A white dove flies down under the arch.
Bible in art · Acts
Pentecost
German painter · mid 13th century
National Gallery of Art, Washington
A German miniature on vellum of the mid-13th century, now in the National Gallery of Art. The background is burnished gold leaf, and the frame is painted as a red and green city gate with towers.
The apostles sit close together on a long bench, with a crowned woman in a starry blue mantle at the centre. Above them a white dove flies down, and thin gold rays fall towards their heads.
From the text
- They were all together in one place (Acts 2:1)
- Tongues like flames of fire rest on each of them (Acts 2:3)
The artist’s own
- Mary crowned at the centre — the text does not name her here, but painters often placed her among the apostles
- The Spirit shown as a dove
Details
The dove
The crowned woman
She sits in a starry blue mantle.
The apostles
They sit close together on a bench.
The towers
Painted towers crown the frame.
German 13th Century. National Gallery of Art, Washington (Rosenwald Collection, 1961.17.4) · Miniature on vellum · NGA Open Access: "Images of these works are available free of charge for any use, commercial or non-commercial, under Creative Commons Zero (CC0)." (NGA open data: published_images.csv openaccess = 1)