![]() To highlight the fantastical tone of the story, Ercole de’ Roberti chose to represent the water as a dense mass that is barely distinguishable from the sky. They are both embarked on the Argos with the rest of the crew and are getting ready to leave Colchis (currently Georgia) to sail to Iolcos (Greece) through the waters of the Black Sea brimming with dangers and surprises. The scene depicted in the panel at the Museo Nacional Thyssen-Bornemisza shows Medea enamoured and fleeing from her homeland with Jason, the hero who had helped her secure the Golden Fleece. ![]() In the FIFTEENTH century, Jason’s popularity had reached its peak after Philip the Good chose the Greek hero as the patron of the Order of the Golden Fleece in 1430. The thrilling adventure by Jason and the argonauts recounted in book VII of Ovid’s Metamorphoses is the episode that the artist from Ferrara Ercole de’ Roberti chose as the inspiration for this work. The revival of classical iconography sparked by the Renaissance led to the creation of artworks that illustrated these grand mythical episodes. Their depths are inhabited by fantastical aquatic creatures like gods, sirens, nereids, monsters and tritons ready to help or hinder the missions - depending on the occasion - of those brave souls who dare to sail through their domains. MYTHOLOGICAL WATERS have been used as the setting of some of the most fascinating epics from classical antiquity. The presence of the gilded background accentuates the holiness of the work and the introduction of small landscape features in the representation reveal this painter’s naturalistic tendencies. Still nude, without the perizonium or loincloth which became common in these representations at the end of that century, Jesus is blessing the water as two kneeling angels watch him. The impositio manuum takes place in an arid, rocky setting that the water of the Jordan seems to bring back to life. Lorenzo Veneziano chose to represent the moment when Saint John the Baptist places his hand on Christ’s head to administer the sacrament. When we come out of the water, the new man appears at that moment.’ The idea of spiritual rebirth is profoundly tied to the baptismal liturgy, through either immersion or infusion, and water, the ambivalent symbol of life and death, is the means that allows that regeneration. The symbolism of the baptism was explained by Saint John Chrysostom: ‘it represents death and burial, life and resurrection as when we plunge our head into water as into a tomb, the old man is immersed, wholly buried. With his characteristic style that introduces elements from the Gothic world but with a greater naturalistic sensibility and decorative taste, the artist seeks to suggest the real physical presence of God to the faithful by depicting the moment when Jesus was immersed in the River Jordan for purification. The representation of the baptism of Christ, which has been found in Christian iconography since its beginnings, is one of the four scenes included in the right wing of the Portable Triptych with a central Crucifixion by Lorenzo Veneziano. ![]() One example of this can be seen in the work in the collection, The Pool at Bethesda painted by Giovanni Panini in around 1724, in which this element is associated with healing. With diverse connotations, water is presented as an essential component in the stories of Abraham, Noah, Moses and Christ’s encounter with the Good Samaritan. Its rich symbolism helps us to intuitively grasp profound, complex contents. The liquid element is often mentioned in Biblical stories, bringing secondary meanings that enrich the holy message. Since its appearance in the Book of Genesis in the form of the Four Rivers of Eden, the Pishon, the Gihon, the Tigris and the Euphrates, water has been associated with the very beginning of human existence. THE SYMBOLISM OF WATER as a source of life and an element of purification became prominent in the Judeo-Christian world. ![]()
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