Animals in Christian art
In Christian art, animal forms have at times occupied a place of importance. With the Renaissance, animals were nearly banished, except as an accessory to the human figure.
Late Antique period
In the early days of Latin and Byzantine Christianity, many representations of animals are found in
- It affords an easy medium of expressing or symbolizing a virtue or a vice, by means of the virtue or vice usually attributed to the animal represented.[a]
- Animal forms were traditional elements of decoration. [a]
- Medieval designers returned to the direct study of nature, including man, the lower animals, and the humblest plants.[a]
The paintings of the first period, as seen in the
Birds, too, appear either as simple decorative elements transmitted from antique paintings, or used symbolically as in
The symbol of perhaps the widest distribution is the Ichthys (Greek: ΙΧΘΥΣ, fish), used since the second century as an acronym for "Ίησοῦς Χριστός, Θεοῦ Υἱός, Σωτήρ" (Iesous Christos, Theou Huios, Soter), meaning "Jesus Christ, Son of God, Saviour".[2] Artistically, these various representations are somewhat crude, and show the decadence of the pagan art of the time.[a]
After the
Middle Ages
Fantastic and composite animals
During the succeeding three centuries, new types of animals appear only in Romanesque architecture. These are usually either purely fantastic or composite, that is, made up of elements of different species combined in one. Often, the subject grows out of foliage forms; and monsters are shown fighting and even devouring one another.[a]
Specific symbols
In the spandrels of the entrance doorways, around the glorified Christ, the symbols of the four evangelists, namely the lion, the ox, the man, and the eagle are shown, holding the holy books. This is a favourite motif in the sculpture of the eleventh and twelfth centuries. Sometimes the jaws of a monster figure the entrance of Hell, into which sinners are plunged.[a]
Some of the most important symbolic animals are:[6]
Animal | Attributes | Symbolism |
---|---|---|
Lamb | Innocence, purity, vulnerability | Christ[6] |
Dog | Loyalty, watchfulness, trustworthiness | A person with those attributes[6] |
Dove | Purity, peace | (If with halo) holy spirit[6]
|
Dragon | Powers of darkness | The devil[6] |
Snake | cunning, deceit | The devil[6] |
Symbolic animals from bestiaries
With the beginning of the thirteenth century
There are birds of prey, wild boars, and feline forms on the towers of
The symbolism which usually attaches to the various animals is derived for the most part from the bestiaries. Thus, for the lion, strength, vigilance, and courage; for the siren, voluptuousness; for the pelican, charity. The four animals which symbolize the leading characteristics of each of the Four Evangelists become more and more an accessory used to characterize the figure of the Evangelists themselves from the fifth century onwards.[a][1]
Animals used to identify saints
In the same way many saints, when not characterized by the instruments of their martyrdom, are accompanied by animals which identify them; as,
Renaissance
With the fourteenth century, animals become less frequent in iconography. The fifteenth and sixteenth centuries use them again, but copied more closely from life, usually of small size, and often without any intention of symbolism. One finds now animals such as rats, snakes, rabbits, snails, and lizards.[a]
Gallery
-
St. Paul the Hermit in Diego Velázquez's Saint Anthony the Great and Saint Paul the Anchorite, c. 1634
-
Christian souls asGood Shepherd. San Callisto catacomb, Rome, 3rd century
See also
Notes
- One or more of the preceding sentences incorporates text from a publication now in the public domain: Herbermann, Charles, ed. (1913). "Animals in Christian Art". Catholic Encyclopedia. New York: Robert Appleton Company.
References
- ^ a b c d e Boehm, Barbara Drake; Holcomb, Melanie (January 2012). "Animals in Medieval Art". Metropolitan Museum of Art. Retrieved 14 July 2018.
- ^ Coffman, Elesha (8 August 2008). "What is the origin of the Christian fish symbol?". Christianity Today. Retrieved 13 August 2015.
- ^ "The Throne Room of Heaven". Chapter 4. Book of Revelation. Retrieved 26 April 2021 – via biblegateway.com.
- ISBN 9780813201177.
- ISBN 978-0064300322.
English trans. of 3rd edn
- ^ a b c d e f "Christian Symbolism: The Natural World". Victoria and Albert Museum. Retrieved 17 July 2018.
- ^ Viollet-le-Duc, Eugène (1858). Dictionnaire raisonné de l'architecture française du XI au XVI siècle (in French). Paris.
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: CS1 maint: location missing publisher (link) - ISBN 0-8109-0432-2.