Tuesday 24th. The Nativity
of Saint John the Baptist
William sends greeting for the 55th anniversary of Ordination of
Priesthood.
His gift is the beautiful message and the amazing illuminated painting;
“Here, on a
special day for you, is one of life’s strange antiquarian encounters, to illuminate
with the brightness and joy of inquiry, Blog reflections as you celebrate the
occasion of your 55th anniversary of your Ordination” ...
It is a lovely
gift, and exciting to view the aspects of the painting. See below..
Thank you.
THE
RICH MAN AND LAZARUS (Lk. 16,19-31)
St Luke's parable is in its choice of word and in its vividness
a challenge to the artist to take up his brush and depict the scene - Luke the painter!
This illumination is indeed worthy of the precious and beautifully illustrated
Gospel-book from which it is taken. A deep-set yet elegant Romanesque doorway is
used as a frame. Lightly fluted, slender columns on fragile bases, crowned with
Corinthian double-capitals bear the weight of the arch, which resembles more a garland
of flowers than a work in stone. To the left and right of the arch there shine two
red-gold medallions with human faces, held in position by gracefully twining tendrils.
Inside the ornamental arch with its pillars one can see the simpler parts of the
portal: first a broad border in blue, followed by a thin green one, then a white
one. These are intended as a contrast to the gold which then appears and which
symbolizes eternity. On this gold field the artist has placed three scenes which
one should read beginning with the lowest. There are two circles, like magic globes,
between them an elongated ellipse and they represent three kingdoms, Earth, Hell
and Heaven.
The first circle shows the rich man's festive table, rather in the
manner of an early Christian Eucharistic celebration, where, however, the words
of St. Paul in 1 Cor. 11,21 are not heeded: "Each
corner hastens to eat the supper he has brought for himself, so that one man goes
hungry, while another drinks deep". Lazarus, sick and poor, can be seen
to the left excluded from the gold-green circle, where the feast is in progress.
Three dogs bound in from the other side and run towards him in order to lick his
sores.
 |
| Lazarus Lk 16:19-31 |
The three scenes here depicted relate what happened in order of
time. In the dark oval- the abyss, the pit, the underworld we perceive the rich
man who has meanwhile died and is now suffering the agonies of thirst. From
here he cries out for pity to Abraham in the upper region, seated upon a golden
throne in a golden circle. Lazarus is now in Abraham's bosom, where the angels
have carried him, a reference to late Jewish representations of Paradise and its
joys.
Abraham's words are not painted here, but they are in our ears,
and make this picture into a cryptic Easter message, in which the admonition to
love one's neighbour is irrevocably bound with the hope of rising to everlasting
life.
Der
reiche Prasser und arme Lazarus – Evangeliar Otto III, Aachen.
Virtual Tour of Beuron Abbey
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