DOI Kapitel:
Plate 1-XCIII
DOI Seite / Zitierlink:https://doi.org/10.11588/diglit.62036#0113
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PLATE XXIV.
THE HOLY SPIRIT REPRESENTED AS THE DOVE.
The symbol of the Dove is one of the few that has retained its place in Christian
Art from the earliest times to the present, and with little variation in its form. Till
the 11th century it is represented alone, but after that it was frequently combined
with the human figure, in instances when the Holy Spirit appeared as one of the
Three Persons of the Trinity. In the earliest examples the Dove is without the
nimbus, which is often added afterwards, as well as the aureole, but its position
invariably shows that it represents the Third Person of the Trinity. The one verse
of the Bible which describes the Descent of the Spirit upon our Lord at His Baptism
is probably the authority for the universal application of this symbol, for there is no
other sufficient reason for it, gentleness and simplicity being the chief characteristics
of the Dove. It would be an endless task to collect all the instances in which the
Dove appears, especially in the works of Mediceval Art, but it is not without interest
to trace it through a few examples from its commencement, especially as it still holds
a place amongst the ornaments of Protestant Churches.
Fig. 1. The earliest instance of the Dove appearing in Christian Art is in this example, from the
has reliefs on the tomb of Junius Bassus, which has been before mentioned, dated 359.
It is here shedding the Divine blessing, in rays of light, upon the Saviour at His
Baptism ; and it is interesting to observe this as the first representation of a subject
which was so frequently repeated afterwards, during every period of Art, and in all of
which the Dove retains its prevailing form and character. (1.)
2. The next instance is from a Mosaic in the Church of S. Maria Maggiore, Rome, 5th
century, and is the earliest representation of the Annunciation, a subject in which the
Dove always appears either in its simple form, as in this example, or descending on rays
of light upon the Virgin. (4.)
3. Here the Dove is enclosed in a circle with stars, representing Heaven, from which water
is descending upon the baptized person. It represents the baptism of a Goth, and is a
very early example. (16.)
H
PLATE XXIV.
THE HOLY SPIRIT REPRESENTED AS THE DOVE.
The symbol of the Dove is one of the few that has retained its place in Christian
Art from the earliest times to the present, and with little variation in its form. Till
the 11th century it is represented alone, but after that it was frequently combined
with the human figure, in instances when the Holy Spirit appeared as one of the
Three Persons of the Trinity. In the earliest examples the Dove is without the
nimbus, which is often added afterwards, as well as the aureole, but its position
invariably shows that it represents the Third Person of the Trinity. The one verse
of the Bible which describes the Descent of the Spirit upon our Lord at His Baptism
is probably the authority for the universal application of this symbol, for there is no
other sufficient reason for it, gentleness and simplicity being the chief characteristics
of the Dove. It would be an endless task to collect all the instances in which the
Dove appears, especially in the works of Mediceval Art, but it is not without interest
to trace it through a few examples from its commencement, especially as it still holds
a place amongst the ornaments of Protestant Churches.
Fig. 1. The earliest instance of the Dove appearing in Christian Art is in this example, from the
has reliefs on the tomb of Junius Bassus, which has been before mentioned, dated 359.
It is here shedding the Divine blessing, in rays of light, upon the Saviour at His
Baptism ; and it is interesting to observe this as the first representation of a subject
which was so frequently repeated afterwards, during every period of Art, and in all of
which the Dove retains its prevailing form and character. (1.)
2. The next instance is from a Mosaic in the Church of S. Maria Maggiore, Rome, 5th
century, and is the earliest representation of the Annunciation, a subject in which the
Dove always appears either in its simple form, as in this example, or descending on rays
of light upon the Virgin. (4.)
3. Here the Dove is enclosed in a circle with stars, representing Heaven, from which water
is descending upon the baptized person. It represents the baptism of a Goth, and is a
very early example. (16.)
H