15th Century Religious Thought and Jan van Eyck (1)

Corrine Agren

Jan van Eyck’s painting, Madonna of Chancellor Rolin, is an image that not only reflects the religious tension felt by lay members of medieval society, but also demonstrates what the religious thoughts of the laity were at this time period.  With the rise of the Mendicants—the Franciscans in 1209 and the Dominicans in 1215—the idea put forth was that in order to be successful on a spiritual level, one had to join one of these orders and abandon the material world.  However, as this calling was not for everyone and that it would also be impractical for everyone to abandon the material world, the members of this society were faced with the difficulty of retaining this membership and seeking salvation. In order to do so, the laity sought salvation through prayer, intercession to the saints and Mary, and ultimately in the incarnate Son of God, through whom they could be reconciled.

The altarpiece, painted around  1435 for Nicolas Rolin to hang his family chapel, shows Rolin, wearing rich clothes, kneeling in prayer with a book in front of him.  This book, although it con not be seen in the painting, is possibly a Book of Hours.  These books, although modeled after the prayer books used daily in monastic settings, were for the lay population.  While, the popularity of this book reflects an increased literacy rate, it was one’s mere possession of this book that was important, not whether one could actually read the text.  The book served as a public display of the material wealth, family heritage, and piety of its owner.

 The inability of many owners to read the Latin text in which this book was written, however, did not mean that those who could not were unable to use it.  The pictures in this book provided a way out of this problem.  From the perspective of the laity, pictures were viewed as a way to focus one’s mind on what one should be thinking about when using the Book of Hours.  For those who could not read Latin, the pictures enabled them to use the books to further their spirituality though meditation on the message conveyed by the picture.  The important role images played in the spiritual development of the lay population is reflected by Chancellor Rolin commissioning Jan van Eyck to make this painting.  This painting, just like the images in a Book of Hours, served as a way for the viewer to focus one’s mind on prayer.  Also in likeness to a Book of Hours, the image acts as a declaration of Rolin’s material wealth and social status, in his ability to commission the painting, and his piety, through his prayerful position.  The painting also is a declaration of van Eyck’s prowess as a painter.

This approach to the image, as a material object proclaiming the status of both patron and painter, is where Thomas A Kempis finds it difficult to reconcile the use of painting for spiritual development.  From his point of view, the connection between an image and the material world, no matter how spiritual the composition, serves to distract rather than aid the viewer in prayer.  In his Counsels on the Spiritual Life, he tells one to “strive to withdraw [one’s] heart from the love of the visible things, and direct [one’s] affections to things invisible” (28).  Contrary to the religious thought of the laity, images, according to A Kempis, were not the means through which one could focus one’s thoughts.  Instead of focusing on an image, one should focus on one’s behaviors and closeness to Christ when praying.

Returning to the painting, seated in front of Rolin is the Virgin, majestically clad, with the Christ child seated on her knee and an angel crowning her from above.  The Virgin as one of the central figures in the painting demonstrates the belief of the period regarding her importance as an intercessor, moral guide, and spiritual figure.  Following the direction of the gaze of the figures in the painting, the viewer can determine the implied relationship between the three.  Rolin is praying to Mary, who acts as a conduit for his prayers and conveys them to Jesus, who is blessing Rolin.  The importance of intercessors for the laity, more specifically as Mary as an intercessor, is seen in Jacobus de Voragine’s "bestselling" book, The Golden Legend.  This book filled with fantastical accounts of the lives of the saints, conveys the message that to have one’s prayer answered one should invoke the assistance of a saint or even more directly, the Virgin.

Voragine’s The Golden Legend not only conveys the importance of the Virgin as an intercessor but, along with Pseudo-Bonaventure’s Meditations on the Life of Christ, declares her importance as moral compass for women and as a spiritual figure as the Mother of God.  Pseudo-Bonaventure’s account, an account written for the female part of the Franciscan Order, continuously reminds the reader that Mary is “the most perfect in all virtue” (13); and as such a figure, one should constantly “learn from her example” with regards to all behavior (17).  This view of the Virgin, expressed in both through their detailed accounts of the Annunciation, is echoed in van Eyck’s painting.  Even while serving as a conduit for Rolin’s prayers, the Virgin’s eyes are downcast while holding the Christ Child.  This expression reminds the viewer of the humility Mary demonstrated even after being chosen to bear the Son of God. 

Implied in her role as the Mother of God is the belief that although Mary was mortal, she does not belong to the material world.  In the Madonna for Chancellor Rolin, this is seen because the viewer is not sure as to whether or not Rolin actually sees the Virgin.   The close proximity of the two and the direction of his gaze suggest that he does actually see the figure before him; however, the boundary created by the pattern on the tile floor, the two pillars, and the river running through the middle of the painting suggests he does not.  The angel crowning Mary serves as another reminder that she is not of this world but in fact Queen of Heaven.  The interpretation that Rolin does not in fact see the Virgin seated before him also goes along with the view of the purpose of images in prayer.  This painting, rather than show Rolin in direct contact with the Virgin, more likely serves as a reminder to Rolin and other viewers of what one should be aware of when praying to Mary.

In addition, these books highlight the fact that without Mary, Jesus Christ, the bridge between the material world and the spiritual, would not exist.  In van Eyck’s paining this view is furthered by the Christ Child pointing to the bridge that spans the river running through the center of the painting.  On the left side of the bridge is a town with one church, most likely the church where the paining was set, which is directly positioned above Rodin’s hands.  On the right side, above the Virgin’s head, the only buildings are churches.  These two sides, respectively, represent earth and heaven, while the tower on the bridge represents the gates of heaven.  The Christ Child pointing to the bridge in the painting reminds the viewer that in order to reach heaven, one must look to Jesus to attain salvation.

That one must look to Jesus for salvation is furthered by the historiated capitals seen above the heads of both Rolin and the Virgin.  Above Rodin’s head are images of the exile from the Garden of Eden, the sacrifice of Cain and Able, the murder of Able, Noah’s Ark, and the drunkenness of Noah.  All of these images convey the same message: sin leads to exile and estrangement from God.  Directly across from these images, above the Virgin’s head, is the image of the meeting between Abraham and Melchizedek.  The meeting between the two marks the first time bread and wine are used in sacrifice.  Moving from the images above Rodin’s head, across the painting to the only visible image above the Virgin’s head puts forth the view that the way to salvation is through Christ.

In addition to the carvings, the waterwheels in the river promote this religious belief as well.  They serve as symbols of both the material and the spiritual world, and connect the two worlds through how they are interpreted as part of the painting.  These wheels, in the material world, would be used to grind grain, a process key to the economy of the time period.  However, their position on the right side of the river, the side connected with Mary and the heavenly city, conjures up the view of Christ as the bread of life.

While the painting puts forth the religious thought of the time period surrounding intercession, prayer, and the Virgin, as a material object, it directly contradicts the way to salvation as put for by the Mendicant Orders.  In order to get around this, van Eyck created his painting so that every last detail could be interpreted as an allegory to the spiritual world.  This type of interpretation allies the painting with the thoughts put forward by the Dominican St. Thomas Aquinas in his Summa Theologica. 

According to Aquinas, there are four ways one can interpret scripture—historical, tropological, anagogical, and allegorical.   This last method of interpretation allows one to look at the use of metaphor in the Bible and relate the divine message to one’s personal experiences.  Using a kind of reversal of this type of interpretation, even though the painting is a material good and a direct testimony to the worldly importance of both its patron and artist, the painting can be interpreted as having connection to the spiritual world. In looking at an image of the painting from an infrared camera, it is evident that van Eyck understood and even intended for his painting to be interpreted in this way.  The image shows that originally van Eyck was going to include a money bag hanging from Rodin’s belt.  This money bag, however, would have been interpreted as having connection to the betrayal of Jesus by Judas, thus, van Eyck omitted this detail. 

In this manner van Eyck, attempts to both express the religious thought of the time period in addition to allying his material good with the spiritual world through allegorical interpretation.  Through this type of interpretation he seeks to ease the tension between the spiritual understanding of the Mendicant Orders and the laity, as well as put for a message as to how one can be successful in attaining salvation.

 

 

 

15th Century Religious Thought and Jan van Eyck (2)

Ariell Watson

            The foundation of the mendicant orders in the 13^th century and their rapid growth in the cities of Europe ushered in a new era of artistic, intellectual, and religious literacy. These orders, known for their vow of poverty, sought to serve God by extending themselves into the community. Unlike their predecessors in monastic orders, mendicants showed concern for the development of others’ souls in addition to their own. Men like Saint Francis and Saint Dominic established new “begging” orders to call the religious from their cloisters into the cities. Urban development had led increasing populations to the cities, where the mendicants undertook to provide all with religious education. Founding universities and preaching in the streets, friars exposed both rich and poor to the doctrines of the Church to a greater magnitude than the lay had been ever before.

            Mendicant thought and practice profoundly marked the cultural output of the late middle ages. The increasingly literate urban merchant class gained exposure to religious texts and became enamored with writings of Franciscans and Dominicans like Meditations on the Life of Christ and The Golden Legend. Though originally intended for the instruction of other religious, these writings became popular with the lay people, hence impacting their understanding of spiritual matters. These two texts illustrated the lives and accomplishments of saints in vivid terms which inspired intimate devotion, especially for the Virgin. Descriptions of Mary emphasized her intercessory power, her humility, and her ongoing interaction with the faithful. These portrayals encouraged particularly personal reverence for the Virgin, who offered a compassionate ear to the prayers of the faithful, for whom she would in turn advocate before Christ. Though this idea was not a new construction of the 15^th century, it became more intriguing for lay people as they developed more knowledge about the Virgin from mendicant preaching and texts.

            This increasing religious awareness of the urban lay population during the late middle ages becomes apparent in the nature of art commissions of the day. Concern for spiritual matters led the newly-wealthy merchant class to seek religious art as a high-profile manifestation of their devotion. Books of Hours, illustrated collections of prayers revering the Virgin, experienced a surge of popularity. These books had practical use as a guide for devotion, doubling as a status symbol indicating the owner’s wealth and piety. Images in the texts, such as Mary of Burgundy Praying from her Book of Hours, frequently depicted the commissioner at devotions, with the Virgin present to hear her petitions. These illustrations encouraged pious pursuits and reinforced the idea of intimate connection with the Virgin’s power.

            Jan Van Eyck’s Madonna of Chancellor Rolin manifests much of the mendicant influence on 15^th-century society. Concern with salvation prevailed, motivating even the most secular of public figures--such as Nicolas Rolin--to seek links to spirituality. Popular thought of the time emphasized the religious power of images; the very picture of a person at prayer carried significance. Hence Rolin, a wealthy and extremely influential figure of his day, commissioned a painting of himself at prayer despite the fact that he was not a particularly pious man. Van Eyck’s work shows Rolin positioned at a prayer stand with a book (possibly a Book of Hours) open before him. He seems to be praying to the Virgin, at whom he looks while she holds the Christ child, who in turn is blessing Rolin. Though Mary’s humbly downcast gaze does not meet Rolin’s and the angel crowning her indicates that the Virgin is actually in heaven, the two appear in very close physical proximity in the painting. They share the same space and sit on the same floor. In this way, Rolin’s devotional life appears very close and powerful. This image embodies the concept of Mary’s humble nature and intercessory power as described in writings such as Meditations on the Life of Christ and The Golden Legend, because as Rolin prays intimately to the Virgin while she creates a connection between the devotee and her Son.

Ordering such art had the additional benefit for Nicolas Rolin of displaying his riches. Some contemporary religious figures, such as Thomas à Kempis, opposed this sort of spiritual showmanship. À Kempis, in his Counsels on the Spiritual Life, decried vanity and confidence in wealth. He spoke against “soliciting honors” and giving “thought only to this present life” (28). Perhaps admonitions such as these checked excessive displays of materialism in religious artwork; infrared illumination shows that Van Eyck originally included a money purse on Rolin’s garment, which he later decided to remove. À Kempis also challenged the attachment to religious icons, saying “Strive to withdraw your heart from the love of visible things, and direct your affections to things invisible. For those who follow only their natural inclinations defile their conscience, and lose the grace of God” (28).  This denunciation of vanity and visual displays of spirituality did not prevail upon much of the middle and upper class, however, who sought to negotiate a balance between spiritual concern and their enjoyment of earthly riches and status.

Popular piety continued to follow in the vein of mendicant preaching, which promoted the use of tangible elements to which the people could relate as a metaphor for greater spiritual truths. The Dominican Thomas Aquinas defended this teaching method, claiming that “it is natural to man to attain intellectual truths through sensible things, because all our knowledge originates from sense” (16). This line of reasoning gave artists of the day a divine responsibility to depict scenes which would lead viewers to spiritual truths. Painters such as Van Eyck included exquisitely detailed images with typological significance that alluded to religious symbolism. Van Eyck drew upon the metaphorical connection between the Virgin (who contained the spirit of God inside her womb in the New Testament) and the Tabernacle (which contained the spirit of God inside the Ark of the Covenant in the Old Testament) in his selection of an inscription for Mary’s robe, which bears the text of Ecclesiasticus 24:11-19.

The majority of the typological references in the painting, however, point to Jesus. The capitol above Rolin’s heads bears stories from Genesis: the exile from Eden, the sacrifices of Cain and Able, and the chronicle of Noah and his sons. Each of these incidents involves the sin of man, which leads to his exile. This theme appears on Rolin’s side of the painting, representing the sinfulness of humanity and its estrangement from God. The capitol above the Virgin’s head contrasts with these scenes; Melchizadek, the pagan priest of Salem, appears to bless the Jewish patriarch Abram. This image alludes to the reconciling power of Christ as the ultimate High Priest, who the author of Hebrews describes as in “the order of Melchizadek” (Hebrews 7). The capitols on either side of the painting typologically point to the contrast between man’s sinful nature and divine salvation. Van Eyck spatially represents this salvation by depicting a bridge over the river that runs down the middle of the background of the painting. The river emphasizes the barrier between Rolin (earth) and the Virgin with her Child (heaven) by dividing the scene in half. The bridge that spans the river bears a cross, reminding the viewer that Christ, by his death, made a way for man and God to connect. The water wheel that appears in the river also symbolizes Christ, who allowed his body to be ground to make the Bread of Life. These carefully selected images embody the fifteenth century religious notion of using art, everyday objects, and Biblical allusions to metaphorically explain the significance of spiritual truths to the increasingly religiously-educated people of urban Europe.

Works Cited

Aquinas, Thomas. Summa Theologica. Ed. Anton C. Pegis. Introduction to Saint Thomas Aquinas. SHARC—SHAred Resources Catalog. 30 January 2009. <http://voyager.lndl.org>. 15-19.

Kempis, Thomas. Counsels on the Spiritual Life. SHARC—SHAred Resources Catalog. 30 January 2009. <http://voyager.lndl.org>. 27-65.