Lessons In Iconography : The Peacock - Resurrection

Based on the ancient belief that the peacock's flesh does not decay - Saint Augustine details a rather odd account of discovering the peacock's "antiseptic qualities" and reputed incorruptibility - the bird acquired an association in Christian art with Christ's Resurrection. An additional belief that the bird loses its feathers in autumn and re-grows them in the spring augmented its value as a symbol of the Resurrection.

Images of the peacock adorn all manner of Christian art, from catacomb painting to mosaic church decoration to liturgical objects, and the bird appears occasionally in scenes of Christ's Nativity. Take for example the image above, a detail of The Adoration of the Magi by Fra Angelico and Fra Filippo Lippi, housed at the National Gallery of Art in Washington, D.C. A peacock perched atop the stable where Christ has been born calls to mind His Resurrection, through which Christ opens for us the way to life everlasting.

Rachel Ross
Curator of Art

Sources: Saint Augustine of Hippo, City of God, Book XXI, Ch 4; Impelluso, Lucia, Nature and Its Symbols, Los Angeles: Getty Museum, 2003; Hall, James, Dictionary of Subjects and Symbols in Art, Boulder, CO: Westview Press, 1974.

Lessons In Iconography : The Chi Rho - Christ

The Chi Rho may well be one of the most recognized of Christian symbols, and it represents Christ himself. This simple symbol is made up of a superimposed "X" (chi) and a "P" (rho), the first two letters of Christ's name in Greek.

Used from the earliest days of Christianity on lamps, liturgical objects, sarcophagi, and in catacomb painting, and still in wide use today, the Chi Rho is linked to the conversion of the Roman empire in the fourth century. In 312 AD, on the eve of his battle against Maxentius at the Milvian Bridge, Constantine received a vision of this very sign blazing in the sky accompanied by a voice which assured him, "In this sign you will conquer." Constantine had this symbol put on his imperial standard and was, in fact, victorious.

While there are certainly many other symbols that represent the Resurrection, none embodies it as completely as this symbol of Christ himself. Our Lord told Saint Martha, "I AM the Resurrection and the life." Christ is the guarantor of the Christian hope in the resurrection of the body and life everlasting. As was promised to Constantine, it is in the name of Christ that we achieve victory. May we live confident in the Victor, the Risen Christ, this Easter season and always.

Rachel Ross
Curator of Art

Lessons in Iconography: The Pelican

In Christian art, the pelican represents Christ’s ultimate sacrifice on the Cross for our redemption. This traditional attribution stems from the belief that a female pelican will strike her breast with her beak, drawing blood to feed her young. Like the pelican, Christ shed His blood on the Cross for our redemption, and Christ offers Himself to us in the sacrifice of the Eucharist to nourish and strengthen us spiritually.

A verse from the Adoro Te Devote, a Eucharistic hymn penned by St. Thomas Aquinas, refers to Christ in the guise of this symbol:

Pelican of mercy, Jesus, Lord and God,

Cleanse me, wretched sinner, in Thy Precious Blood:

Blood where one drop for human-kind outpoured

Might from all transgression have the world restored.

As we draw near to the celebration of Christ’s death on the Cross on Good Friday, let us ask the “Pelican of Mercy” to nourish and strengthen us through His sacrifice.

Rachel Ross

Curator of Art

Lessons in Iconography: The Palm Branch

We may be most familiar with the palm branch as a symbol of Christ's Entry into Jerusalem on Palm Sunday. During the Church's liturgical celebration on that day, the faithful bear palm branches to herald Christ's kingship, mirroring the crowds that acclaimed him as the King of Israel on the first Palm Sunday. In ancient Rome, the palm branch was used as a symbol of victory; the Christians appropriated this image to symbolize the martyr, whose death, paradoxically, is his triumph.

In this way, the martyr's palm may be linked to the branches of Palm Sunday. As the crowds laid the palms before Christ, so the martyr lays down his life as an offering to Christ the King, proclaiming His glory. It is worthy of noting that, in Christ's time, the palm branch represented the nation of Israel, God's chosen people.

The images above - Fracesco del Cossa's Saint Lucy and El Greco's Madonna and Child with Saint Martina and Saint Agnes, both at the National Gallery of Art in Washington, DC - show these female saints holding a palm branch as a sign of their martyrdom.

Rachel Ross

Curator of Art

Lessons in Iconography: The Scallop Shell

On January 10th, the Church will celebrate the Feast of the Baptism of Christ. The Sacrament of Baptism instituted through Christ's own baptism has long been symbolized by the scallop shell. Often, a shell is used to pour water over the head in baptism, as we see in the painting above of The Baptism of Christ by Andrea del Verrocchio and Leonardo da Vinci.

Additionally, the shell symbolizes pilgrimage. In Caravaggio's Supper at Emmaus, also above, the figure at right wears a scallop shell pinned to his vest, identifying him with all pilgrims who seek and encounter Christ at the end of their own "road to Emmaus". This symbol and practice are closely tied to the Spanish shrine of Santiago de Compostela, one of the most prominent sites of Christian pilgrimage since the Middle Ages.

These two meanings are linked. Through the Sacrament of Baptism, we are born to new life in Christ and cleansed of original sin. The gates of heaven which were closed after the Fall are reopened to us through our reception of the Sacrament. Our life, therefore, is a pilgrimage through this world, and union with God in heaven is the goal of our journey.

Rachel Ross
Curator of Art

Lessons in Iconography: The Anchor

The anchor is an ancient Christian symbol of hope in Christ. Given its origin in catacomb imagery, a genre that developed during the earliest persecutions and required some subtlety, the Christian meaning may not be immediately apparent. Yet we find the cross hidden within the symbol: the crosspiece of the anchor reveals the cross of Christ and represents his redemptive action upon that cross, the object of our hope. It is this hope which grounds the Christian, fixing him in place while being buffeted by worldly concerns, uncertainty, even persecution. The anchor of Christian hope prevents us from losing our way or running aground. Often, the symbol of the anchor is accompanied by a fish, one of the earliest symbols of Christ and an embodiment of his self-offering for our sake. The anchor is a timely symbol to contemplate during the Advent season, as we watch in hope for Christ's coming at Christmas, and anticipate his second coming in glory.

Rachel Ross
Curator of Art