Ascension of Jesus in Christian art

Development of the iconography

New Testament scenes that appear in the Early Christian art of the 3rd and 4th centuries typically deal with the works and miracles of Jesus such as healings, the multiplication of the loaves or the raising of Lazarus. Although versions of the subject of Christ in Majesty, which show the resurrected and ascended Christ in heaven, appear earlier, the Ascension itself is not depicted until about 400. In early scenes Christ may be shown striding up a mountain, at times the Hand of God reaching from within the clouds to assist him.

An ivory plaque in Munich with such a scene is usually dated around 400, and is possibly the earliest Ascension image. This was to remain the most common type in the West for several centuries, and for example is repeated in the Drogo Sacramentary some 450 years later (see gallery). The crucifixion scene is virtually unknown in the 5th century and rare until the 6th century. By the 6th century, however, more images of both the Crucifixion and the Ascension began to appear, perhaps as a result of the theological discussions of the late 4th and early 5th centuries.

The Rabbula Gospels (c. 586) include some of the earliest images of the Crucifixion and Ascension, and in their Ascension depictions the Virgin Mary occupies a central position among the Apostles; Christ appears in a mandorla above, accompanied by angels. This was to remain the standard Byzantine and Eastern Orthodox depiction.

By the 6th century the iconography of the Ascension had been established and by the 9th century Ascension scenes were being depicted on domes of churches. In some representations there may be no mountain and he may be climbing a mandorla, or be lifted towards Heaven in a mandorla by angels.

The Ascension of Jesus is not the only depiction of ascension and other figures, such as John the Evangelist, have been separately depicted as ascending to Heaven, following a medieval story in the Golden Legend. The name of the Assumption of Mary indicates that this was a passive transit; depictions in art often show her being carried up on a cloud by angels.

Composition and meaning

Ascension scenes fall naturally into two zones, an upper heavenly part and a lower earthly part. The ascending Christ may be carrying a resurrection banner or make a sign of benediction with his right hand. The blessing gesture by Christ with his right hand is directed towards the earthly group below him and signifies that he is blessing the entire Church. From the Renaissance on the angels may not be present.

The earthly part of the Ascension depictions do not only represent those believed to have been present at the Ascension, but the entire Church. In some Ascension depictions both Apostle Paul and the Virgin Mary may be present. Given Paul converted to Christianity after the Ascension, and that the New Testament does not directly place the Virgin Mary at the Ascension, these depictions represent "the Church" rather than the specific individuals. In Orthodox icons the Virgin Mary is at the center and Christ can be depicted in a mandorla, supported by angels. This approximate composition was to become typical in the West by the Renaissance.

The Eastern Orthodox portrayal of the Ascension is a major metaphor for the mystical nature of the Church. The upwards looking depiction of the earthly group matches the Eastern liturgy on the Feast of the Ascension: "Come, let us rise and turn our eyes and thoughts high..."

Other scenes with a similar raised figure, that used similar compositions to the Ascension are the Assumption of Mary, rare until the late Middle Ages, the Transfiguration of Jesus, and from the Early Renaissance the Resurrection of Jesus, where he begins to be seen floating clear of the tomb. Perhaps the earliest surviving works to show this iconography of the Resurrection is the well-known fresco by Andrea da Firenze in the Spanish Chapel of the Basilica of Santa Maria Novella in Florence, which dates to 1366.

Gallery

Western church

Paintings and mosaic

File:Giotto - Scrovegni - -38- - Ascension.jpg|Giotto, 14th century File:Andrea Mantegna 012.jpg|Andrea Mantegna, 1461 File:Pietro Perugino cat48c.jpg|Pietro Perugino, San Pietro Polyptych, 1496–1500 File:Himmelfahrt Christi.jpg|16th century, German "disappearing feet" File:Benvenuto Tisi da Garofalo - Ascension of Christ - WGA08474.jpg|Garofalo, 1510–1520 File:Rembrandt van Rijn 192.jpg|Rembrandt, 1636 File:The Ascension) by Benjamin West, PRA.jpg|Benjamin West 1801 File:ND Rosaire mosaïque 03.jpg|Rosary Basilica, Lourdes, 19th century

Illuminated manuscripts

File:Enluminure Drogon c.jpg|Drogo Sacramentary, c. 850 File:BambergApocalypse10Ascension.JPG|Bamberg Apocalypse, 11th century File:Folio 184r - The Ascension.jpg|Très Riches Heures du Duc de Berry, c. 1410 File:Bottega di domenico ghirlandaio, ascensione, antifonario edili 148 f. 47v. biblioteca medicea laurenziana.jpg|Workshop of Ghirlandaio, 15th century

Relief depictions

File:Himmelfahrt Christi BNM MA158.jpg|Anglo-Saxon(?) ivory relief, 8th century File:Himmelfahrt Christi c 800.jpg|Unusual Anglo-Saxon or Alpine, ivory box cover, c. 750–800, with Mary and the Evangelists' symbols File:Ribe domkirke - Kanzel 6 Himmelfahrt.jpg|A rather late version of the "disappearing feet" depiction in wood relief, 1597 File:Aulendorf Pfarrkirche Stuckdecke Christi Himmelfahrt.jpg|Christ ascending alone, Aulendorf, Germany, 1711

Eastern church

Icons and mosaic

File:Dome_de_saint_sava_avec_christ_pantocrator.jpg|Biggest mosaic of Ascension of Jesus in Christian world which weighs 40 tons in central dome of Saint Sava Cathedral in Belgrade File:The Ascension of Our Lord.jpg|14th century Novgorod school File:Ascension from Vasilyevskiy chin (15th c., GTG).jpg|Andrei Rublev, 1408 File:Ascension (Kirillo-Belozersk).jpg|St. Cyril-Belozersky Monastery, 1497 File:Voznesenie Sv. Petka Malovište.jpg|19th century Bulgarian icon, Bitola, modern Northern Macedonia

References

References

1. ''Encyclopedia of World Religions'' by Johannes P. Schade 2007, {{ISBN
2. Kerbrat, Pierre. "Ascension" in ''Encyclopedia of the Middle Ages, Volume 2'', Richard Barrie Dobson et al., p. 113, Routledge, 2000, {{ISBN. 1-57958-282-6. 978-1-57958-282-1
3. Robin M. Jensen "Art in Early Christianity" in ''The New Westminster Dictionary of Church History'' by Robert Benedetto 2008 {{ISBN. 978-0-664-22416-5 pp. 51–53
4. ''Festival Icons for the Christian Year'' by John Baggley 2000 {{ISBN. 0-264-67487-1 pp. 137–138
5. In [[Romanesque art. Romanesque]] depictions sometimes just the feet of Christ are shown as he disappears up into the clouds; this depiction was apparently a rare icongraphic innovation of [[Anglo-Saxon art]] which spread to the continent and became the most popular in Northern Europe, where it lingered in provincial wood [[relief]]s until well after the [[Reformation]]. Sometimes the last two footprints of Christ on the rock are seen; these were shown to pilgrims at what is now the [[Chapel of the Ascension (Jerusalem). 978-0-313-29329-0 pp. 25–26
6. ''Renaissance Art: a Topical Dictionary'' by Irene Earls 1987 {{ISBN
7. 0-913836-77-X p. 197
8. ''The Icon: Window on the Kingdom'' by Michel Quenot 1992 {{ISBN. 0-88141-098-5 p. 61
9. ''Christian Iconography: a Study of its Origins'' by [[André Grabar]] 1968 Taylor & Francis Publishers, p. 76
10. 978-0-495-57360-9 pp. 244–245
11. 0-8028-2916-3 p. 87
12. Elly Cassee, Kees Berserik and Michael Hoyle, ''The Iconography of the Resurrection: A Re-Examination of the Risen Christ Hovering above the Tomb'', 1984, [[The Burlington Magazine]], Vol. 126, No. 970 (Jan., 1984), pp. 20–24 [https://www.jstor.org/stable/881507 JSTOR]