Bible, as illustration and text coincide with each other, working in tandem to create aesthetically stunning pieces of art that simultaneously educate and entertain society regarding the life of Christ. The Tree of Jesse shows remarkable progress and advancement of artistic technique from the Byzantine era that became before it and obviously influenced the work of Romanesque artists as evident in the graphic line weights, bold colors, and extremely stylized interpretation of the figures and contextual