Article (Mirabilia Ars)
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Rembrandt, painter of the Old Testament scenes: Samson’s stories
Alejandro ELIZALDE GARCÍA
Original title: Rembrandt, pintor de escenas veterotestamentarias: historias de Sansón
Published in
Keywords: Delilah, Jews, Old Testament, Rembrandt, Republic of the Seven United Provinces of the North, Samson.
The scientific investigations carried out during the last century aimed to address the influence that Calvinism, religion emerged during the sixteenth century as a response to the corrupt ecclesiastical institution, exercised in the various areas – social, economic and artistic – of the Republic of the Seven Provinces of the North. However, Calvinism does not help to fully understand the religious scenes produced by Hamerszoon Rijn van Rembrandt. This architect, formed in an environment of freedom of worship, halfway between the Reformed Church and the Christian Church, maintained throughout his life friendship with Jews, men of great culture and great weight in society. These relationships, along with their own life experiences, modulated their sacred scenes. Especially interesting is the analysis of the canvases painted during the 1930s and focusing on the figure of Samson, hero of the Old Testament. These compositions, milestones in the career of the painter, are still wrapped in a halo of mystery, especially with respect to his commission. In addition, these allow us to know the way in which Rembrandt composed his works, using either textual or visual sources close to his space and time or completely distant to him.
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Gender perspectives: implementation of sociological methodology to Old Testament’s images of the 17th century
Irene BARRENO GARCÍA
Original title: Las perspectivas del género: aplicación de la metodología sociológica a imágenes veterotestamentarias del siglo XVII
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Keywords: Baroque art, Collective imagery, Gender, Misogyny, Religion.
The collective religious and artistic imagery of the seventeenth century is a fundamental point of study at the sociological level, since it shows thoughts and models that governed life in community of the time. For this reason, a study of these images is proposed in this paper with the aim of defending the following thesis: it is possible, with the tools provided by the main historians of art of the sociological school (such as Antal, Francastel, Hadjinicolaou or Hauser), argue that the use of one type or another of images of biblical women (positive or negative) may vary according to gender, understood as a social construct, of the subject performing the representation. In this way, works made by female and male painters will be contrasted on the basis of thematic blocks: Judith beheading Holofernes, Susana and the Elders, Jael and Sisera and Samson and Delilah. Each of the themes, as you can see, presents a conflicting episode that has as protagonists a duo formed by a man and a woman. In this way the opposing positions between the two genders will be much more evident, depending on the hand of the painter.
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Figure and meaning of Venus in the artwork of Botticelli
Laura CASADO BALLESTEROS
Original title: Figura y significado de Venus en la obra de Botticelli
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Keywords: Botticelli, Mythology, Médici, Neoplatonism, Renaissance, Venus, Virgin.
The representation of Venus in Botticelli’s painting has always been present, not only to reflect the goddess as another image, but as a representation in which the painter goes beyond the mythological theme that the goddess occupies, reflecting a whole series of elements that are part of the world of the symbol. As well as the importance of the philosophical lessons of Neoplatonic character in the subject that occupies to us, that already were object of debate in this epoch and will be us of great utility to establish a correct and coherent interpretation of the hidden message of these mythological works.
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The funeral banquet: iconographic analysis
Irene BENITO GONZÁLEZ
Original title: El banquete funerario: análisis iconográfico
Published in
Keywords: Ancient Egypt, Funeral banquet, Tomb.
The present article proposes an iconographic analysis through a series of images around the motive of the funeral banquet. This scene is enormously recurrent in the burials of Ancient Egypt, being one of the most important. The identification of this scene is given thanks to three key representations: the food, the dance along with the musical accompaniment, and the smell. In short, the scene of the funeral banquet is inevitably related to the idea of reaching a prosperous life after death.
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From Santiago Matamoros to Sen jak in the Haitian voodoo
Patricia GRAU-DIECKMANN
Original title: De Santiago Matamoros al Sen Jak del vudú haitiano
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Keywords: Matamoros, Ogou Sen Jak, St. James Apostle.
Few Christian characters have shown the ubiquity and the capacity to become syncretised into other religions such as St. James the Apostle. He became known by different names and nicknames and is revered as far afield as Spain, Ghana, Peru and Haiti. This article will review some of the many facets that portray the first Christian Martyr.
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The person of Holy Virgin Mary in Christianity and in Qu’ran (Koran)
Eirini ARTEMI
Published in
Keywords: Christianity, Qu’ran, Theotokos, Virgin Mary.
The Holy Virgin Mary or Theotokos is a very significant person for Christians. She is the mother of the enfleshed (sesarkomenos) Son of God. Theotokos thus refers to the Incarnation, when the Second Person of the Holy Trinity took on human nature in addition to his pre-existing divine nature, this being made possible by the cooperation of Virgin Mary. Theotokos is not only the mother of God, but the mother of every Christian. The Christians and mainly Orthodoxs and Roman Catholics think that the Virgin is a very significant part of their religion, of their life. Christians do not “worship” the Virgin Mary. They “venerate” her and show her great honor. She has the all-merciful power of driving away from us, at her sign, the sub-celestial spirits of evil–those ever-vigilant and ardent sowers of enmity and malice among men. She is the highest of all creatures, the Mediatrix for the whole race of mankind. Strive to train everyone in the spirit of humility, for she was humbler that any mortal, and only looks lovingly upon the humble. The Quran, the holy book for Muslims honor holy Virgin Mary too. Muslims think that Virgin Mary is the mother of Prophet Christ. For them, Christ is not God. The Archbishop of Albania Anastasios who was teaching about the religion of Muslims supports that Muslims honour Holy Virgin more than some Christian Confessions of Protestants and some “christian” heresies as Jehovah witness. Also, it is indicative of this honorary position, which in the Quran the name of Mary is found in 33 out of 114 chapters (sura). The 33 chapter is devoted to Mary. Of course in this paper, we will examine the texts of the Holy Scriptures for the Theotokos, and the texts of Quran for Her.
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The Five Buddhas of Meditation from Yungang
André BUENO
Original title: Os Cinco Budas da Meditação de Yungang
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Keywords: Ancient China, Buddhism, Buddhist Iconography, Intercultural Dialogue, Theory of Five Buddha’s of Meditation.
In a previous article, we examined the relationship between the Buddha Akshobhya 阿閦如来 of cave 16 from the Yungang complex 雲崗石窟 in China, and the construction of a Buddhist iconography with Indo, Greek and Roman origin’s. Our proposal was that the Buddha of cave 16 is designed to spiritually receive the peoples from the Mediterranean. Now we want to analyze the elements by which we can say that the Buddha of cave 16 is Akshobhya, and as the original set of five caves of Yungang was organized according to the theory of “Five Buddhas of Meditation”.
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Saint James in the conquest of New Spain
Carlos MORAL GARCÍA
Original title: Santiago en la conquista de Nueva España
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Keywords: America, Indian-Slayer, Mexico, Moor-Slayer, New Spain, Saint James.
This paper tries to analyze the symbol of Saint James the Great in the conquest of New Spain, studing the chronicles and the different apparition of this apostle in them. Therefore, it is convenient to make an identification of the symbolic evolution of this character, from Saint James Moor-Slayer to Indian-Slayer. In addition it is paying attention to the change of this symbol and its acceptance by some American native populations, resulting in the feast of Saint James Indian-Slayer and the subsequent taking as latinamerican patron saint.
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Introduction: The Image of Power. Epiphanies of Potestas
José María SALVADOR GONZÁLEZ
Original title: Presentación: La Imagen del Poder. Epifanías de la Potestas
Published in
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The witness Queen. Jeanne d’Evreux in her Book of Hours
Ofelia MANZI, Patricia GRAU-DIECKMANN
Original title: La reina testigo. Jeanne d’Evreux en su Libro de Horas
Published in
Keywords: Book of Hours, Jeanne d’Evreux, Miniature, Politic iconography, St. Louis.
The Books of Hours produced in the late Middle Ages are a key plastic document for studying the iconography of the period. The multiplication of copies from the thirteenth century has given to the art of the Middle Ages some of the most interesting products in both formal and iconographic aspects. An additional element of interest of these works is the illustration developed in the margins, where figures and scenes are a sort of “parallel universe” in relation to the central theme of the respective folio. One of the most interesting works, not only for its extraordinary artistic level but also for its condition and original workmanship, is the tiny Book of Hours of Jeanne d’Evreux, third wife of Charles IV, who took on herself the responsibility and the final possibility of continuity of Capetian dynasty. In this manuscript some historical characters embodying an interpretative key are present. Two folios belonging respectively to the Hours of the Virgin and the Hours of St. Louis, have miniatures that testify a game between past and present, in which the contemporary history integrates with the biblical one, and demonstrate the value given to the image by its multiple possibilities of meaning.
