When contemplating the various sculptures, paintings or architectural elements present in the different temples, we often come across elements of biblical origin whose significance is directly related to the scene or the character represented, forming part of an iconography that visually communicates the theological message.
Some of them are better known, such as the image of the lamb or the snake trodden by the foot of the Virgin MaryHowever, there are other elements that frequently appear in popular iconography whose meaning or reference is sometimes unknown to many of the faithful.
Lamb
The figure of the lamb is a biblical element referring to Jesus. Just as in the Old Covenant, the sacrifice of the lamb was offered in atonement for sins, with the New Covenant, Jesus, the Lamb of God, blots out the sins of the world with his death.
In the narrative of Exodus 12, the blood of the lamb on the doors of the houses of the Hebrews delivered them from the plague on the Egyptians; the blood of Christ, shed in his Passion and death, brings men out of sin and cleanses them: "These are they which come out of great tribulation: they have washed and made white their robes in the blood of the Lamb." (Rev 7:14).
Jeremiah and Isaiah already use the image of the lamb to refer to the Messiah: "I, like a meek lamb, was led to the slaughter." (Jer 11:19) and "like a lamb led to the slaughter, like a sheep before the shearer". (Is 53:7).
The figure of the lamb will take on its greatest power in the Apocalypse with the presence of the apocalyptic lamb: "I saw in the midst of the throne and of the four living creatures, and in the midst of the elders, a Lamb standing, as it were slain; it had seven horns and seven eyes, which are the seven spirits of God sent forth into all the earth." (Rev 5:6-7).
Christian iconography has taken these two images of the lamb: the Eucharistic lamb that meekly sheds its blood for the sins of the world; and the mighty lamb of the last book before whom the kings of the earth prostrate themselves and who defeats the diabolical dragon.
Tree of Jesse, Genealogy of Jesus
The Tree of Jesse refers to the genealogy of Jesus, which is detailed in the Gospels of Matthew and Luke in the New Testament. The first genealogy traces Jesus' ancestry from King David to Joseph, his earthly father, and the second traces back to God Himself.
The importance of genealogy was key among the Jewish people as it established the legitimacy and fulfillment of the messianic prophecies in Jesus, scholars point out. By demonstrating his connection to key Old Testament figures, it underscores that Jesus is the long-awaited Messiah promised to Israel.
One of the most beautiful representations of this Tree of Jesse is found in the altarpiece of the chapel of Santa Ana in the Cathedral of Burgos, the work of Gil de Siloe, whose central iconographic theme represents the genealogical origin of the Virgin through the Tree of Jesse.
Prophets, kings and priests
In 1997, St. John Paul II dedicated one of his audiences to the topic "Christ in the history of the humanity that preceded him". The Polish Pope's words are a practical guide to identifying, in Christ's ancestors, the key characteristics of his messianic nature.
The pontiff cited Abraham, Jacob, Moses and David, figures that recur in the various artistic representations of the life of Christ: Abraham rejoicing over the birth of Isaac and his rebirth after the sacrifice was a messianic joy: it announced and prefigured the definitive joy that the Savior would offer. Moses as liberator and, above all, David as king. These are some of the images that are repeated in paintings and sculptures referring directly to Christ.
One of the most original cross-references is the figure of the Magi of the East and the Queen of Sheba and Solomon. Just as the magi went to worship the Lord thanks to their knowledge, the Queen of Sheba visits Solomon to gain access to the wisdom of the son of David.
This symbology can be seen, for example, in the Triptych of The Adoration of the Magipainted by Bosch in 1494, in which the scene of the Queen of Sheba is materialized in Gaspar's cloak.
The inclusion of these characters as secondary figures in altarpieces or in the bases of sacramental monstrances was a constant in the Baroque, both in Europe and Latin America, creating a visual line of continuity between the Old and New Testaments.
Adam's skull
Very often, in the representations of the crucified Christ, a skull appears at the foot of the wood.
Some notorious examples can be seen in The Crucifixion by Andrea Mantegna or Giotto, El Calvario by Luís Tristán, or the splendid Christ crucified carved in ivory by Claudio Beissonat.
The presence of this skull and some bones at the foot of the Cross points to the fact that, according to tradition, the remains of Adam would rest in the same place where Jesus was crucified.
In this way, Christ, with his death and resurrection, overcomes the death of Adam and pays the ransom for the soul of fallen man. It is not for nothing that the chapel under Calvary, in the Basilica of the Holy Sepulchre, is so called, Adam's Chapel.
This symbolism of Adam's skull appears, on many occasions, together with the arboreal representation of the cross, making direct reference to the wood on which Jesus Christ was nailed.
Expulsion from paradise and the garden
The expulsion of Adam and Eve from paradise narrated in the third chapter of Genesis is one of the constant images in Christian iconography. They appear related in the mystery of Salvation in different stages.
One of the most interesting relationships is the inclusion of Adam and Eve in the representation of the Annunciation to the Virgin, of which we have a paradigmatic example, in the delicate and detailed work of Fra Angelico on this subject. The disobedience of Adam and Eve is contrasted to the total obedience of the Virgin in her "Be it done unto me."
Adam and Eve are expelled from a pure garden where life sprang forth: the garden that prefigures the virginal womb of Mary where the Life that is Christ is born and which is also echoed in the Song of Songs: "Thou art an enclosed garden, my sister, my wife; an enclosed spring, a sealed fountain.". Mary, as the Gate of Heaven, reopens Paradise to man by giving birth to the Savior.
Snake trodden
It is one of the most popular images of Marian symbolism: the foot of the Virgin crushing a snake / dragon.
The image has its origin in Genesis 3, 15: "I put hostility between you and the woman, between your offspring and her offspring; she will crush your head when you bruise her heel."
This image is especially linked to the representations of the Immaculate Virgin Mary since she is "the Woman" par excellence.
The allegory of the serpent under the foot of the Virgin can be seen, for example, in the image that crowns the Colonna dell'Immacolata in Rome as well as in most of the pictorial and sculptural representations of the Immaculate Conception.
The doe
The hind is one of the animals that appears in the Old Testament, intimately related to the state of the soul of the human being with God.
"As the doe seeks streams of water." (Ps 42:2), this psalm was an inspiration, especially in the first centuries of Christianity, as an image of the Christian catechumen preparing to receive his sacraments, the living water.
The image of the hind in ornaments and objects of worship, especially linked to the Eucharist, such as chalices and textiles and even as a mold for Eucharistic hosts of the type found in Tunisia and dating from the 6th century.
