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Medieval AAH Paper
Medieval AAH Paper
Amandla Cardenas
Formal Analysis:
The Frontispiece of Scivias is a self portrait of Hildegard from the front page of her Liber
Scivias. Dating back to the Medieval era, the portrait depicts Hildegard at the very moment
that she was receiving a vision from God: a burning light coming from heaven is poured into
her mind. She is seen dictating the vision to Volmar and sketching on a wax tablet. As the
focal point of the painting, she is located in the center under a wide and high arch covering
most of the space of the portrait. On top of the arch is a triangular roof with two windows.
Also, there are two simple looking and tall pillaresque towers on both sides, typical of the
twelfth-century illuminated manuscripts. On top of the towers lay an oval roof. The pitch
roof and the oval roof are connected by a blue tiled roof set in the background. These three
The major pictorial elements of the painting are Hildegard, the flame pouring in her head, her
writing on the tablet, and Volmar transcribing the event, all in the center of the composition.
The flames are coming from the arches are falling directly onto her head, like water. The
tablet is resting in her lap, where the left hand is holding it and the right hand is etching the
words of God. Hildegard is connected to the rest of the portrait by the flame, by leaning her
back on the left side of the arch, gracefully etching the words of God while facing the priest.
The whole composition creates a continuous relationship between architecture, God, people,
emphasis on the edges around the objects and the architecture. Creating a sensation of acting
independently to portrait, a one dimensional portrait, yet they touch each other expressing the
connection between the different elements. For example, on Hildegard the lines depict the
main features of her face, hands and drapery, emphasising a serene expression and
connecting her to the rest of the portrait. The lines depicting Hildegard are a combination of
thick exterior and interior lines drawn in a smooth and consistent way. The lines are almost
even in thickness, however the variation happens in the expression of the lines, where in
some cases it is more wavy to depict movement and in other cases to define the contour of
Hildegard’s body.
Due to the effect of colours the portrait looks simple and soft. There is a gleaming golden
background, enhancing the figures in the front and creating contrast between background and
foreground. The other tones in the rest of the figures are brown, red, blue and green. The
The entire image does not follow standard scale proportions. The architecture is amplified to
the point where it covers most of the picture vertically and horizontally. The arch occupies
most of the center, leaving little spaces to the columns. Mary is represented big related to the
hole image, she is almost the same high as the towers and the arches. Her size is big and
There is balance in the image, specially in the architecture. The arch is located in the middle,
there are two towers and tow roofs, one on each side. The roof on top is also balance because
The rhythm of the work is regular, with the repetition of elements like vertical lines. The
religious event that is taking place. It is the projection of a divine event where the words of
God are being written through Mary. On the other hand, on the painting are other elements like
the architecture, the priest and the tablet scenes of people sitting, washing, moving upstairs or
downstairs, or crossing the bridge and paddling a boat in a slow peace. This artwork relates to
other artists such as those who also depicted landscape work in the neoclassical period.
In the book of Scivias she received her visions in a conscious state. Her work provides a series
English
Like many during her time, she believed that women were inferior to men and
therefore should be subservient to them. Though this opinion is often unpopular nowadays,
she was incredibly influential in encouraging the empowerment and education of women. In
the Southwest Review she acknowledges being a person full of knowledge who wanted to
inspire others to learn. This becomes clear when she writes, “I am a museum, a mother to
museums.” As documented by Constant J. Mews, she saw herself not as a priest but instead
as a prophet. She interacted with many important figures within the church, including many
popes. They saw her as an advisor, someone to assist them when they needed spiritual
guidance. She held a personal relationship with Guibert Gembloux, a monk from Lotharingia.
about Hildegard, he illustrated their shared endeavour and his thoughts about her role as both
The concept of iustitia Dei is central to Hildegard’s writing. A major theme of this concept is
moral righteousness as an embodiment of Christ. ‘He sent his Son into the world to be the
capstone of the corner that faces east, made up of the righteousness (ilustia) first prefigured in