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ally-historical point of view’, and such also must have been
the attitude of the painter while composing this far from
ordinary and non-canonical iconography. There is abundant
evidence to prove that this original idea must have
been inspired by Zieliński’ s writings as well as the thought
of Archbishop Teodorowicz. Needless to say, the latter must
have accepted the programme. It was most probably the
Archbishop who advised Rosen to use the quotation from
Clement of Alexandria in the inscription on the window
(‘The Saviour has many tones of voice, and many methods
for the salvation of men’, Exhortation to the Greeks, I.8.3),
which imparts to the three pagan offerings their ‘proper’,
i.e. Christian, meaning. No doubt the idea of depicting the
Hellenistic mysteries interpreted as the ‘presentiments of
the true God’ derives from the writings of Zieliński, perhaps
even from his earliest books in which he had only
sketched his future theories, and where – convinced that
‘the religion of the Hellenes prepared people’ s minds for
the acceptance of Christianity better than Judaism’ – he attempted
to ‘explore the gradual development of the antique
soul, of which the climax and crowning was the acceptance
of Christianity’. The events depicted in this bay begin, so to
say, the ‘sacred history’ before the Incarnation which unfolds
in the following two bays, and may suggest that this
‘history’ is much longer (or rather, broader) than it is usually
assumed: it reaches to Classical antiquity, yet does not
restrict itself to the Biblical stories of the Chosen Nation.
In quite unexpected way, almost ‘ecumenically’, it redefines
the traditionally pagan mysteries, presenting them as preparatory
and precursory for Christianity, whereas their believers
(hitherto considered idolaters) became – implicitly
– only ‘unaware’ souls longing and looking for the ‘only, yet
unknown’ God.
Marian Subjects: The Annunciation
Compositions in the next (middle) bay of the nave (S II)
are devoted to the Virgin Mary, especially to the mystery of
Her Immaculate Conception [Fig. 195]. The biggest painting
located below the window features the Annunciation
[Fig. 196]. It is composed, or rather – more pertinently
– constructed of multiple interpenetrating grounds and
a wealth of scenographic effects, which make it resemble
a theatrical set. At first sight there is nothing peculiar in
this scene representing the Archangel Gabriel, God’ s messenger
in rich Byzantine garments greeting the girlish Virgin
Mary with the words inscribed in the middle ground of
the picture: HAIL, THOU THAT ART HIGHLY FAVOURED, [...]
THOU SHALT CONCEIVE IN THY WOMB, AND BRING FORTH
A SON, AND SHALT CALL HIS NAME JESUS. HE [...] SHALL BE
CALLED THE SON OF THE HIGHEST: [...] AND OF HIS KING-
DOM THERE SHALL BE NO END (Luke 1, 28–33). Mary [Fig.
198] is wearing a modest blue dress and a translucent veil.
Her serious countenance is in keeping with the evangelical
account: it suggests her sadness, fear or confusion in response
to the Archangel’s words. The signs of the zodiac in
the arcades’ spandrels (from the left: Capricorn, Aquarius,
Pisces, Aries) designate the time of the event. In the liturgical
calendar the feast of the Annunciation falls on 25 th
March (and the period of Aries, the first spring sign of the
zodiac, starts shortly before that date).
The two figures, though depicted in the foreground,
seem to serve only as a kind of coulisses or repoussoirs, directing
the beholder’ s look towards the scene of the Carrying
of the Cross [Fig. 199], set against the townscape of
Jerusalem, in which the appearance of the mourners following
St John and the Virgin Mary in procession has been
copied after the pleurants (weepers) from the Burgundian
medieval tombs of Philip Pot and Philip the Bold. Thus, in
congruence with medieval theology, the suffering of Christ
is implicit already in the Annunciation. If one adds to the
picture the Nativity, depicted on a fabric (most probably
a tapestry) hanging behind Mary [Fig. 200], one realises
that this painting is another example of a composition in
the cathedral which summarises the past and future events
from the life of Christ. The scene on the fabric is visible
only in fragments; some parts are hidden behind the Virgin
Mary and a candlestick standing next to her. However, there
is no doubt that the scene represents the theme of the Nativity,
more precisely, in the variant of the Adoration of the
Shepherds. The shed of Bethlehem is visible in the distance,
above which angels hover holding a scroll reading: Gloria
in excelsis Deo [Figs 202 a–b]. The shepherds who came to
greet the Christ Child can be seen in the shed; others play
pipes for the Child [Fig. 202 c]. An ox and a donkey stand
in front of the shed, whereas another pair of angels kneels
in adoration slightly lower to the right. Three trees bearing
red fruit and flowers grow around the shed. The one to the
left must be an apple tree; the one to the right is a holly,
and slightly lower grows a rose bush. A ‘rain’ of flowers
seems to be falling down on the shed. Only the principal
characters of the scene – Mary, St Joseph and, above all,
the Christ Child – cannot be seen. The latter can only be
guessed at in the ‘tapestry’ in the place covered by the
figure of His Mother in the foreground. Next to her (in the
‘fabric’) stands an elderly man dressed in a garment which
resembles a monk’ s habit, and a dark cloak [Fig. 202 d].
He also seems to be standing in adoration and is looking
in the direction where the Christ Child should be depicted.
On the opposite side, to the left of Mary, stands an angel
with seven swords, similar to those which accompany the
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