Rogier van der Weyden’s altarpiece (c.1445)

Last week, I visited the Royal Museum of Fine Arts in Antwerp, with a specific goal in mind: Rogier van der Weyden’s masterpiece, “The Seven Sacraments”. My visit was not solely to admire this exquisite triptych but also to delve deeper into the meaning of the seven sacraments. This exploration hereunder will be guided by seven works of art as visual narratives, with Van der Weyden’s triptych serving as our starting point.

In the interior of a Gothic church, Rogier van der Weyden has depicted two interconnected scenes. The Crucifixion is the main scene, with smaller episodes in the aisles of the church on the side panels and in front of the main altar in the central panel, forming the second scene: the “Seven Sacraments”. From left to right, we see Baptism, Confirmation, Confession, the Eucharist, Ordination, Marriage and the Anointing of the Sick. This church is a microcosm of medieval society, with rich and poor, young and old, all together on these three panels.
_{The Seven Sacraments (c.1445), Rogier van der Weyden (Flemish, c.1399 – 1464), 200x223cm, Royal Museum of Fine Arts, Antwerp.}

On the left panel from the front towards the back:
**Baptism**: initiation into the Christian faith involving water, symbolising purification of sins and rebirth.
**Confirmation**: children receive the Holy Spirit and become full members of the church, with anointing and laying on of hands by a priest or bishop.
**Confession**: forgiveness of sins through confession to a priest, and with penance if appropriate.

On the central panel, behind the Crucifiction and in front of the main altar:
**Eucharist**: the communion or the Lord’s Last Supper, it involves the consumption of bread and wine as symbols of Christ’s body and blood.

On the right panel, from the back towards the front:
**Ordination**: individuals are ordained as priests, to serve the church.
**Marriage**: symbolizing the union of two individuals in a lifelong partnership.
**Anointing of the Sick**: spiritual and physical healing, often administered to those who are seriously ill.

The Seven Sacraments in seven paintings

Baptism

Baptism is the sacrament of regeneration and initiation into the Church that was begun by Jesus, who accepted baptism from St. John the Baptist. Baptism is understood, therefore, as the annulment of one’s sins and the emergence of a completely innocent person.

Christ stands in a shallow, winding stream as Saint John the Baptist reaches up to pour a small bowl of water over his head. John had been preaching, encouraging people to repent of their sins and to be baptized: the river’s water symbolized the washing away of sin. The river is considered the river Jordan.
_{The Baptism of Christ (c.1440), Piero della Francesca (Italian, c.1417 – 1492), Egg Tempera on Poplar, 167x116cm, National Gallery, London.}

Confirmation

A sacrament that is conferred through the anointing with oil and the imposition of hands, Confirmation is believed to strengthen or confirm the grace bestowed by the Holy Spirit at baptism. The Confirmation rite is a relatively simple ceremony that is traditionally performed during the Mass by the bishop, who raises his hands over those receiving Confirmation and prays for the bestowal of the Holy Spirit. He then anoints the forehead of each confirmand with holy oil and says, “Accipe Signaculum Doni Spiritus Sancti” (“Be sealed with the gifts of the Holy Spirit”).

*This work depicts the moment when the Holy Ghost, in the form of flames, rests on the Virgin and the Apostles, as happend during pentecost day in Jerusalem.*
_{Pentecost (c.1600), El Greco, (Greek and Spanish, 1541 – 1614), 275x127cm, Prado, Madrid.}

Confession

This sacrament of reconciliation or penance, reflects the practice of restoring sinners to the community of the faithful by confessing one’s sins to a priest. The Roman Catholic Church claims that the absolution of the priest is an act of forgiveness. To receive it, the penitent must confess all serious sins, manifest genuine sorrow for sins, and have a reasonably firm purpose to make amends. The sacrament of confession was rejected by most of the Reformers on the grounds that God alone can forgive sins, and not through a priest.

John the Baptist was a hermit, living in the wilderness, calling on all who would listen to repent their evil ways, and of course, all in the name of God. That’s why he is pointing towards heaven. John the Baptist thus preached confession, repentance, and being baptized to be totally cleansed of any sins.
_{Saint John the Baptist in the Wilderness (c.1636), Guido Reni (Italian, 1575 – 1642), 225x162cm, Dulwich Picture Gallery, London.}

Eucharist

The Eucharist (from the Greek word “εὐχαριστία” which means “thanksgiving”) is the central act of Christian worship, also known as Holy Communion and the Lord’s Supper. The rite was instituted by Jesus at the Last Supper when he blessed the bread, which he said was his body, and shared it with his disciples. He then shared a cup of wine as his blood. Jesus called on his followers to repeat the ceremony in his memory. It is a commemoration of his sacrifice on the cross.

*The focus in this painting is on Christ, serene and triumphant at the moment of consecrating the bread and wine, amidst the apostles at the Last Supper. The bread in the form of the Sacred Host.*
_{The Last Supper (c.1556), Juan de Juanes (Spanish, c.1504 – 1579), 116x191cm, Prado, Madrid.}

Ordination

Ordination is a sacrament essential to the church, as it bestows an unrepeatable, indelible character upon the priest being ordained. The essential ceremony consists of the laying of hands of the bishop upon the head of the one being ordained, with prayer for the gifts of the Holy Spirit and of grace required for the carrying out of the ministry.

Christ orders Peter to feed the sheep, meaning that he actually charges Peter to take care of the believers. That’s how Peter became a priest and the first pope of the Catholic Church. Raphael here combines the story with giving Peter the keys to the kingdom of heaven.
_{Christ’s Charge to Peter (c.1515), Raphael (Italian, 1483 – 1520), cartoon as design for the tapestry for the Sistine Chapel, 343x532cm, Royal Collection Trust, Victoria & Albert Museum, London.}

Marriage

Marriage as a sacrament, also known as holy matrimony, is the covenant by which a man and a woman establish between themselves a partnership for the whole of life, administered in the presence of a priest. However, the inclusion of marriage among the sacraments gives the Roman Catholic Church jurisdiction over an institution that is of as much concern to the state as it is to the church.

Christ and Mary are invited to a wedding at Cana in Galilee. When Mary notices that the wine has run out, Christ delivers a sign of his divinity by turning water into wine. The account is taken as evidence of Jesus’ approval of marriage and earthly celebrations and has also been used as an argument against the total abstinence of alcoholic drinks.
_{Wedding at Cana (c.1305), Giotto (Italian, 1266 – 1337), Fresco, 200x185cm, Scrovegni Chapel, Padua, Italy.}

Anointing of the sick

This sacrament is conferred by anointing the forehead and hands with blessed oil and pronouncing a prayer. It may be conferred only on those who are seriously ill or on elderly people who are experiencing the frailties of old age. In popular belief, anointing is most valuable as a complement to confession or, in the case of unconsciousness, as a substitute for it. Anointing is not the sacrament of the dying; it is the sacrament of the sick.

This painting shows Christ’s mission to save the unfortunate and heal the sick. Christ is opening the eyes of a blind man, who kneels at his feet. His dog stares out of the painting, a reminder that soon he will no longer be needed to lead his master. There are three more unfortunate individuals: a lame beggar, with a crutch and a bowl, and two madmen. One of the latter is manacled, his chain held by a keeper; the other is cured of his possession, as an evil spirit (looking rather like a winged lizard) leaves his mouth. It seems likely that this painting has been commissioned by a hospital where its theme of healing and salvation would have been appropriate.
_{Christ Healing the Sick (1577), Crispin van den Broeck (Flemish, 1524 – 1591), 91x142cm, Royal Collection Trust, Windsor Castle.}

Tiziano “Titian” Vecelli (1488 – 1576), “*The Assumption of the Virgin Mary*” (1516), 690x360cm, Oil on Panel, Basilica di Santa Maria Gloriosa dei Frari, Venice.

Today August 15 is the official feast day of the “Assumption of Mary”. It’s a holiday in many, mostly Catholic, countries. But what is it about and how has it been depicted in art? This day is to celebrate that the Holy Virgin Mary, mother of Christ, is taken up into Heaven at the end of her earthly life. It’s not so much a historic event, but it’s deeply embedded in the Christian tradition, belief and faith. The historic element is that somewhere around the year 41, Mary passed away. From around the 3^rd century the belief was added that the body of Mary was taken up into Heaven and in that sense she followed her son Jesus Christ, who was crucified and subsequently taken into Heaven about 10 years earlier. From the 5^th century onwards, it was added that all the apostles were present at this very moment, which is depicted on the many paintings with Mary’s Assumption. They are the group of guys looking up in astonishment when Mary is taken into Heaven, up into the arms of God. On most paintings Mary goes up with the help of angels, like on the gigantic Titian altar piece, almost 7×4 meters, which is still on its original location in the Frari Church in Venice.

Annibale Carracci (1560 – 1609), “*The Assumption of the Virgin Mary*” (1587), 130x97cm, Oil on Canvas, Museo del Prado, Madrid.

There is still an endless dispute about the moment just before the heavenly Assumption of Mary. Did Mary only fell asleep, the so-called “Dormition”, and then went up? Or did she actually also really die? The official Catholic dogma around the subject is not clarifying this element. Pope Pius XII proclaimed in 1950 that Mary indeed “completed her earthly life” and that her body and soul went up into heavenly glory. The Pope used his Papal authority to declare this dogma and did so with “Papal Infallibility”. He made not clear if Mary just fell asleep and went up, or if she also really died before going up into Heaven. On the Titian painting, Mary goes up into Heaven and no indication of the moment just before the Assumption. On the Carracci painting from the Prado, Madrid, Mary is ascending from a tomb, which would indicate that Mary indeed died. On the Rubens altar piece, still in its original location in the Cathedral of Our Lady in Antwerp, the tomb is also present.

Peter Paul Rubens (1577 – 1640), “*The Assumption of the Virgin Mary*” (1626), 490x325cm, Oil on Panel, Cathedral of Our Lady, Antwerp.

I think the Assumption of Mary is a beautiful belief and it’s great to depict this story. Every viewer of a painting with the Assumption of Mary, the mother of Christ, has a mother him- or herself and many viewers are also “mother” themselves. And all those mothers will one day pass away. It must have given – and still gives – a lot of comfort to know or believe that Mary, as the mother of all mothers, was taken up into heaven after her death. It gives hope to everyone, and certainly to our mothers, that one day they will follow Mary up into Heaven. August 15 is a public holiday, but it’s above all the ultimate and sacred Mother’s Day.