![]() ![]() The earliest known Christ Pantocrator, in St. See the description page.Ĭatacombs painting, 4th century – See the description page Prepared in 2014 by Richard Stracke, Emeritus Professor of English, Augusta University.Ĭhrist Enthroned (12th century), The Palatine Chapel, Palermo, Sicily. After the Middle Ages, the open hand was more common for the sign of the cross, but the art continued to picture Christ's blessing with the thumb and two fingers raised In the 9th century Leo IV required priests to bless the chalice and host during Mass with their fingers held this way, "by which the Trinity is symbolized." By the 11th century it became the configuration that western Christians used when making the sign of the cross on themselves. This is seen as early as the 6th century in In the West a tradition gradually developed of picturing the blessing hand with the fourth and pinky fingers curved down and the thumb and other fingers pointed up, as in the third picture at right. 3 Whatever the origin, Orthodox believers see it as a way of forming the letters IC XC, the monogram of Jesus Christ, 4 and in the East it is the traditional way of picturing the fingers in Christ's blessing. A number of sites on the web say this began as an oratorical gesture, but I have not found it in any statues of Roman orators, nor is it mentioned in Quintilian's extensive survey of hand gestures. In the sarcophagus fragment mentioned above, the fingers also seem to be arranged this way. Catherine's icon, as in several of the images cited above, Christ blesses the viewer with the thumb of the right hand touching the fourth finger (the one next to the pinky). ![]() In Russia a version with a full-height Christ was adopted by iconographers in the 12th and 13th centuries for use on the iconostasis The Christ Pantocrator became a common feature of Eastern apse mosaics Catherine's Pantocrator (second picture at right), but it may have been based on earlier works that disappeared during the Iconoclast ascendancy ( Chatzidakis, 202-204). 1 The earliest extant example is the 6th-century St. Portrayed half-height, Christ looks directly at the viewers and blesses them with his right hand. Two-dimensional Christ Enthroned images invariably put a crossed halo behind the figure's head, but in sculptural work a crown is used insteadĮastern churches developed a similar iconographic type known as Christ Pantocrator. ( example), reflecting Psalm 90:13 (Vulgate), "Thou shalt walk upon the asp and the basilisk: and thou shalt trample under foot the lion and the dragon." In later images angels are added to the entourage (as in the image above) or replace the saints entirelyĪnother early type had Christ treading on a lion and a serpent In some cases, Christ was represented symbolically by an enthroned crossįrom the 11th or 12th century, he is represented by both the cross and his own face. ![]() Later versions will have the image in a mandorla or circleĪfter the 12th century it became less common in the West, where images of the Madonna Enthroned gained popularity. He is also enthroned in Last Judgment imagesīy at least the late 5th century this iconographic type had diffused as far as MilanĪn Arian facility in Ravenna. In later images he can be flanked by the symbols of the four evangelists Unlike the imperial portraits, Christ typically holds a scroll or book in his left hand and blesses the viewer with his right. ![]() They continue in the iconography well into the second millenium, and even in the Renaissance apostles will be pictured in one long garment covered by another that hangs loosely from one or both shoulders These garments are also seen in early examples of the Traditio Legis, where an enthroned Christ hands symbols of authority to Saints Peter and Paul. In these images Christ and his saints wore the garb of a Roman senator: a toga hanging from the left shoulder over a "dalmatic," which was a sleeved tunic with two vertical stripes.Ī third-century fresco from the Hypogeum of the Aurelii in Rome, showing the purple stripes on the togas of senators. This too was taken from imperial iconography. Sometimes the "throne" was a globe to represent the universe that he rules In some images his hair and beard were modeled on portraits of emperors, which in turn had been based on statues of Jupiter Like a Roman emperor he was pictured on a throne flanked by "courtiers" - Peter and Paul, and often a number of others Starting in the 4th century, Christian art adapted the iconographic "vocabulary" used in images of the Emperor and his court to portray Christ as "King of Kings and Lord of Lords" (Revelation 19:16). ![]()
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