"With the expulsion from the Garden we begin a cycle."
MS M.638, fol. 2r, Expulsion from the garden to the death of Cain
It can be difficult to formulate “rules” for an artistic form because we can almost always find an example that breaks the rule. There really are no rules when it comes to the Gothic form. There is received sacred tradition from the Iconographic form but that is often adapted by the artist to suit his needs for the work at hand.
For example, a frieze along the top of a painting consisting of walls, turrets, columns and/or arches, is usually a signal that the action depicted takes place within a city. But the artist of the Morgan Bible does not use this motif in this way, rather he uses it as a consistent theme throughout the work to unite the individual pages into one grand work of art. The same can be said of the colors used in the backgrounds. Gold is most often used to denote Heaven, except when it is not. The Gothic form used backgrounds to separate actions that may have happened at different times or on different planes of existence e.g. Heaven, Earth, or Hell. These backgrounds may have been gold, other solid colors, or patterns. In the Morgan Bible gold is simply another color along with others, used to differentiate different scenes.
It is important to remember that the rules and conventions we assign to the Gothic and Iconographic forms are the result of educated guesswork. Not that it matters a great deal. As we rediscover these two closely related forms, we are working out a new visual language. If we say for example that a gold background must always denote a scene that takes place in Heaven, it does not matter if we can find Byzantine or Medieval examples that contradict this. What matters is that modern artists who are trying to revitalize the form accept this as a convention and depart from it only occasionally and for a reason.
Regardless of the form or tradition that is being followed, the overriding purpose of every artistic endeavor is to create a work of beauty, this is even more so when we speak of sacred art. It relies on the artistic gift of the artist and his connatural or poetic knowledge to make a decision that adds to the beauty of his work, even if that decision is contrary to tradition.
Having said that, there are some broader characteristics of the Gothic form that the Morgan Bible does follow. Like the Iconographic form, the Gothic form does not use perspective. There is no vanishing point receding into the distance making things that are further away from the viewer seem smaller. The viewer is the point towards which everything is oriented. Everything depicted in the painting is roughly the same distance away from the viewer. Size is related to hierarchy and smaller figures placed near larger figures are not further away, they are simply not as important to the picture as the larger figures.
The ground plane on which the figures stand is usually depicted in one of two ways. If there are only a few figures, then the ground is often merely a strip running along the bottom of the picture. This is the method the artist of the Morgan Bible most commonly employs although he often gets creative with this simple strip in order to tell us something.
The other way the ground plane is used in the Gothic form is as a “stage” that is angled up and away from the viewer. This allows all the characters to be seen without being obscured by a person or object in front of them.
In this page of the Morgan Bible we continue with scenes from Genesis. The upper left quadrant shows the expulsion of Adam and Eve from the Garden of Eden. Notice that the ground here is slightly rolling, perhaps to convey that this is a natural landscape, but it is still level relative to the rough ground shown in the next scenes.
God raises His hand in a gesture of blessing. The expulsion from the Garden was not a punishment for disobedience, rather it was a blessing. If we had remained in the Garden in our fallen state, we may have eaten from the Tree of Life and thus remained forever separated from God. God puts us outside of the Garden to await the Savior who will restore to us our lost robe of grace that will allow us to once again walk in the Garden side by side with God.
An angel with a flaming sword (difficult to see in this image but there are flames surrounding the sword) guards the gate to the Garden which is here shown as an architectural gate. We could see here the gate to a temple, a place where God dwells, and we are driven out of the temple.
Adam and Eve, having realized shame at their nakedness, cover themselves with fig leaves, hiding some part of themselves from each other. They no longer give themselves freely, openly, and completely, one to the other. Adam and Eve turn their heads away from God, they have chosen to trust in their own understanding, not that of God's.
In the upper right quadrant we see the consequences of turning away from God. Eve spins thread that will become garments to cover their nakedness. Adam tills the rough ground by the sweat of his brow. The joy of life has now become strenuous work. The sons of Adam and Eve, Abel and Cain also work the rough ground with their father perhps gathering wood for the altar of sacrifice.
In addition to its increased rough character, the earth seems sparser, devoid of the lush growth we saw in Eden.
In the lower left we see God coming from Heaven to acknowledge Abel's sacrifice. He seems to ignore Cain's. We are told that Abel was a herdsman, a keep of sheep while Cain tilled the ground. Abel offered to God the firstlings of his flock, the best he had to offer, while Cain, we are told, offered only the fruits of the earth. We are not told that Cain made any effort to offer to God the best of, or the first fruits of, his harvest. This speaks to our trust in God. Do we trust Him enough to give him our “safety net,” the best and first results of our efforts?
In anger at the rejection of his offering, Cain kills Abel with an implement used to till the ground. The fruitfulness of the earth seems to further diminish, only suggested against the rocky ground.
In the lower right quadrant the death of Cain is shown. In the book of Genesis, Lamech, a descendent of Cain bemoans that “I have killed a man.” (Genesis 4:23) It is an ancient tradition coming from the Hebrews and still held in the Middle Ages, that Lamech killed Cain. Lamech was a great hunter, but as he aged he began to lose his sight. His son Tubalcain would then lead him in the hunt and point out game to him. On one such outing, Tubalcain saw a rustle in a hedge and directed his father to shoot at the hedge. But it was Cain hiding in the hedge, mortally wounded by Lamech's arrow.
With the expulsion from the Garden we begin a cycle. Rejecting God we sink ever lower until we hit bottom. Then repentance brings us back to God. Once restored to grace we begin to drift away again and the cycle starts over.
For more information on the Maciejowski Bible visit the Morgan Museum website at https://www.themorgan.org/collection/Crusader-Bible
Lawrence Klimecki, MSA, is a deacon in the Diocese of Sacramento. He is a public speaker, writer, and artist, reflecting on the intersection of art and faith and the spiritual “hero’s journey” that is part of every person’s life. He maintains a blog at www.DeaconLawrence.org and can be reached at Lawrence@deaconlawrence.com
Lawrence draws on ancient Christian tradition to create new contemporary visions of sacred art. For more information on original art, prints and commissions, Please visit www.DeaconLawrence.org
Purchase fine art prints of Deacon Lawrence’s work here.
“The Visitation” © Lawrence Klimecki
