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haps Rosen decided to develop another thread of the story,
the most religious one, that is, the death of St John. By
doing so, he was able to render the episode in a form similar
to that of Moreau, yet its meaning and connotations
were diametrically different. Instead of a picture teeming
with eroticism and the air of decadence, he created a very
attractive vision of sanctity, but at the same time not divested
of the constituent features of Moreau’ s paintings. In
brief: Rosen converted the decadent mysticism of Moreau
into the fervent religious mysticism of his own painting in
the cathedral.
The murals covering the south wall of the nave are not
an iconographic whole. They can, however, be treated like
one, if we assume that they all refer to the period of the
‘sacred history’ before the Incarnation. It would be also difficult
to impose a specific ‘direction’ of their ‘reading’, as
they do not seem to be placed in any logical or chronological
order. Any such attempts would be futile since the
ensemble has an overtly symbolic meaning.
The Fourteen Holy Helpers Cycle
Passing on to the north wall, one can see the cycle of the
Fourteen Holy Helpers (supplemented with St Odilo, usually
not counted among them), that is, the saints venerated
especially in popular devotion and invoked in need against
diseases, various calamities, or at the hour of death. The
figures of those saints are at the same time illustrations of
Rosen’ s favourite devotional reading: The Golden Legend.
Traditionally the group of Fourteen Holy Helpers consisted
of three holy bishops: Dionysius (or Denis), Erasmus (or
Elmo) and Blasius (Blaise); three holy maidens (Barbara,
Catherine and Margaret); three holy knights: George, Agathius
(Acacius) and Eustace (Eustachius); St Pantaleon,
a saint doctor; St Giles, a holy hermit; St Cyriacus, a holy
deacon; St Vitus, a holy youth, and a holy giant – St Christopher.
All of them have been represented on the north wall
of the nave. The presence of St Odilo among them is quite
extraordinary, without precedent in church iconography,
and can only be explained by the fact that Rosen wanted
to repeat here his earlier composition depicting this theme.
Except for the scene with St Odilo, all other saints have
been shown according to their traditional icono graphy and
hence there is no need to analyse them in detail. The Funeral
of St Odilo, on the contrary, is a most unusual composition
and therefore greater attention will be devoted to
its iconography.
In the first bay starting from the west (N I) one can
see the Angels Conveying the Body of St Catherine of Alexandria
to Mount Sinai, a modest three-figure composition,
in which the blood-red of the martyr’ s tunic is contrasted
with the white gowns of the angels [Figs 236–237].
The Funeral of St Odilo
The Funeral of St Odilo in the next bay (N II) is a unique
composition and by far Rosen’ s most accomplished and
individual creation, both iconographically and artistically.
An earlier version of the Funeral was exhibited in 1925 in
Warsaw; its photo preserved in the National Library in
Warsaw. For contemporaries it was – beside perhaps the
Crucifixion and the Glorification of St John the Baptist – the
most celebrated scene in the cathedral. It depicts a very
unusual scene: the Funeral of St Odilo [Figs 238–239], an
eleventh-century abbot of the Benedictine monastery in
Cluny, France, who is credited with the institution of All
Souls’ Day. The life-size figures form a funeral procession
heading towards the chancel (i.e. to the east). On a bier
rests the body of a church dignitary, clad in sumptuous garments,
wearing a mitre on his head and a ring on his right
hand. The procession is shown in side view, the bier carried
by three monks. The habits of the remaining three monks,
supporting the bier on the other side, are barely visible
in the background. Of the three pall-bearers in the foreground,
the faces of only two monks can be seen. The first
monk is engrossed in prayer, with half-closed eyes; the next
one turns around and seems to be looking behind his back,
or rather – at the translucent ghost which follows him. The
face of the third monk is hidden in a hood. An abbot in full
pontificals, leaning on a crosier, heads the cortège, and two
choir boys close the procession at the back. The verse on the
bier identifies the deceased as well as the three translucent
ghost-like figures, rendered only in white contour: O, SAINT
ODILO, THE PATRON SAINT OF THE DEPARTED SOULS, WE
THE DECEASED COME IN HOSTS TO KEEP YOU COMPANY BY
YOUR COFFIN. The dignitary, carried on the bier in his last
journey by the monks accompanied by mourning ghosts
of the dead, represented here as translucent silhouettes in
hooded cloaks, drawn in white outline, is St Odilo. Another
saint in this picture, the abbot leading the procession is allegedly
St Maiolus, Odilo’ s successor on the abbatial throne
at Cluny (that is at least how this figure had been identified
according to the contemporary sources). According
to Vincent of Beauvais it was Odilo who instituted and, in
the first half of the eleventh century introduced the feast
of all faithful deceased: All Souls’ Day. Hence the gratitude
of the departed souls, probably those already freed from
purgatory, which accompany Odilo in his last journey. It is
impossible to find out whether St Odilo indeed had such an
extraordinary escort at his funeral. What can be established
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