.png)
Amandorla is analmond-shapedaureola, i.e. a frame that surrounds the totality of aniconographic figure. It is usually synonymous withvesica, a lens shape. Mandorlas often surround the figures ofJesus Christ and theVirgin Mary in traditionalChristianiconography.[1] It is distinguished from ahalo in that it encircles the entire body and not just the head. It is commonly used to frame the figure ofChrist in Majesty in early medieval andRomanesque art, as well asByzantine art of the same periods. It is the shape generally used for mediaeval ecclesiastical seals, secular seals generally being round.
Mandorla isItalian for thealmond nut, to which shape it refers. It may be elliptical or depicted as a vesica, a lens shape as the intersection of two circles.Rhombic mandorlas are also sometimes depicted.
Inicons of theEastern Orthodox Church, the mandorla is used to depict sacred moments that "transcend time and space", such as theResurrection and theTransfiguration ofJesus Christ and theDormition of the Theotokos. These mandorlas are often painted in several concentric bands of different color, which become darker in progression to the center of the mandorla. This accords with the church's use ofapophatic theology, as described byDionysius the Areopagite and others: as holiness increases, only increasing darkness can depict the luminance and brightness thereof.
In architectural iconography, the frame of the mandorla is often marked withdecorative mouldings. The interior of the mandorla is usually undecorated, but may contain the symbols forAlpha and Omega (Α and Ω) or, less frequently, depictions of a starry sky or clouds.
In a famousCatholic Romanesquefresco of Jesus Christ in Glory inSant Climent de Taüll, the scriptural inscriptionEgo Sum Lux Mundi ("I Am the Light of the World") is incorporated in the mandorla design.[2]
Thetympanum atConques has Christ, with a gesture carved inRomanesque sculpture, indicate theangels at his feet bearing candlesticks. Six surrounding stars that resemble blooming flowers, indicate the planets that were known at the time, including theMoon. Here the symbolism evokes Christ as theSun.[3]
In one special case, at Cervon (Nièvre), Jesus Christ is seated and surrounded by eight stars that resemble blooming flowers.[4] At Conques the flowers are six-petalled. At Cervon, where the almond motif is repeated in the rim of the mandorla, they are five-petalled, as are true almond flowers, which are the first flowers to bloom after Winter, even beforevernation of the leaves of the tree. The symbolism of the nine-branchedChanukkiyahcandelabrum may be relevant. In the 12th century a great school ofJudaic thought radiated fromNarbonne, coinciding with the origins of theKabbalah.[5] Furthermore, at Cervon the eight stars/flowers only are six-petalled: the "Root of David", the "Morningstar", mentioned at the end of theBook of Revelation (22: 16).[6] In one of the oldest manuscripts of the completeHebrew Bible, theLeningrad Codex, theStar of David is embedded in an octagon.
In the symbolism of SaintHildegard of Bingen OSB the mandorla symbolizes theCosmos.[7]
{{cite web}}: CS1 maint: archived copy as title (link)