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DOI Artikel:Dobrzeniecki, Tadeusz; Muzeum Narodowe w Warszawie [Mitarb.]: St. Anne from Faras in the National Museum in Warsaw
DOI Seite / Zitierlink: https://doi.org/10.11588/diglit.18903#0067
Two copies of an Evangeliary (Cod. 43) from the Stauronikita monastery (Athos), according
to Matthew and John32, testify to the existence of early portraits of Evangelists, modelled on
representations of ancient philosophers. Matthew preserves the character and style of ancient
figures in a toga; moreover, his portrait is a faithful reproduction of the statuę of the meditating
philosopher Epicurus from the Palazzo Margherita in Rome. The table, the writing-desk and
the open book, a writer's attributes, were added by a monastic miniaturist, to whom another
detail, very important to our studies, should also be ascribed: both meditating Evangelists,
Matthew and John, make a gesture of silence raising their right forefingers to their lips33.
John writes about himself in the Revelation I, 10. 12: „It was on the Lord's day, and I was
caught up the Spirit; and behind me I heard a loud voice, like the sound of a trumpet... I turned
to see whose voice it was that spoke to me." Already Early Christian literary tradition ascribed
to John a prominent position among the Evangelists, because only he „inspired by the Spirit
had written a spiritual Gospel". Others approached the subject from a materiał standpoint.
Instead the pictorial type of the Evangelist is a Christianized version of the classical repre-
sentation of a seated Poet handling a scroll, looking up to a Muse inspiring him. Two ivory tablets
represent writers with their Muses. The writers include: Herodotus, Anacreon, Aristotle, Euri-
pides, Menander and Horace. The first two were the archetypes for the latter representations.
Herodotus is shown seated on a stone sockle, looking at Clio who stands behind him in a long
trailing robe and reads to him from a scroll (Fig. 16)34. This ancient image of a poet looking over
his shoulder at an approaching inspiring figurę closes a long series of classical representations
of which was called „supernatural persuasion"35. Christian portraits of the Evangelists con-
tinued that iconographic tradition.
The representation of Matthew in the Armenian Evangeliary from the mid-13th century, in
addition to motifs characteristic of an Evangelist's portrait, includes a motif of particular impor-
of Queen MIke in Venice, dated 902, which repeats a Greek model. In the Kossano Gospel (Syrian, 2nd half of the 6th
century, Kossano (Calabria), Museo del Arcivescovado) the portrait of Marc is included, who shown in profile, is writing
the beginning of his Gospel on the unrolling scroll; in front of the writer a nimbed woman is standing — the personification
of the Holy Wisdom (Hagia Sophia) and the inscription of the Evangelist (the reference to the Antioue portrait of poet or
philosopher inspired by the Muse). This new type of the portrait of the Evangelist writing and inspired by the Holy Wisdom
was introduced into the Byzantine iconography: Codex Purpureus Rossanensis, fol. 121r, Weitzmann, op. cit., p. 96, Fig. 33;
H. Hollandcr, Kunst des Friihen Miitelallers, Stuttgart, 1969, p. 24, Fig. 12.
32. Stauronikita Cod. 43, fol. 10r — Matthew; fol. 13r — John: K. Weitzmann, Geistige Grundlagen und Wesen der Makedonischen
Renaissance, Koln und Opladen, 1963, p. 29—31, Fig. 23 (Matthew), Fig. 24 (the image of Epicurus, Korne, Palazzo
Margherita).
33. A miniaturę of John, preserved on the separate leaf, included into the 14th century Gospel (Athens, Bibl. Nat. No 71,
fol. 158, see H. Buchlal, „A Byzantine Miniaturę of the Fourth Evangelist and its Kelatives'\ Dumbarlon Oaks Papers, XV,
1961, p. 127—139) gave the origin to a new type of the Evangelist's portrait: John sitting on the throne, shown in profile
turns his head toward the Manus Dei, emerging from the segment of the sky; the Evangelist holds the scroll of his Gospel
in his left hand, while the right band in the gesture of speech is directed to the scriptor Prochoros, to whom the Eyangelist
dictates the Gospel; see K. Weitzmann, „The Constantinopolitan Lectionary Morgan 639" in: Studies in Art and Literaturę
for Bella Da Cosla Creene, Princeton, 1954, p. 358—373, Fig. 291: Biblioteca Vaticana, Cod. Urb. Gr 2, fol 261r; Fig. 197: V:
Acta apostolorum VI, 5: Etelegerunt Slephanum... et Prochorum; G. Kaster, s.v. „Prochorus", Lexikon der chrisllichen Jkono-
graphie, VIII, Stuttgart, 1976, col. 227; P. Graechter, „Dic Sicben", Zeitschrift fur Katholische Theologie, LXXV, 1952,
p. 129—166; E. Hennecke, W. Schneemelcher, Neutestamentliche Apokryphen in deulscher Ubersetsung, JJ, Aposlolisches,
Apokalypsen und Verwandles, Tiibingen, 1964, p. 125—176: Johannesakten.
3 4. Two ivories with the Poets and Muses, Egypte( ?) or Gaul( ?), the 5th century, 29 X 7,5 cm; Paris, Musee du Louvrc, Dcpar-
tement des Antiquites Grccgues et Romaines, SMD 46; W. F. Volbach, Elfenbeinarbciten der Spatantike und des Friihen
Mittelalters, Mainz, 19763, N° 69; Age of Spirituality, op. cit. p. 258—260, Fig. on p. 259, G.M.A. Hanfmann, „The Conti-
nuity of Classical Art, Culture, Myth and Faith" in: Age of Spirituality, A Symposium. Edited by K. Weitzmann, The
Metropolitan Museum of Art, New York, 1980, p. 75—99, Fig. 2 to p. 77.
3 5. E. Panofsky, Studies in Iconology, New York, 1959, p. 165, Fig. 120.
57
to Matthew and John32, testify to the existence of early portraits of Evangelists, modelled on
representations of ancient philosophers. Matthew preserves the character and style of ancient
figures in a toga; moreover, his portrait is a faithful reproduction of the statuę of the meditating
philosopher Epicurus from the Palazzo Margherita in Rome. The table, the writing-desk and
the open book, a writer's attributes, were added by a monastic miniaturist, to whom another
detail, very important to our studies, should also be ascribed: both meditating Evangelists,
Matthew and John, make a gesture of silence raising their right forefingers to their lips33.
John writes about himself in the Revelation I, 10. 12: „It was on the Lord's day, and I was
caught up the Spirit; and behind me I heard a loud voice, like the sound of a trumpet... I turned
to see whose voice it was that spoke to me." Already Early Christian literary tradition ascribed
to John a prominent position among the Evangelists, because only he „inspired by the Spirit
had written a spiritual Gospel". Others approached the subject from a materiał standpoint.
Instead the pictorial type of the Evangelist is a Christianized version of the classical repre-
sentation of a seated Poet handling a scroll, looking up to a Muse inspiring him. Two ivory tablets
represent writers with their Muses. The writers include: Herodotus, Anacreon, Aristotle, Euri-
pides, Menander and Horace. The first two were the archetypes for the latter representations.
Herodotus is shown seated on a stone sockle, looking at Clio who stands behind him in a long
trailing robe and reads to him from a scroll (Fig. 16)34. This ancient image of a poet looking over
his shoulder at an approaching inspiring figurę closes a long series of classical representations
of which was called „supernatural persuasion"35. Christian portraits of the Evangelists con-
tinued that iconographic tradition.
The representation of Matthew in the Armenian Evangeliary from the mid-13th century, in
addition to motifs characteristic of an Evangelist's portrait, includes a motif of particular impor-
of Queen MIke in Venice, dated 902, which repeats a Greek model. In the Kossano Gospel (Syrian, 2nd half of the 6th
century, Kossano (Calabria), Museo del Arcivescovado) the portrait of Marc is included, who shown in profile, is writing
the beginning of his Gospel on the unrolling scroll; in front of the writer a nimbed woman is standing — the personification
of the Holy Wisdom (Hagia Sophia) and the inscription of the Evangelist (the reference to the Antioue portrait of poet or
philosopher inspired by the Muse). This new type of the portrait of the Evangelist writing and inspired by the Holy Wisdom
was introduced into the Byzantine iconography: Codex Purpureus Rossanensis, fol. 121r, Weitzmann, op. cit., p. 96, Fig. 33;
H. Hollandcr, Kunst des Friihen Miitelallers, Stuttgart, 1969, p. 24, Fig. 12.
32. Stauronikita Cod. 43, fol. 10r — Matthew; fol. 13r — John: K. Weitzmann, Geistige Grundlagen und Wesen der Makedonischen
Renaissance, Koln und Opladen, 1963, p. 29—31, Fig. 23 (Matthew), Fig. 24 (the image of Epicurus, Korne, Palazzo
Margherita).
33. A miniaturę of John, preserved on the separate leaf, included into the 14th century Gospel (Athens, Bibl. Nat. No 71,
fol. 158, see H. Buchlal, „A Byzantine Miniaturę of the Fourth Evangelist and its Kelatives'\ Dumbarlon Oaks Papers, XV,
1961, p. 127—139) gave the origin to a new type of the Evangelist's portrait: John sitting on the throne, shown in profile
turns his head toward the Manus Dei, emerging from the segment of the sky; the Evangelist holds the scroll of his Gospel
in his left hand, while the right band in the gesture of speech is directed to the scriptor Prochoros, to whom the Eyangelist
dictates the Gospel; see K. Weitzmann, „The Constantinopolitan Lectionary Morgan 639" in: Studies in Art and Literaturę
for Bella Da Cosla Creene, Princeton, 1954, p. 358—373, Fig. 291: Biblioteca Vaticana, Cod. Urb. Gr 2, fol 261r; Fig. 197: V:
Acta apostolorum VI, 5: Etelegerunt Slephanum... et Prochorum; G. Kaster, s.v. „Prochorus", Lexikon der chrisllichen Jkono-
graphie, VIII, Stuttgart, 1976, col. 227; P. Graechter, „Dic Sicben", Zeitschrift fur Katholische Theologie, LXXV, 1952,
p. 129—166; E. Hennecke, W. Schneemelcher, Neutestamentliche Apokryphen in deulscher Ubersetsung, JJ, Aposlolisches,
Apokalypsen und Verwandles, Tiibingen, 1964, p. 125—176: Johannesakten.
3 4. Two ivories with the Poets and Muses, Egypte( ?) or Gaul( ?), the 5th century, 29 X 7,5 cm; Paris, Musee du Louvrc, Dcpar-
tement des Antiquites Grccgues et Romaines, SMD 46; W. F. Volbach, Elfenbeinarbciten der Spatantike und des Friihen
Mittelalters, Mainz, 19763, N° 69; Age of Spirituality, op. cit. p. 258—260, Fig. on p. 259, G.M.A. Hanfmann, „The Conti-
nuity of Classical Art, Culture, Myth and Faith" in: Age of Spirituality, A Symposium. Edited by K. Weitzmann, The
Metropolitan Museum of Art, New York, 1980, p. 75—99, Fig. 2 to p. 77.
3 5. E. Panofsky, Studies in Iconology, New York, 1959, p. 165, Fig. 120.
57