Staging the Eucharist: Late Gothic Sacrament Houses in Swabia and the Upper Rhine. Architecture and Iconography (original) (raw)
Related papers
The Images of the Church, 2003
This is a study of the relationship between form and content in medieval visual art, with a particular focus on symmetrical images. Paintings of this type must be distinguished from the narrative rendering of events from the Bible, which adhere to different compository rules. The aim of the present study is to distinguish between these two genres as well as to single out the aesthetic rules that guide the composition and disposition of scenes in the cycle in general. In the church cycle of the basilica, the centre is represented by the images which are situated on an imaginary axis drawn from the main entrance in the west towards the apse in the east; the apsidal conch occupies the focal point in the decorative programme. While each panel situated on the side walls has a corresponding panel on the opposite side, the apsidal image is unique. In this study, in which much attention is dedicated symbolical representations, I will propose that the symmetrical form has a special place as the one preferred when the task is to visualize the complex truth of Christian doctrine. Throughout the Middle Ages symmetry was associated with the symbolical or anagogical truth inherent in all insight obtained by divine inspiration. Symmetry was, so to speak, the symbolical form of Medieval culture just like perspective was of Renaissance perception.
Acta Historiae Artium, 2017
Eucharistic references in the representations of saints constitute a relatively unexplored segment within the iconography of the Holy Sacrament. This article analyses a number of hagiographical compositions from the Late Gothic wall paintings of Transylvania, which seem to carry eucharistic connotations, either through explicit references to the Sacrament (in the form of a monstrance, a chalice or host-shaped bread) or through subtler allusions to the sacrificial Body of Christ present in the Eucharist. The fact that most of these images are located in the sanctuaries of churches and are typically associated with other, more straightforward eucharistic imagery suggests conscious choices on the part of the inventors of the iconographic programs in adapting the subject matter of the wall paintings to the function of the given liturgical space.
Diagrammatic Devotion and the Defensorium Mariae in the Funerary Chapel of Hărman Parish Church
Marian Devotion in the Late Middle Ages Image and Performance, 2022
By the late Middle Ages, manifestations of Marian devotion had become multifaceted and covered all aspects of religious, private, and personal life. Mary becomes a universal presence that accompanies the faithful on pilgrimage, in dreams, as holy visions, and as pictorial representations in church space and domestic interiors. The first part of the volume traces the development of Marian iconography in sculpture, panel paintings, and objects, such as seals, with particular emphasis on Italy, Slovenia, and the Hungarian Kingdom. The second section traces the use of Marian devotion in relation to space, be that a country or territory, a monastery or church or personal space, and explores the use of space in shaping new liturgical practices, new Marian feasts and performances, and the bodily performance of ritual objects.
The Usage of Architecture in the Church to Enhance Liturgical Celebrations
assembled faithful into an active presence with particular roles of participation in the Liturgy of the Eucharist through prayer in the vernacular and recapturing specific ministries formerly reserved only to the clergy (e.g. Readers and Eucharistic Ministers), enhancing their collective understanding of liturgical and sacramental inclusion as active members of the Body of Christ as intended in the Novus Ordo Missae promulgated by Pope Paul VI.
Resume Dans la chapelle inférieure-construite à la fin du XI e siècle-de la tour médiévale, située au nord-est du chevet de l'église abbatiale de Moissac, a été conservé un décor peint d'une grande qualité, datant de la fin du XII e siècle. Il est possible que cet espace ait appartenu à l'hôtel Sainte-Foy, désigné par les textes du XIV e siècle comme l'aula de l'abbé. Sur le mur occidental de la chapelle est figuré un arbre de Jessé qui s'étire sur la voûte en berceau plein cintre. Des prophètes, initialement au nombre de douze, complètent l'image centrale. Ils répondaient au collège apostolique associé à la Maiestas Domini, juxtaposée à l'arbre de la lignée christique. Outre la richesse sémantique de chacune des images, leur association dans l'espace de la chapelle est particulièrement signifiante. Polysémique, le décor évoque non seulement la continuité entre l'Ancien et le Nouveau Testament, mais surtout la réaffirmation de la double nature du Christ dans l'espace liturgique et le sens de l'Église du Christ. Au moment de leur réalisation, les peintures de la chapelle ont fait l'objet d'un soin particulier : des inclusions de cabochons en verre ou en métal, des pigments précieux et des apports d'or les enrichissaient, générant des effets sur les spectateurs-acteurs qui se tenaient dans cet espace. Nous nous intéresserons donc à la signification de ces images, à la mise en scène du sacré dans un lieu de dévotion privée, réservé à l'abbé et aux hôtes de prestige accueillis dans l'abbaye. Mots clés: Moissac, abbé, arbre de Jessé, Maiestas Domini, liturgie, espace sacré, espace privé de dévotion Abstract A wall-painting programme of great quality dating from the late twelfth century is extant in the late eleventh-century lower chapel of the medieval tower located northeast of the apse of the abbey church of Moissac. It is possible that this area belonged to the hôtel Sainte-Foy, which fourteenth-century texts called the aula of the abbot. On the west wall of the chapel, a Tree of Jesse stretches across the barrel vault. The prophets, originally twelve, complete the central image. They are connected to the Apostolic College associated with the Christ Pantocrator placed next to depiction of Christ's lineage. Besides the semantic richness of each image, their association in the space of the chapel is particularly significant. The polysemic programme evokes not only the continuity between the Old and New Testaments, but also, especially, the reaffirmation of the dual nature of Christ in the liturgical space and the meaning of the Church of Christ. Upon their completion, the paintings of the chapel were the subject of particular attention: they were enriched with glass and metal cabochons, precious pigments, and gold, generating effects for the benefit of the viewers-actors who stood in this space. We will look into both the meaning of these images and the staging of the sacred in a place of private devotion that was reserved for the abbot and the prestigious guests of the abbey.