A crossed nimbus is a stylistic convention used to identify the person of
Christ. This is especially helpful when there are many bearded holy people
depicted in a scene. The cross is inscribed within the nimbus and can be
distinguished by contrasting color or outline. In response to an earlier
entry in this thread I found a cross nimbus on the Christ Child of the 11th
c. Virgin and Child mosaic in the Katholikon, Hosios Loukas, Greece.
Obviously, this Christ is far more youthful than that shown in the Last
Supper. There are still the questions of where and when the convention
originated and how widely it was used.
"Christopher M. Mislow" wrote:
> The current discussion regarding the frequency of a Cross Nimbus raises,
> for me, an embarrassing confession of ignorance; i.e., exactly what is a
> Cross Nimbus? (I have been unable to locate a photograph or diagram, but
> would assume -- from "nimbus" -- a cross with trefoils at the extremities,
> similiar to a Cross Botontée.)
>
> --Christopher
%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%
|