DOI Seite / Zitierlink:
https://doi.org/10.11588/diglit.68745#0135
SCHEME OF THE SCUOLA
The two last monochromes are ‘Melchisedek blessing Abraham,’
a type of Christ blessing His disciples, and ‘ Moses fleeing into
the land of Midian.’ In the first, ‘ Melchizedek king of Salem
brought forth bread and wine: and he was the priest of the
most high God. And he blessed him and said, Blessed be Abram
. . . possessor of heaven and earth.’ In Hebrews Melchisedek is
six times alluded to as a type of Christ, ‘ a priest for ever after the
order of Melchisedek.’ In its companion, Moses journeys with
his staff in his hand and his head bent, walking in trepidation
through a dreary desert, but with light shining from heaven, on
his way. This is appropriately placed beside the ‘ Paschal Feast,’
with the men preparing for their flight from Egypt, and we find
also a harmony with the ‘ Birth of Moses ’ at the other corner,
the infant saved from the death threatened by Pharaoh, and the
youth in after life, saved from the wrath of the king. ‘ Now
when Pharaoh heard this thing, he sought to slay Moses. But
Moses fled from the face of Pharaoh, and dwelt in the land of
Midian.’
The miracles include six of refreshment or succour, two of
miraculous restoration to health, six of miraculous deliverance
from danger. Taking as a centre 4 The Brazen Serpent,’ type
of the Crucifixion, the act of mercy by which the plague caused
by disobedience is stayed, we have in connexion, the disobedience
of our first parents, of Jonah and of Moses, and on the other hand,
the faith of Abraham, of Moses and the people fed with manna, and
of those obediently eating the Paschal feast. The sacraments of
Baptism and the Last Supper, and the Agony in the Garden are
confronted by three miraculous acts of mercy ; the healing at the
pool, the multiplication of loaves, and the raising of Lazarus, and
again on the roof, God manifest to Moses on Mount Horeb, pairs
with Moses before the assembled congregation, and Elijah receiv-
ing food and drink from angels in the wilderness is echoed by the
miracle of loaves at Gilgal and the other miracle of loaves and fishes.
It will be seen by this outline how ingeniously the whole is
arranged, linked together and contrasted, and how far the subjects
are from being arbitrarily chosen or chosen merely for pictorial
reasons. A fresh meaning and interest are given to the whole,
which deepens as we consider that the Sistine Chapel is the only
73
The two last monochromes are ‘Melchisedek blessing Abraham,’
a type of Christ blessing His disciples, and ‘ Moses fleeing into
the land of Midian.’ In the first, ‘ Melchizedek king of Salem
brought forth bread and wine: and he was the priest of the
most high God. And he blessed him and said, Blessed be Abram
. . . possessor of heaven and earth.’ In Hebrews Melchisedek is
six times alluded to as a type of Christ, ‘ a priest for ever after the
order of Melchisedek.’ In its companion, Moses journeys with
his staff in his hand and his head bent, walking in trepidation
through a dreary desert, but with light shining from heaven, on
his way. This is appropriately placed beside the ‘ Paschal Feast,’
with the men preparing for their flight from Egypt, and we find
also a harmony with the ‘ Birth of Moses ’ at the other corner,
the infant saved from the death threatened by Pharaoh, and the
youth in after life, saved from the wrath of the king. ‘ Now
when Pharaoh heard this thing, he sought to slay Moses. But
Moses fled from the face of Pharaoh, and dwelt in the land of
Midian.’
The miracles include six of refreshment or succour, two of
miraculous restoration to health, six of miraculous deliverance
from danger. Taking as a centre 4 The Brazen Serpent,’ type
of the Crucifixion, the act of mercy by which the plague caused
by disobedience is stayed, we have in connexion, the disobedience
of our first parents, of Jonah and of Moses, and on the other hand,
the faith of Abraham, of Moses and the people fed with manna, and
of those obediently eating the Paschal feast. The sacraments of
Baptism and the Last Supper, and the Agony in the Garden are
confronted by three miraculous acts of mercy ; the healing at the
pool, the multiplication of loaves, and the raising of Lazarus, and
again on the roof, God manifest to Moses on Mount Horeb, pairs
with Moses before the assembled congregation, and Elijah receiv-
ing food and drink from angels in the wilderness is echoed by the
miracle of loaves at Gilgal and the other miracle of loaves and fishes.
It will be seen by this outline how ingeniously the whole is
arranged, linked together and contrasted, and how far the subjects
are from being arbitrarily chosen or chosen merely for pictorial
reasons. A fresh meaning and interest are given to the whole,
which deepens as we consider that the Sistine Chapel is the only
73