#biblical scenes

Collection: The National Museum of Western Art, Tokyo, Japan

The painting depicts Tsar Peter the Great riding a horse. Beneath the horse's hooves lies a defeated lion, which serves as a symbolic representation of Sweden. Above the Tsar, an angel blows a trumpet while crowning him with a laurel wreath. To the right, Swedish officers are shown surrendering their swords, while biblical scenes of figures defeating lions line the sides of the composition.

Collection: Art Institute of Chicago, Chicago, IL, United States

Hans Holbein The Elder (German, 1460 – 1524)

Photos by Charles Reeza

Depravity Areopagus

In: Des cas des nobles hommes et femmes (Concerning the Fates of Illustrious Men and Women), a French translation by Laurent de Premierfait of the work by Giovanni Boccaccio

The depicted scenes show Moses on Mount Sinai, receiving the stone tablet with Jewish law; under this scene Adam and Eve stand next to the Tree of Knowledge, precipitating Man´s Fall from Grace. The centre displays an erected brass serpent. Death is symbolized by an open grave with a dead body. Although the Prophet Isaiah belongs to the outdated period sub lege, in this painting, he turns to a man seated on the divide between the two eras, and points at the Redemptor on the Cross, i.e. to the era sub gratia. From the right, John the Baptist leans towards the man. John the Baptist also symbolizes the Redemption of mankind through Christ´s sacrifice, raising his right hand to Agnus Dei. The counterpoint to the scene on Mount Sinai is Mary on Mount Zion. She is approached by a flying Christ Child with a cross, i.e. Emmanuel. In the far background, we can see the scene of the Annunciation to the shepherds, and, finally on bottom right, the scene with a Resurrected Christ trampling Death and Sin.