Exploration:
Gothic Era (Gothic
and Early Renaissance)
A NEW HEAVEN AND A NEW
EARTH
And I saw a new
heaven and a new earth: for the first heaven and the first earth
were passed away; and there was no more sea.
Revelation 21:1
Heaven is both the place from which Christ passes judgment and the
place to which the saved, or elect, ascend. In the wing of a Last
Judgment triptych by Hieronymus Bosch, the approach to heaven looks
surprisingly like the tunnel of light described by so many of
today's chroniclers of "near-death" experiences.
Hieronymus
Bosch
(1450-1516) Paradise
Hieronymus
Bosch
(1450-1516) Paradise
Hans Memling
(1435-1494) Last Judgment Paradise Triptych
(left wing,detail)
1467-1471
Muzeum Narodowe, Gdansk
In other
images, the idea of ascending into heaven is represented more
literally. In Rogier van der Weyden's and Hans Memling's Last
Judgment altarpieces, angels help the elect climb
tentatively up the heavenly stairs—in contrast to the damned, who
tumble into hell with terrifying speed.
Once in heaven, the saved can quench their thirst from the water of
life—often shown as beautiful fountains—and take sustenance from the
tree of life. These are consoling parallels to the forbidden tree of
knowledge in the Garden of Eden, with which mankind's troubles
began. Thus, Revelation offers a fitting and enticingly hopeful
conclusion to the Bible. The story that began with humanity's
expulsion from paradise ends with its ascent to a new heaven and a
new earth.
Dirck Bouts
(1415-1475) Paradise 1450 Musee des
Beaux-Arts, Lille
Luca Signorelli
(1450-1523)
The Last Judgment
The Elect
Fresco,
Orvieto
Discuss Art
Please note: site admin does not answer any questions. This is our readers discussion only.
