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12. The Apocalyptic Woman Alone |
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The Savoy Apocalypse was begun (1428-1434) by Jean Bapteur, who did the narrative pictures and Peronet Lamy, who decorated the borders. Some fifty years later (1485-1490), the work was completed by Jean Colombe at the behest of Duke Charles I. The manuscript was handed on by inheritance from one royal or noble house to another until in 1559 it became the property of Philip II of Spain, who placed it in the Escorial, where it remains.
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introduce the theme of the Apocalyptic Woman seen alone we have chosen an
image from an Apocalypse known as the Illustrated Apocalypse of the Dukes
of Savoy. Here the woman, very pregnant and ready to be delivered,
is pictured as sitting, rather than standing. Beneath her is a
crescent moon. She is surrounded by the large burning rays of a very
brilliant sun. In the margin at the right, stands John, author
of the book, shielding his eyes against the splendor and brightness of the
vision before him. |
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n earlier image goes back to
about the year 1300. This is an illumination from a manuscript known
as the Rothschild Canticles, a compilation of prayers made in the Rhineland
for the use of some nun. With hands raised, the woman stands against
a checkered background of dark blue and red squares. The crescent
moon at her feet shelters a human face. The sun, which covers the
upper part of her body, has another human face at its center. The
inner disk is surrounded by a wavy aureole of pale blue undulating curves.
Beyond this protrude heavy jagged rays.
e have selected two images from an office of the blessed Virgin printed
by the famous Plantin Press of Antwerp in 1622. In these the sun is
a mandorla around the Woman. One depicts her in an attitude of
prayer. The other shows her with a crown and sceptre. Both are
surrounded by conventional symbols associated with the Blessed Virgin.
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inally,
we have adaptations by two contemporary artists, Steven Erspamer,
Marianist and Michael O'Neill Mc Grath, an Oblate of Saint Francis de Sales. In one version,
Erspamer places the sun and moon as decorations on the woman's
garment. In the other he shows her treading upon the serpent
entwined around the crescent at her feet.
n O'Neill McGrath's picture,
the bright, fiery rays of an immense sun almost overwhelm the figure of
the woman, whom we see floating above the clouds. For an original
touch, the artist has placed at the center of the composition the dove of
the Holy Spirit for it is she who fills and illumines the soul of the
woman with his own great light.
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