Having no German, I can't get much from the
caption of Karl's Müstair fresco. Nevertheless, for a work
of Carolingian(?) vintage, the perspective of the flowing
Jordan, receding and narrowing into the background is
outstanding. I love it. There is also the oddly 'humped'
wavy lines of water in the other baptism of Jesus done in
stucco relief. See: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Saint_John_Abbey,_M%C3%BCstair#/media/File:Benediktinerkloster_St._Johann_Relief.JPG
Karl also makes a
good point about the God figure in the Left tympanum of
the Chartres Royal Portal. It could just as easily be
Christ in contemplation of Creation as God the Father. In
the case of Christ, the text of reference would be John
1:1-3 where Christ is identified as the Word
(Logos) and, in the beginning, the agent of Creation: "In the beginning
was the Word, and the Word was with God,
and the Word was God. The same was in
the beginning with God. All things were made by him;
and without him was not
any thing made that was made."
However, there is no instance in the New Testament
of Christ appearing in a whirlwind. That is why I think
the imagery of Job is more relevant to the
understanding of the oddly angled wavy lines and the
body posture of the flanking angels. In any case, to any
community faithful to the theology of the Trinity, as
were the Chartrians of c.1145 CE, the point is moot.
Thank
you Karl for pointing this out. I'll need to amend my
draft accordingly.
Cheers,
Richard J Legault
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Consider the sculpture of the Sign of Pisces in the rightmost archivolt of the Royal Portal at Chartres. There, I think it is clear the wavy lines at the bottom are water - the context is Pisces the Fish. However, look to the leftmost tympanum and consider the wavy lines under the feet of the God figure, that rise obliquely on either side of Him. I just cannot see these oblique wavy lines as water. Nor do I think they represent cloud. Because of the their very bizarre shape, and the context of the posture of the flanking angels, I think there is a good case to be made that these particular wavy lines represent wind - a whirlwind, I think, of the kind described in Job.But sometimes these wavy lines are indeed waves - from the baptism of Christ in the Jordan, and I am sure, it is Christ here, as supreme judge like often over the western door.
For the baptism cf. e. g. the funny picture at the frescoes in Müstair http://www.al-fresko.ch/die-taufe-jesu-im-jordan-epiphanie-der-ostkirche/
BestKarl, Vienna
See Images at::Leftmost Tympanum: https://digital.library.pitt.edu/islandora/object/pitt%3AFCSP12200300/from_search/02e47652b0d4f6a867ef40258482c160-4
For Whirlwind idea see: https://www.academia.edu/10497029/Chartres_Royal_Portal_Ascension_or_Creation
