The Syriac Maronite Art Tradition
The Maronite Church of Antioch-Edessa has
always looked upon creation as a foreshadowing of Christ's coming, as fingerprints of
God's own divine beauty and presence. Since all creatures are made in the image of God,
they are icons of the Divine Artist. Dionysus, a Syriac mentor, described
creation as "act of divine ecstacy". St. Paul in his letter to the Romans says:
"Since the creation of the world, invisible realities, i.e. God's eternal power and
divinity, have become visible, recognized through the things He made" (Rom 1:20).
In a sense all spiritual realities need to be expressed in symbols, and human beings
need symbols to come in contact with spiritual realities. The search for beauty is in
fact, the search for the Hidden God who reveals himself to us through symbols in creation,
words, and most perfectly, Jesus Christ.
For the Eastern Churches icons are not only forms of art; they are prayer and
contemplation transformed into art. An icon manifests to us Mystery-Presence - the God who
breaks through all symbols. In Jesus, perfect Icon of the Father, human beings are
transformed into living icons of God. It is this divinization of humanity which underlies
the significance of an icon.
The Rabbula Gospel Book Icons
In the Syriac-Maronite Church a
magnificent legacy of icons is found in the Rabbula Gospel Book, written and illustrated
in 586 A.D. at the monastery of Saint John, in northern Syria. By 1361 this ancient
manuscript passed to Kanubin, Lebanon, and in early 1500 the manuscript was gifted by the
Maronite Patriarch to the Pope, and was placed in the Medici Library in Florence, Italy.
Rabbula is the scribe of the text; the icons were painted by different monks. The
Gospel Book consists of 14 pages (13.5" x 10.5") and 28 icons, most of which are
miniatures of the scripture references.
The Rabbula Gospel Book is divided into 3 parts:
- Icons of the election of Apostle Matthias and on the reverse side Mary, Mother of the
Light.
- Gospel Harmonizing Tables arranged inside of Syriac arches and Greek columns. Outside
the arches the artists painted in the upper corners 2 Old Testament figures; in the middle
events from the life of Christ, and in the lower corners flowers, leaves or animals. Fruit
baskets, floral arrangements and plush gardens convey the sense of paradise.
- Icons of the death-resurrection, ascension, Pentecost.
Characteristic of Eastern art is the use of animals and birds:
- Dove a well-known symbol of the Spirit.
- Rooster refers to awakening of the human heart to Christ.
- peacock conveys themes of renewal and incorruptibility.
View the following examples of Maronite Art:
|
