Man of Sorrows, a biblical term, is paramount among the prefigurations of the Messiah identified by the Bible in the passages of Isaiah 53 (Servant songs) in the Hebrew Bible. It is also an iconic devotional image that shows Christ, usually naked above the waist, with the wounds of his Passion prominently displayed on his hands and side (the "ostentatio vulnerum", a feature of other standard types of image), often crowned with the Crown of Thorns and sometimes attended by angels. It developed in Europe from the 13th century and was especially popular in Northern Europe.
Meister Francke: Man of sorrows, with angels, c. 1430German woodcut with hand-colouring, 1465–70
The image continued to spread and develop iconographical complexity until well after the Renaissance, but the Man of Sorrows in its many artistic forms is the most precise visual expression of the piety of the later Middle Ages, which took its character from mystical contemplation rather than from theological speculation.[1] Together with the Pietà, it was the most popular of the Andachtsbilder-type images of the period – devotional images detached from the narrative of Christ's Passion, intended for meditation.
The Latin term Christus dolens ("suffering Christ") is sometimes used for this depiction. The Pensive Christ is a similar depiction, and the usual composition of the Mass of Saint Gregory includes a vision of the Man of Sorrows.
The phrase translated into English as "Man of Sorrows" ("אִישׁ מַכְאֹבוֹת", ’îš maḵ’ōḇōṯ in the Hebrew Bible, vir dolōrum in the Vulgate) occurs at verse 3 (in Isaiah 53):
3) He is despised and rejected of men, a Man of sorrows, and acquainted with grief. And we hid as it were our faces from Him; He was despised, and we esteemed Him not. 4) Surely He hath borne our griefs and carried our sorrows; yet we did esteem Him stricken, smitten of God, and afflicted. 5) But He was wounded for our transgressions; He was bruised for our iniquities. The chastisement of our peace was upon Him, and with His stripes we are healed.
6) All we like sheep have gone astray; we have turned every one to his own way; and the Lord hath laid on Him the iniquity of us all.[2]
Development of the imageedit
The image developed from the Byzantine epitaphios image, which possibly dates back to the 8th century. A miraculous Byzantine mosaicicon of it is known as the Imago Pietatis or Christ of Pity. The work appears to have been brought to the major pilgrimage church of Santa Croce in Gerusalemme in Rome in the 12th century. Only replicas of the original work now survive. By the 13th century it was becoming common in the West as a devotional image for contemplation, in sculpture, painting and manuscripts. It continued to grow in popularity, helped by the Jubilee Year of 1350, when the Roman image seems to have had, perhaps initially only for the Jubilee, a papal indulgence of 14,000 years granted for prayers said in its presence.[3]
The image formed part of the subject of the Mass of Saint Gregory; by 1350 the Roman icon was being claimed as a contemporary representation of the vision.[5] In this image the figure of Christ was typical of the Byzantine forerunners of the Man of Sorrows, at half length, with crossed hands and head slumped sideways to the viewer's left.
The various versions of the Man of Sorrows image all show a Christ with the wounds of the Crucifixion, including the spear-wound. Especially in Germany, Christ's eyes are usually open and look out at the viewer; in Italy the closed eyes of the Byzantine epitaphios image, originally intended to show a dead Christ, remained for longer. For some the image represented the two natures of Christ – he was dead as a man, but alive as God.[6] Full-length figures also first appear in southern Germany in wall-paintings in the 13th century, and in sculpture from the beginning of the 14th.[7]
Other elements that were sometimes included, in distinct sub-forms of the image, included the Arma Christi or "Instruments of the Passion", the cross, a chalice into which blood poured from Christ's side or other wounds (giving an emphasis on the Eucharist), angels to hold these objects or support a slumped Christ himself (Meister Francke shows both roles below), and mourners or worshippers.[8] The Throne of Mercy is an image of the Trinity with Christ, often diminutive, as Man of Sorrows, supported by his Father.
Isaiah 53:2 had already been crucial in developing the iconography of the Tree of Jesse: "For He shall grow up before Him as a tender plant, and as a root out of a dry ground".
Wikimedia Commons has media related to Man of Sorrows.
Ballester, Jordi (2018). "Trumpets, Heralds and Minstrels: Their Relation to the Image of Power and Representation in the Fourteenth- and Fifteenth-Century Catalano-Aragonese Painting". Music in Art: International Journal for Music Iconography. 43 (1–2): 5–19. ISSN 1522-7464.
Parshall, Peter, in David Landau & Peter Parshall, The Renaissance Print, Yale, 1996, ISBN0-300-06883-2
Pattison George, in W. J. Hankey, Douglas Hedley (eds), Deconstructing radical orthodoxy: postmodern theology, rhetoric, and truth, Ashgate Publishing, Ltd., 2005, ISBN0-7546-5398-6, ISBN978-0-7546-5398-1. Google books
G. Schiller, Iconography of Christian Art, Vol. II, 1972 (English translation from German), Lund Humphries, London, figs. 471–75, ISBN0-85331-324-5
sorrows, other, uses, disambiguation, biblical, term, paramount, among, prefigurations, messiah, identified, bible, passages, isaiah, servant, songs, hebrew, bible, also, iconic, devotional, image, that, shows, christ, usually, naked, above, waist, with, wound. For other uses see Man of Sorrows disambiguation Man of Sorrows a biblical term is paramount among the prefigurations of the Messiah identified by the Bible in the passages of Isaiah 53 Servant songs in the Hebrew Bible It is also an iconic devotional image that shows Christ usually naked above the waist with the wounds of his Passion prominently displayed on his hands and side the ostentatio vulnerum a feature of other standard types of image often crowned with the Crown of Thorns and sometimes attended by angels It developed in Europe from the 13th century and was especially popular in Northern Europe Meister Francke Man of sorrows with angels c 1430German woodcut with hand colouring 1465 70The image continued to spread and develop iconographical complexity until well after the Renaissance but the Man of Sorrows in its many artistic forms is the most precise visual expression of the piety of the later Middle Ages which took its character from mystical contemplation rather than from theological speculation 1 Together with the Pieta it was the most popular of the Andachtsbilder type images of the period devotional images detached from the narrative of Christ s Passion intended for meditation The Latin term Christus dolens suffering Christ is sometimes used for this depiction The Pensive Christ is a similar depiction and the usual composition of the Mass of Saint Gregory includes a vision of the Man of Sorrows Contents 1 Biblical narrative 2 Development of the image 3 Artworks with articles 4 Gallery 5 See also 6 Notes 7 ReferencesBiblical narrative editThe phrase translated into English as Man of Sorrows א יש מ כ א בו ת is maḵ ōḇōṯ in the Hebrew Bible vir dolōrum in the Vulgate occurs at verse 3 in Isaiah 53 3 He is despised and rejected of men a Man of sorrows and acquainted with grief And we hid as it were our faces from Him He was despised and we esteemed Him not 4 Surely He hath borne our griefs and carried our sorrows yet we did esteem Him stricken smitten of God and afflicted 5 But He was wounded for our transgressions He was bruised for our iniquities The chastisement of our peace was upon Him and with His stripes we are healed 6 All we like sheep have gone astray we have turned every one to his own way and the Lord hath laid on Him the iniquity of us all 2 Development of the image editThe image developed from the Byzantine epitaphios image which possibly dates back to the 8th century A miraculous Byzantine mosaic icon of it is known as the Imago Pietatis or Christ of Pity The work appears to have been brought to the major pilgrimage church of Santa Croce in Gerusalemme in Rome in the 12th century Only replicas of the original work now survive By the 13th century it was becoming common in the West as a devotional image for contemplation in sculpture painting and manuscripts It continued to grow in popularity helped by the Jubilee Year of 1350 when the Roman image seems to have had perhaps initially only for the Jubilee a papal indulgence of 14 000 years granted for prayers said in its presence 3 nbsp Man of Sorrows c 1485 95 an especially complex version by Geertgen tot Sint Jans Dutch 25 24 cm 4 The image formed part of the subject of the Mass of Saint Gregory by 1350 the Roman icon was being claimed as a contemporary representation of the vision 5 In this image the figure of Christ was typical of the Byzantine forerunners of the Man of Sorrows at half length with crossed hands and head slumped sideways to the viewer s left The various versions of the Man of Sorrows image all show a Christ with the wounds of the Crucifixion including the spear wound Especially in Germany Christ s eyes are usually open and look out at the viewer in Italy the closed eyes of the Byzantine epitaphios image originally intended to show a dead Christ remained for longer For some the image represented the two natures of Christ he was dead as a man but alive as God 6 Full length figures also first appear in southern Germany in wall paintings in the 13th century and in sculpture from the beginning of the 14th 7 Other elements that were sometimes included in distinct sub forms of the image included the Arma Christi or Instruments of the Passion the cross a chalice into which blood poured from Christ s side or other wounds giving an emphasis on the Eucharist angels to hold these objects or support a slumped Christ himself Meister Francke shows both roles below and mourners or worshippers 8 The Throne of Mercy is an image of the Trinity with Christ often diminutive as Man of Sorrows supported by his Father Isaiah 53 2 had already been crucial in developing the iconography of the Tree of Jesse For He shall grow up before Him as a tender plant and as a root out of a dry ground Artworks with articles editMan of Sorrows Geertgen tot Sint Jans c 1485 1495 now Utrecht Man of Sorrows Maarten van Heemskerck 1532 The Man of Sorrows from the New Town Hall in Prague wood sculpture c 1410 Triptych of the Madonna Giovanni Bellini and others 1464 1470 now Venice The Man of Sorrows James EnsorGallery editMan of Sorrows nbsp 14th century depiction of the Man of Sorrows nbsp Master Francke Man of Sorrows with the Arma Christi and Angels ca 1430 Museum der bildenden Kunste Leipzig nbsp Dieric Bouts Christ Crowned with Thorns nbsp Albrecht Durer The Man of Sorrows 1493 nbsp Lucas Cranach the Elder Christ as the Man of Sorrows nbsp Man of Sorrows after Lucas van Leyden nbsp Donatello Imago Pietatis 1449 50 bronze relief from the high altar of the Basilica of Saint Anthony in Padua nbsp James Ensor The man of sorrows 1891See also editMessiah Handel which sets a version of the passage from IsaiahNotes edit Schiller quote from p 198 figs 681 812 21st Century King James Version Biblegateway com Retrieved 2014 04 22 Schiller 199 200 also see Parshall 58 and Pattison 150 Discussed by Snyder 176 78 Parshall 58 For a somewhat different chronology see Pattison 150 Schiller 198 Schiller 201 202 Schiller 201 219References edit nbsp Wikimedia Commons has media related to Man of Sorrows Ballester Jordi 2018 Trumpets Heralds and Minstrels Their Relation to the Image of Power and Representation in the Fourteenth and Fifteenth Century Catalano Aragonese Painting Music in Art International Journal for Music Iconography 43 1 2 5 19 ISSN 1522 7464 Parshall Peter in David Landau amp Peter Parshall The Renaissance Print Yale 1996 ISBN 0 300 06883 2 Pattison George in W J Hankey Douglas Hedley eds Deconstructing radical orthodoxy postmodern theology rhetoric and truth Ashgate Publishing Ltd 2005 ISBN 0 7546 5398 6 ISBN 978 0 7546 5398 1 Google books G Schiller Iconography of Christian Art Vol II 1972 English translation from German Lund Humphries London figs 471 75 ISBN 0 85331 324 5 Snyder James Northern Renaissance Art 1985 Harry N Abrams ISBN 0 13 623596 4 Retrieved from https en wikipedia org w index php title Man of Sorrows amp oldid 1178615056, wikipedia, wiki, book, books, library,
