So, how do you imagine heaven? Green meadows? Rolling hills? Golden cities? Cloudy vistas? I imagine we all have our own personal vision of what heaven might be like, but I doubt if anyone reading this would have gone for the 'alien mothership' vision employed by Francesco Botticini in his masterpiece The Assumption of the Virgin into Heaven now on display as part of an exhibition in the National Gallery in London. Like a great otherworldly vessel, the huge resplendent 'dome' appears to hover over the earth, its insides open to view from below. Inside we can see row upon row of 'superior beings' sat in an ordered hierarchy of importance watching the action in the centre - a human being is physically being lifted up (on what appears to be a magic carpet) to the apex of the structure where she is greeted by the 'supreme being' (seated but also seated on a magic carpet). The human being of course is Mary the mother of Jesus and it is the risen and exalted Jesus himself who greets her. This is no medieval representation of alien abductions or a foretelling of the invention of hover boards, but rather a vision of heaven, heaven as the destination of the righteous and the home of God and the angels, but a heaven which is a truly 'alien' physical space just beyond the stars. Colourful, magisterial, bizarre, and, in the views of some of that era, heretical, this painting (also known as the Palmieri Altarpiece) is one of the strangest and most imaginative depictions of heaven ever attempted in art. In this and the following posts I want to explore this wonderful painting in some detail especially looking at the ideas about heaven and paradise that might have influenced Botticini. Recently I was lucky enough to visit the Visions of Paradise exhibition at the National Gallery in London, to see Francesco Botticini's (1446-1497) incredible painting The Assumption of the Virgin. The exhibition features the painting itself and other beautiful and significant items which help the visitor to understand the background to this great work. The exhibition was (for me) truly inspirational and I would encourage anyone who has the opportunity to go see it. In this post I have drawn heavily on the information in Jennifer Sliwka's wonderful book Visions of Paradise written to accompany the exhibition. Probably everything you ever wanted to know about the painting is in there. Angels, saints and citiesThe painting is massive, It is 2 meters high and 4 meters long. The attention of the viewer is immediately drawn to the magnificent, luminous dome of heaven, where we see the Virgin Mary being received into heaven by Jesus, who is seated in glory. This glorious event is watched in heaven by an audience made up of angels and famous saints from church history. These are seated (as at all the best events!) in rows determined by a strict hierarchy of importance. Meanwhile below the dome of heaven we see a mountain top, where the twelve apostles, (the companions of Jesus during his life and the first missionaries of the church after the resurrection) gaze wonderingly at Mary's tomb, from which her body has just been miraculously lifted up and which is now filled with lilies. Below, we see a vast landscape, at the centre of which stands a great city, recognisable even now as Botticini's home city of Florence. None of these elements is surprising in a 15th century Italian painting. Botticini is following Renaissance convention as far as the contents of the picture goes. But what makes this painting so fascinating (as well as beautiful and majestic) is how he portrays each of these elements and the meaning he gives to them. The heaven is spectacular and like no other heaven in the art of that day. The landscape, the city, the mountaintop and its human participants have rich, symbolic meaning. The people, the places and the marvellous vision of the 'open heaven' tell a story. It's that story that I want to try to tell. 'Three is a magic number'So goes the title of the song. And so it was for writers and painters in the middle ages and the Renaissance. Three was the number of God, the number of the Trinity, and many of those who wrote and painted in an era so steeped in Christianity used that number to give shape and theological meaning to their works. And so this painting is set on three levels. The viewer views everything from the standpoint of the people on the mountaintop, which is the middle level. From here we can look up at the marvellous vision of heaven above us and down at the landscape and city beyond. The apostles gathered around the tomb and the two people on either side kneeling in a posture of prayer are on the same plane as we are. We, the viewers, share that mountain plateau with them. That means that although the specatacular heaven above us draws the eye and the beautiful landscape and magnificent city create a sense of vastness and solidity, the painting is actually about the people on the plateau, in particular the man and the woman kneeling on either side of the apostles and the lily filled tomb. The story the painting tells is essentially their story. 'A word from our sponsors'One of the most important jobs for artists of this era was to make sure that the person or people who had commissioned (and therefore were paying for) the work were given a prominent place in the picture. The work was commissioned by Matteo Palmieri (1406-1475) a notable Florentine businessman, politician and diplomat. He was also a humanist scholar who spoke several languages and who mixed with some of the most educated and brightest thinkers of his time. He wrote several works including a book on civic virtue called The Civil Life and an epic poem, The City of Life, describing his journey, in a dream state, to hell and paradise. Botticini had already worked with Palmieri, providing the illustrations for a deluxe version of this poem and so knew the work well. Palmieri's primary interest intellectually was citizenship i.e. what it took to be and to train good citizen for the city state. Above all he argued was the importance of virtue. In his book The Civil Life he describes the four virtues which underpin morality and civil life. These are prudence, moderation, fortitude (courage) and justice. This quote from the book on fortitude gives a flavour oshis message and style Fortitude allow men to disdain worldly goods with a great and lofty spirit, to confront dangers deliberately and to endure labours and suffering in the knowledge that they benefit others. . . . Fortitude benefits humankind mosts when it exalts them and makes them willing to undertake and carry out great and noble enterprises with the unswerving assurance of a steady, elevated and constant mind. Except for real disgrace, fortitude fears nothing; not poverty, enmity, labours or pains. (Cambridge Translations of Renaissance Philosophical Texts Vol 2 p 156) Let us recognise who we are and why we are born, how worldly things are ordered and how quickly they pass away. Let us judge which things are honourable and good and devote ourselves to them. Let us shun all irrational desires. Let us recognise how fortune bestows her goods as a brief jest and let us disdain them. Many people consider excellent and important many things which a courageous and constant mind will rightly spurn. They consider harsh hard difficult and insurmountable many things which a lofty and courageous mind will rightly overcome with dignity. (Cambridge Translations p 156) Palmieri believed that true happiness and concord could be found by living according to these virtues. Most importantly everyone should live by moderation and prudence rather than succumbing to the 'irrational' desires, chief among which is the love of money. In Palmieri's view the poor who have little money, should show the virtue of acceptance (i.e. not 'irrationaly' pandering after riches) and the rich and powerful should show the virtue of generosity and magnanimity, sharing what they have to enhance the common good, He believed that it was very important for the health of the city state that the young be trained in civic virtue which in his opinion required giving them a good education based on the idea of the liberal arts. For Palmieri virtue which served the common good was really the only important thing in life. As someone who has spent many years in the education system studying esoteric topics largely irrelevant to modern life I love this quote from him about usefulness The person who places all diligence and care into honest things which are worth knowing, and the knowledge of which results in private or public advantage, rightly deserves to be praised. Those instead who waste their time in the pursuit of arts that are obscure and contribute nothing to anybody’s well-being, deserve a universal condemnation because what fruit can there be from knowing how to prove to a human being that it exists or it does not, that a certain animal is like a donkey and has the horns? What truly counts is to demonstrate that the human being is born for virtue and how these virtues must be practiced. Matteo commissioned the painting for his burial chapel in the church of San Pier Maggiore in Florence where several members of his own family were already buried. Palmieri may never have seen the painting. He died in 1475 and the painting was only completed in 1477. The painting made a powerful impression on contemporaries who saw it in situ in the church. The great art historian and biographer Giorgio Vasari (1511-1574) saw the work there around 1550 and although he wrongly ascribed it to Sandro Botticelli, he seems to have been impressed, describing it as follows Near the side door of San Pietro Maggiore, for Matteo Palmieri, he painted a panel with an infinite number of figures - namely the Assumption of Our Lady, with the zones of heaven as they are represented, and the Patriarchs, the Prophets, the Apostles, and Evangelists, the Martyrs, the Confessors, the Doctors, the Virgins, and the Hierarchies; all from the design given to him by Matteo, who was a learned and able man. This work he painted with mastery and consumate diligence; and at the foot of the portrait of Matteo on his knees, with that of his wife.....the figures painted therein by Sandro are truly worthy of praise, by reason of the pains he took in drawing the zones of heaven and in the distribution of figures, angels, foreshortenings, and views, all varied in diverse ways, the whole being executed with good design Lives of the Artists quoted in Visions of Paradise by Jennifer Sliwka Palmieri's wife Niccolosa di Seraggli is also depicted in the picture, on the right hand side as we look at the painting. She and Matteo had no children of their own but Matteo had taken on the responsibility of bringing up his two nephews and niece after his brother's death. Niccolosa was the daughter of wealthy Florentine banker and when they married Matteo received two farms from her father as part of her dowry. From Palmieri's point of view it was a 'good marriage', through which he became linked to one of the most prestigious (and richest) families in Florence. Shortly after Palmieri's death Niccolosa renewed the contract with Botticini to finish the painting. It was probably then that she asked Botticini to portray her wearing the traditional clothing of a Florentine widow. This depiction of Palmieri and Niccolosa in the massive painting in his funerary chapel was, of course, a way of being remembered, but it was more than just that. Being remembered is one thing but it is perhaps how we are remembered that really matters. What viewers would have certainly understood when they saw the painting in the chapel in the chapel of San Pier Maggiore was that these were two great Florentine souls who through lives of virtue, public benefaction and faith had achieved their 'journey to Paradise' and who were awaiting their own 'assumption into heaven'. The clue to this interpretation is not that they are kneeling (a sign of piety) but where they are kneeling. They are on the mountaintop with the apostles and the empty tomb of the Virgin Mary, the earthly paradise of Eden. 'I have been to the mountaintop'Mountains in art and literature are often symbolic. Mountains give us a view that no one else has, and so in religion and mythology (and politics!) mountains are often holy places of visions and revelations. Gods were often believed to live on the tops of mountains and it was thought that climbing those mountains could bring the climber closer to them (which might not always be a good thing!). And in a way that's what is happening here in the Assumption of the Virgin. This is not just any old Italian mountain. This is the mountain which represents the Christian journey and the plateau we see here represents the earthly paradise, the summit of the Christian's climb towards true virtue and godliness. What the viewer is meant to understand when he or she views the painting is that Matteo and Niccolosa have 'made it' to the top and are now ready for their own 'assumption' into heaven to join the ranks of angels and saints in glory. On top of old PurgatoryThe clue to this comes from another of Florence's great paintings which hung in the city's Cathedral (the Duomo) at the time Botticini was painting the Assumption of the Virgin. The painting is a portrait of the poet Dante by Domenico Di Michelino. Entitled Portrait of Dante, the poet of the Divine Comedy, it was painted in 1465 and then hung (as it still does) in the Cathedral of Santa Maria del Fiore in Florence (the Duomo). By the time Botticini began work on the altarpiece it had become one of the most famous paintings in Florence The painting depicts Dante in the foreground (dressed in red) holding a copy of his famous work, the Commedia (the Divine Comedy). To his left is Florence, illuminated by rays of light from the book. To his right we see sinners walking down the stairway to hell while in the background we see the 'saved' in various stages of spiritual progression on the mount of purgatory. At the top of the mountain we see Adam and Eve in paradise, i.e. the earthly Garden of Eden. Above lie the cosmic spheres portrayed as concentric circles with different depths of blue. In the picture we see the different levels of purgatory represented as different stages on a spiral road around the mountain. Through various forms of purgative suffering, souls ascend the mountain towards the earthly paradise represented by the figures of Adam and Eve eating the fruit from the Tree of Life. By the time Botticini painted the altarpiece, Dante had become the most celebrated writer in Italy. His remarkable work the Commedia, written between 1307 and 1320 was a visionary account of his journey through the three realms of the afterlife; hell, purgatory and paradise. From Dante's point of view his fictional 'otherworldly journey' is model for the journey the reader takes as he or she tries to find their way towards the vision of God, which is the Ultimate Good. Along the way the reader sees and hears plenty of examples of what to avoid and of what to emulate. Each of the sinners and saints he meets as he travels tells their story (or the guide tells it for them), and these stories illuminate the reader's path to paradise. Thanks to his use of vernacular Italian to write the poem (rather than Latin), his work was widely read and known outside of the rarified atmosphere of the humanist scholarly circles. There were even public readings of the Commedia in Florence. By the time Botticini's painting was unveiled, Michelino's portrait of Dante was famous and the city took great pride in Dante (despite the fact that he died as an exile from Florence!) and in the portrait. As people saw Matteo and Niccolosa on the mountain top they would surely have thought of the godly souls who had made their journey to the earthly paradise at the top of Mount Purgatory. Matteo and Niccolosa were there among them! Up, up and awayBut those who knew Palmieri well might have seen another point of reference too. I mentioned above that Palmieri had himself written an account of a dream journey to hell and to paradise, closely modelled on Dante's Commedia. In his epic dream-journey poem The City of Life, he describes himself climbing a mountain in order to find and see God in the highest (Empyrean) heaven, having first visited the horrors of hell. The mountain that he climbs is called the Mountain of Virtue and again, as in Dante, this mountain has symbolic meaning. The mountain represents our journey back to God (Palmieri believed that human beings were fallen angels born in heaven who were given a second chance in this life) and only those who combined true virtue with real faith made it to the very top, the earthly paradise, where they saw the vision of God in the Empyrean heaven. Botticini knew Matteo's poem well. Sometime around 1473, just a few years before he painted the altarpiece, he had provided the illustrations for a very beautiful, 'deluxe' cope of Matteo's book. He knew and understood Palmieri's conception of the path to heaven via the Mountain of the Virtues. Below is Botticini's illustration of the Mountain of the Virtues from that copy of The City of Life which you can see in the exhibition in the National Gallery. As I mentioned above Matteo believed that truly good life consisted in finding and developing the four virtues; justice, prudence, temperance and courage. The first series of levels (in white in Botticini's illustration) are the levels where he encounters those who have used these virtues for the civic good i.e. purely for the benefit of the state or the city; the next series of levels (in black in the illustration) represent the levels where he finds people who have combined lives of virtue with some form of purgative suffering (to take away sin); the third set of levels (in gold) is where he finds those who have combined these virtues with a true love for Christ, i.e. in the Christian conception, true faith. Those who can travel through these levels to the top are the blessed. As he travels up through these highest levels of the Mountain of Virtue in his dream, Palmieri meets such heroes of faith as John the Baptist and the Virgin Mary. Right at the top, the truly blessed soul discovers the 'Empyrean heaven', the home of God (who is represented in the illustration by the figure in the circle) and Jesus Christ, enthroned beside Him. And so, for the few who knew Palmieri's poem (it was only made public after his death) the depiction of Matteo and Nicolosa kneeling prayerfully on the mountain top would have represented a state of perfection, the attainment of the virtuous life combined with a true devotion to God. The sponsors had made their journey successfully to the summit of the mountain, to the earthly paradise where they now waited for their own assumption back into heaven. The sponsors had been duly honoured! A glorious immortalityWhen he died Matteo Palmieri was according the rare honour of being given a state funeral. His funeral oration was give by his friend and humanist scholar Alammano Rinuccini who described how Matteo "had increased his wealth through frugality and Industriousness which brought the humanist fame and honour and allowed him to construct magnificent buildings and to endow religious institutions honouring God." Visions of Paradise p 31. Matteo believed that the truly virtuous life brought immortality, as he described in The Civil Life Since man by nature has the ability to discern the truth and since free will enables him to follow his personal volition he should choose only the things that reason shows to the highest and most honourable. He should excise and reject all irrational desires. As John the Baptist's holy words tell us in Matthew's gospel, the tree that grows in us must be cut and burned if it bears no fruit. Our life, like that of other animals, is short and leads inexorably to death but fame of virtuous deeds extends it and makes it glorious and immortal. True virtue consists only in those things which we achieve by unusual effort and excellence and which when possible should serve the common good. (Cambridge Translations p60) Here, in Botticini's masterpiece we see Matteo Palmieri and Nccolosa duly portrayed as the virtuous couple who have made it to the top of the Mountain of Virtue, now awaiting their return to heaven. Had he seen the finished painting I am sure Palmieri would have thought it a job well done and money well spent. Here, in this wonderful work, he and his wife had truly become 'glorious and immortal'. A video guide to the history of the San Pier Maggiore churchYou might also be interested in . . .
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Archives
April 2016
GalleryThis blog is as much about images as it is about text. Below is a slideshow of the pictures and images used in this blog. Click on any of the pictures to go to the post where that image is featured.
PostsLocating Paradise #1 In a Garden, Far, Far Away
The Testament of Abraham and the Threefold Judgement of God #5 'Stuck in the Middle With You'
The Resurrection According to Rahner
Today You Will Be With Me in Paradise
The Testament of Abraham and the Threefold Judgement of God #4 'And Who by Fire'
The Testament of Abraham and the Threefold Judgement of God #3: Held in the Balance
The Testament of Abraham and the Threefold Judgement of God #2: Once, Twice, Three Times a Sinner
The Testament of Abraham and the Threefold Judgement of God #1: The Broad and Narrow Gates
Daily Dante 7: Many Rivers to Cross
Daily Dante 6: 'You Gotta Serve Somebody'
In Hell Everyone Can Hear You Scream. The Vision of Tundale #3
Teeth, Spikes and Cleavers: At the Sharp end of Hell. The Vision of Tundale #2
'No Pain No Gain': The Vision of Tundale #1
'Hellzapoppin':
Illustrations from Le Livre de la Vigne nostre Seigneur, #2 'It's The End of the World as We Know It (and we feel fine)'. Illustrations from Le Livre de la Vigne nostre Seigneur, #1
Visions of Heaven. Botticini's Assumption of the Virgin #2 Blinded by the Light
Visions of Heaven. Botticini's Assumption of the Virgin #1: Glorious and Immortal
Daily Dante 5: What the gates said.
Daily Dante 4: When I find myself in times of trouble
Daily Dante 3: I'll take you there
Daily Dante 2: Fierce creatures
Daily Dante 1: If you go down to the woods today
In Seventh Heaven or 'What Enoch Did Next'
A World of Fire and Ice: Heaven according to Enoch
The Power and the Glory: Visions of God as king in the Hebrew bible
The Beautiful Bestiary of Catherine Cleves: Monsters and Demons in detail.
Heaven is for Real: Heaven as a physical space up above the sky
Resurrecting the Dead or Reviving the Flowers? The loss of resurrection faith in Judaism.
The Defeat of Death #1: The promise of resurrection in the Isaiah Apocalypse.
The Defeat of Death #2: Death as a hostile power and promise of God's victory in Isaiah
Scary Monsters and Super Creeps: The 'Last Judgement' according to Stefan Lochner
Hell in the Hospital: The 'Last Judgement' of Rogier van der Weyden in the Beaune altarpiece.
'Hell' in the New Testament #2: The gates of Hades shall not prevail
The Hours of Catherine Cleves: Imagining hell and purgatory in Catherine's prayer book
'On Earth as in Heaven': The kingdom of God as a revelation of heaven
'Hell' in the New Testament #1: Gehenna
Lost in Translation #1: How the King James version got it so wrong about hell
Heaven is not our home
Domes, Depths and Demons: The cosmology of the Hebrew world
A Bigger God
"See you in Sheol" - Sheol, the common destination of all
Heaven, Hell and Christian Hope
BooksBelow are some of the books which have helped me the most in the research and writing for this blog. Click on any image to find out more about that book at its page on Amazon uk.
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