Joseph's Dream
after Fresco, circa 1355, by Bartolo Battilori,
Cathedral, San Gimignano, Italy
after Fresco, circa 1355, by Bartolo Battilori,
Cathedral, San Gimignano, Italy
A small watercolor study of a 10"x22" fresco panel I'm getting ready to paint. Inside the Cathedral in San Gimignano, frescos cover the walls. I had a revelation about the frescos when I was there several years ago. One of the ladies in our group wondered what story they told, and I knew they were scenes from the Bible, that this was how most people "read" the Bible in the 14th Century because the liturgy was in Latin, which most didn't understand, and many people then could not read. I remember that the scene of Joseph's dream was the fresco image that brought it all into focus for me. The scene is a composite of two dreams - one where his brothers' sheaves of grain bowed to Joseph's sheaf and the other dream where the sun, moon and 11 stars bow down to Joseph. Just another example of how God speaks through the visual, bridging language and social barriers, still as clear today as in the 14th century. After all, God is always speaking - are we listening?
No comments:
Post a Comment