Deesis
(Redirected from
Deësis
)St. Catherine's Monastery
Sinai, 12th century
In
St. John the Baptist, and sometimes other saints and angels. Mary and John, and any other figures, are shown facing towards Christ with their hands raised in supplication
on behalf of humanity.
Early examples often appeared on the
icons
and devotional ivories also feature the Deesis.
After the development of the full
Archangel Gabriel and Saint Paul. Especially in Russian examples, a number of saints of local significance are often included behind these, as space allows. Andrey Rublev's row for the Cathedral of the Dormition in Vladimir was 3.14 metres (over ten feet) high.[1]
In the Greek tradition the Apostles are more likely to occupy extra panels.
The presence of Mary and John, and other figures, provides one of the differences with the Western Christ in Majesty, where the
Last Judgement
. The use of the image declined slowly throughout the Middle Ages, and it is never as common as the Western forms of Christ in Majesty.
In depictions of the
Saint John the Evangelist
on the other, not by John the Baptist.
Gallery
-
Harbaville Triptych, middle of the 10th century, ivory, Constantinople, Louvre -
Five-panel Deesis row (center),Moscow Kremlin by Theophanes the Greek, 1405 – the first five-row Iconostasis -
A larger Russian deesis row; Uglich Cathedral -
Mosaic of the Deesis, 13th century, Hagia Sophia
References
Wikimedia Commons has media related to Deesis.
- ISBN 0-88141-080-2