He sits in a mandorla.
Bible in art · Acts
The Ascension (Ms. Ludwig II 6, fol. 12v, from the Gospel Book)
Unknown Armenian painter · 1386
Getty Center, Los Angeles
From the same Armenian Gospel book made near Lake Van in 1386. Armenian Gospel books often began with a cycle of such full-page pictures; this one is drawn in ink and coloured with thin watercolour on the bare page.
Jesus sits in a round mandorla, a book in his hand, while four angels hold it up. Below stand the apostles in two groups, looking up, with Mary in the middle.
From the text
- He was taken up and a cloud hid Him (Acts 1:9)
- Two men in white stand beside them (Acts 1:10)
The artist’s own
- Mary in the middle of the apostles, a tradition of painters
Details
Jesus
Angel
An angel holds the mandorla.
Mary
She stands in the middle.
Apostles
Apostles look up.
Unknown illuminator, Armenian (Lake Van). The J. Paul Getty Museum, Los Angeles (Ms. Ludwig II 6 (83.MB.70), fol. 12v) · Black ink and watercolors · Images provided here are believed to be in the public domain and are available under CC0 through Getty’s Open Content Program. (Getty record: "No Copyright", http://creativecommons.org/publicdomain/zero/1.0/)