DOI Seite / Zitierlink:
https://doi.org/10.11588/diglit.56731#0044
16. THE RUTH WELL CROSS {continued)
1. St. John, the Evangelist. Ruthwell Cross.
It is most unlikely that this sculpture was inspired by any model; it has nothing of the tra-
ditional style. The eagle is the prominent figure and stands with one claw on the end of a branch,
the other rests on the book held by the Evangelist. Seen at eye-level, this relief is an ugly medley of
disconnected forms. It must be seen from below to reveal its full beauty. The artist had carefully
taken into consideration the effect of the foreshortened view.
2. Christ standing on two beasts. Ruthwell Cross.
Christ is standing on two beasts, an illustration of the words of the psalm (xci. 13) : “Thou
shalt tread upon the lion and adder: the young lion and the dragon shalt thou trample under feet.”
It is probable that Egyptian artists were the first to illustrate this subject as it seemed to be a con-
tinuation of their own pagan tradition. (Horus was represented as Victor standing on crocodiles.)
It appealed to the religious and artistic sentiment of the newly converted Anglo-Saxons, and that
of the later monastic communities formed at the time of St. Dunstan (see 21), to represent salvation
in the image of a triumph over the beast.
The figure of Christ with the large halo, the heavy drapery, and the raised arm resembles
one of the great standing figures from the Byzantine mosaics at Ravenna (see a).
a. A Prophet. Mosaic. Sixth century. S. Apollinare Nuovo, Ravenna.
For two hundred years Ravenna belonged to the Byzantine Empire; it was an outpost of
Greek culture on Italian soil. Ravenna came to be the most important intermediary between the
art of Greek Christianity and that of the Latin West.
5. The Eagle. Ruthwell Cross.
This relief, high up on the Cross, reveals the same sympathy of the artist for the bird as the
St. John relief (see /). It probably symbolizes the Ascension of Christ.
4. St. Paul and St. Anthony. Ruthwell Cross.
The subject is a legend of Egyptian origin. St. Paul and St. Anthony meet in the desert and
a raven brings them bread. They are shown in the act of breaking the heavenly food. It is possible
that the theologians of the Dark Ages connected this scene with the breaking of the bread at the
Last Supper.
5. The Flight into Egypt. Ruthwell Cross.
The Virgin holding the Child, the movement of the ass, the tree in front of the group; all
the main elements of the scene are identical with those on a gold pendant in Constantinople
(see b). But the Virgin has no large halo and she does not look out of the frame in a hieratic
attitude. She is looking in the direction in which the animal is taking her.
b. Flight into Egypt from a gold pendant. Byzantine or Syrian. Found in Adana, Asia Minor.
About a.d. 600. Istanbul Museum.
One of a pair of gold pendants with scenes from the life of Christ in relief. Top row : Annuncia-
tion. Visitation. Centre: Nativity. Flight into Egypt.
a
b
1. St. John, the Evangelist. Ruthwell Cross.
It is most unlikely that this sculpture was inspired by any model; it has nothing of the tra-
ditional style. The eagle is the prominent figure and stands with one claw on the end of a branch,
the other rests on the book held by the Evangelist. Seen at eye-level, this relief is an ugly medley of
disconnected forms. It must be seen from below to reveal its full beauty. The artist had carefully
taken into consideration the effect of the foreshortened view.
2. Christ standing on two beasts. Ruthwell Cross.
Christ is standing on two beasts, an illustration of the words of the psalm (xci. 13) : “Thou
shalt tread upon the lion and adder: the young lion and the dragon shalt thou trample under feet.”
It is probable that Egyptian artists were the first to illustrate this subject as it seemed to be a con-
tinuation of their own pagan tradition. (Horus was represented as Victor standing on crocodiles.)
It appealed to the religious and artistic sentiment of the newly converted Anglo-Saxons, and that
of the later monastic communities formed at the time of St. Dunstan (see 21), to represent salvation
in the image of a triumph over the beast.
The figure of Christ with the large halo, the heavy drapery, and the raised arm resembles
one of the great standing figures from the Byzantine mosaics at Ravenna (see a).
a. A Prophet. Mosaic. Sixth century. S. Apollinare Nuovo, Ravenna.
For two hundred years Ravenna belonged to the Byzantine Empire; it was an outpost of
Greek culture on Italian soil. Ravenna came to be the most important intermediary between the
art of Greek Christianity and that of the Latin West.
5. The Eagle. Ruthwell Cross.
This relief, high up on the Cross, reveals the same sympathy of the artist for the bird as the
St. John relief (see /). It probably symbolizes the Ascension of Christ.
4. St. Paul and St. Anthony. Ruthwell Cross.
The subject is a legend of Egyptian origin. St. Paul and St. Anthony meet in the desert and
a raven brings them bread. They are shown in the act of breaking the heavenly food. It is possible
that the theologians of the Dark Ages connected this scene with the breaking of the bread at the
Last Supper.
5. The Flight into Egypt. Ruthwell Cross.
The Virgin holding the Child, the movement of the ass, the tree in front of the group; all
the main elements of the scene are identical with those on a gold pendant in Constantinople
(see b). But the Virgin has no large halo and she does not look out of the frame in a hieratic
attitude. She is looking in the direction in which the animal is taking her.
b. Flight into Egypt from a gold pendant. Byzantine or Syrian. Found in Adana, Asia Minor.
About a.d. 600. Istanbul Museum.
One of a pair of gold pendants with scenes from the life of Christ in relief. Top row : Annuncia-
tion. Visitation. Centre: Nativity. Flight into Egypt.
a
b