Saint John the Evangelist
Today, we head to Ireland and back in time over 1,200 years to visit a masterpiece…
This portrait of Saint John the Evangelist is an ink, ink wash, and gold leaf on vellum folio from the Book of Kells and dates to circa 800 AD. This portrait is Folio 291v, placed just before the “Book of John”, giving readers a portrait of the man to accompany the words he wrote.
In this image, Saint John is depicted seated in the center. In his left hand, he holds a red book. His right hand holds a long quill. A small pot of ink can be seen down by his right foot. His halo is depicted with two concentric circles filled in with intricate design patterns. Surrounding John are decorative crosses and panels with repeating patterns. A pair of hands can be seen on either side of the page, with two feet at the bottom, and a head at the top.
The Book of Kells may be the most well-known illuminated manuscript. It was hand painted sometime in the late eighth century by unnamed Celtic Monks over a 30-year period. There is some uncertainty as to where this book was created. It may have actually been created on Iona, a small island among the western isles in Scotland. It was on Iona in the sixth century where the Irish Saint Columba founded his monastery. This monastery was a seat of learning for centuries.
After the Vikings began raiding the Great Britain and Ireland, the book was likely moved for safekeeping from the island of Iona to the Abbey of Kells in County Meath, Ireland. Or perhaps, monks from Iona had moved to Kells, also for their safekeeping, where they brought their skills and continued their work. After the Irish Rebellion of 1641, the Book of Kells was moved again, this time southeast to Dublin. In 1653, it was given to the Trinity College in Dublin, where it remains to this day.
Written in Latin, the Book of Kells contains preliminary text followed by four Gospels from the New Testament: Mathew, Mark, Luke, and John. The book follows the Latin Vulgate translation from the fourth century. It consists of 340 folio leaves, with 680 pages total. It contains bright colorful art and calligraphy throughout. Monograms decorate many of the pages.
This book is a perfect example of the Insular style of art that was prevalent in Ireland and Great Britain at this time and markedly different from contemporary European art. The Insular style is where modern-day Celtic designs come from. It is intricate, often using spirals, circles, and other geometric designs as well as mythical beasts, animals, and people. The art is playful and colorful and fills in the spaces between the text, sometimes added after a page had been completed for some time. Some of it is humorous, some bizarre, but all of it is delicately drawn and painted in. The artists were masters of their craft.
Saint John the Evangelist in the Book of Kells is currently on display at Trinity College in Dublin, Ireland.
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