Pentecost Art Series: Restout

 

This 18th century Baroque rendition of Pentecost is by Jean Restout II.  It is oil on canvas and roughly 15 feet high by 25 feet wide.  It is housed at the Louvre Museum in Paris, France.

Once again Our Lady is depicted as central and very serene.  The 12 apostles are of course there.  One can identify St. Peter (older, bearded and toward the front) as well as St. John the Evangelist (young and clean shaven).

Some scholars believe that the two men who appear to show the most shock are Bartholomew and Thomas.

Aside from Our Lady, the women are believed by scholars to be Mary Magdalene, Martha, Mary Clopas and "Mary of Bethany" (whom some believe to be a different woman than Mary Magdalene),

Interestingly, the painting was originally in the refectory (dining hall) of the Abbey of Saint-Denis near Paris.

Pentecost Art Series: El Greco

 Here is a very different portrayal of Pentecost by El Greco, completed about 1600 and located in the Prado in Madrid, Spain.  It is oil on canvas and measures roughly 4 feet by 9 feet.  The elongation is meant to draw the viewer's eye up toward heaven.

El Greco's portrayal includes not only Our Lady but two other women. There is an enlarged version of the painting on the Prado website where one can see the figures very clearly.

Our Lady is presented as central and very serene.  Commentators agree that the woman looking upward at the descent of the Holy Ghost is Mary Magdalene.  The other woman - the one with the gray head covering - is thought by many to be Martha.  Others speculate that she is perhaps Mary of Clopas (who was at the foot of the Cross) or Mary Salome, the mother of James and John (who was with Mary Magdalene at the empty tomb).

Pentecost Art Series: Duccio

 

 

This is Pentecost by Duccio.  It is a panel from his magnificent 14th century many-paneled Maesta altarpiece.  The artistic medium is egg tempera on poplar wood with extensive use of gold gilding.  The dimensions are about 14.8 by 16.7 inches. 

At the above link for the Maesta altarpiece, one can read about how this masterwork was dismantled in the 18th century as part of a remodeling project. The altarpiece was split up with some panels lost and others now in various locations around the world.  This one is permanently housed in the Cathedral Museum in Siena, Italy and is on display there.

I find it interesting that Duccio depicted a tongue of fire coming down on Our Lady's head, just as they come down on the heads of each of the Apostles.  The explanation for this is that scripture expressly states that Mary was present at the Pentecost events and also states that the fire came down on all who were present so Our Lady must have been included:  Acts 1:14 and 2:1-4.