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[German Version] I. New Testament – II. Representations of the Apostles I. New Testament 1. The term. The verbal adjective ἀπόστολος/ apóstolos (from apostéllein), as a term for being sent was also used in Greek substantivally, but was not a terminus technicus. Outside political contexts, it occurs rarely in philosophical texts. The roots of the NT concept lie in the OT and Judaism, where the verb שׁלח/ šalaḥ plays an important role; the participle is rare, the noun is late and may not yet be presumed as a precursor to NT usage. The substantival use corresponds to Greek linguistic tradition. 2. Backgrounds. OT…

[German Version] (Aug 24, 1552, Bologna – Aug 11, 1614, Rome), an Italian painter, trained by her father, Prospero Fontana. Her work balances influences of Antonio Allegri Correggio (c. 1489–1534) and Sebastiano Piombo (c. 1485–1547) with Mannerism and emergent Bolognese style. She was renowned as a portrait and history painter. Fontana was the first woman to be named official paint…

[German Version] (Feb 2, 1846, Sorau, Niederlausitz – Feb 5, 1924, Frankfurt am Main), painter and graphic designer. His first commission was bookmarks and illustrations for Geschichte von der Geburt unseres Herrn Jesus Christus (1869). He obtained an honorary doctorate in theology from the Halle faculty. As “Protestant painter” he received civil and church commissions: Christ und die Kinder (1888) and Allegorie der Erziehungsgedanken antiker and christlicher Kunst (1899–1902). Diane Apostolos-Cappadona Bibliography Works include: “Christentum, Religion und Kunst,” GlWis …

[German Version] (Feb 19, 1876, Hobita, Romania – Mar 16, 1957, Paris), modernist sculptor. Brancusi spent his childhood in Romania. He studied at the Bucharest School of Fine Arts and in 1905 entered the École Nationale des Beaux-Arts. In 1906 he exhibited his works in the Salon des Beaux-Arts, and he apprenticed at A. Rodin 's studio in 1907. …

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[German Version] (May 22, 1848, Wolkenburg – Feb 25, 1911, Munich), German painter recognized for his depictions of the Christian Scriptures in contemporary, late 19th-century settings. His interest in painting from nature emerged at Mihaly Munkácsy’s painting school in Paris (1879). Returning to Munich in 1880, M. Liebermann encouraged him to paint en plein-air and to reconstruct the works of the Dutch masters with these new cool tones, natural light, and open brushwork. Uhde’s paintings of scenes in the life of Jesus spurred controversy from the very first, Suffer the Little Chil…

[German Version] I. New Testament – II. Early Church – III. History of Art I. New Testament Named after her home town of Magdala on the west bank of the Sea of Gennesareth, she was presumably a prosperous (Luke 8:2f.) businesswoman (for the fishing industry in Magdala=Tarichaeae, see Josephus) who traveled extensively (hence the reference to her place of origin; cf. 15:21, 43). Mary was clearly unmarried (cf. Mark 15:40; Luke 8:3; John 19:25), and her age is unknown. She may have belonged to the same generati…

[German Version] I. Liturgy – II. Art History …

[German Version] I. History of the Term A tabernacle (Lat. tabernaculum, “tent, hut”) is a receptacle containing the eucharistic bread and the vessel(s) holding it in Christian sacral buildings. The Vulgate uses the Latin word for the Old Testament tent of meeting and to represent the eschatological dwelling of God among mortals (Rev 21:3). In the Latin church, it became a technical term for the receptacle holding the reserved sacrament. In the Early Church, consecrated bread (Consecration) from the eucha…

[German Version] I. Church History – II. Art History I. Church History The mother of Mary, mother of Jesus, and spouse of Joachim. Her name (= Heb. “grace”) is given first in the Protevangelium. The text was read throughout the Middle Ages and at Marian feasts. After 1450, this birth legend was linked with the concept of a trinubium of the saints. Characteristically, The Lives of the Saints…

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[German Version] (Matisse-Chapel, 1947–1951). As a favorite to Sister Jacques-Marie, his former nurse, the renowned painter, H. Matisse, agreed to advise upon the construction plans for a new chapel. The elderly artist recognized the rare opportunity of a complete environment dedicated to his art. He seized the moment, becoming architectural planner, interior designer, and artist as well as the creator of liturgical objects and vestments. He crafted a space filled with mystical light and joyful co…

[German Version] I. New Testament The legend in Mark 9:2–13 pr…

[German Version] I. Ancient Judaism – II. Art I. Ancient Judaism …

[German Version] The anchor (Gk ἄγκυρα/ ankyra, “crooked hook”), the classical symbol for safety in navigation, was transformed into a Christian symbol for the soul, and for hope, adherence, and steadfastness. In his Christ the Educator (Paedagogus), Clement of Alexandria identifies the anchor as appropriate for Christian seal rings, pendants, or intaglio. On early C…

[German Version] (baptized Oct 31, 1632, Delft – buried Dec 15, 1675, Delft), Dutch painter, the leading master of genre painting and disguised symbolism. His early art training remains shrouded in mystery, however he was admitted as a master to the Delft Guild of St. Luke in 1653 and converted to Catholicism in the same year. An aspiring history painter, he included biblical themes in his early works, such as Christ in the House of Mary and Martha (1655). The later overtly secular works are now interpreted as visual evidence of his deep Catholic faith, especially when Vermeer exemplifies the “visual game” of the painting within the painting as in his …

[German Version] Vézelay Abbey, masterpiece of Burgundian Romanesque art and architecture. Originally founded as a convent for women, this now former Cluniac abbey (Cluny) was, from 1050, a significant stop on pilgrimage routes and the departure point for pilgrimages to Santiago de Compostela. The convent founder, Count Gérard de Roussillon, brought the relics of St. Mary Magdalene from Provence to Vézelay. Vézelay’s significance was evidenced when St. Bernard of Clairvaux preached the Second Crus…

[German Version] (Jul 15, 1606, Leiden – Oct 4, 1669, Amsterdam), painter and graphic artist. Among the leading European masters of the 17th century, Rembrandt was the chief religious artist of the Protestant tradition. His works were profoundly influenced by those of Caravaggio, Adam Elmsheimer, and P.P. Rubens, especially with regard to advancing tenebrism and dramatic theatricality. Renowned as a portrait painter, he was able to transfer his gift of projecting onto canvas his psychological pene…

[German Version] (from the Lat. bestiarius, “concerning the beasts”). A bestiary is an Old-French moralizing natural history, which merged the 4th-century Greek Physiologus …

[German Version] (baptized Nov 7, 1598, Fuente de Cantos, Spain – Aug 27, 1664, Madrid), Spanish painter, renowned for his devotional images. Zurbarán painted narrative cycles, series, and altarpieces for churches and monasteries throughout southern Spain (Seville, Guadalupe, Jerez). His popular depictions of monks or saints (e.g. St. Francis) in meditation or prayer were simply arranged but emotionally direct. His works affirm his devotion to Mary as he created a significant Marian iconography ( Immaculate Con­ception, 1661). Zurbarán’s later works, painted in Madrid …