The Prodigal Son Window - Essay Example

of the of the Concerned 2 January The Prodigal Son Window Introduction The story of the Prodigal Son is one of the most widely known and famous parables of Jesus. In the New Testament, this story could be traced to the Gospel of Luke. Over the centuries, this parable has managed to secure a revered place in the Christian practices and tradition and the 3rd Sunday of Lent is usually the day reserved for its recitation. This parable most aptly culminates the Biblical trilogy comprising of the Parable of the Lost Sheep, the Parable of the Lost Coin and the Parable of the Prodigal Son, revolving around the Christian values of forgiveness, grace and acceptance for the lost and sinful. Jesus narrates this story in Luke 15: 11-32. It is the tale of a man who had two sons. The younger of the two sons being wayward and implacable manages to secure his share in the family inheritance, while the father is still alive. Doing so, he proceeds on a journey to far off lands to lead a life of incontinence and indulgence. Eventually his profligate life makes him loose all his wealth and he has to finally succumb to the level of serving as a swineherd, a task considered to be improper and menial as per the Judaic tradition and beliefs. Finally this spoiled son manages to regain his sense of values and decides to revert back to the mercy and forgiveness of his long ditched and betrayed old father. Contrary to the expectations of the prodigal son, the father instead of denying or disowning his faithless progeny, welcomes him wholeheartedly, without even waiting for him to give words to his repentance and sense of loss. The father not only warmly embraces his sinful son by forgetting his excesses, but asks his servants to sacrifice the choicest calf to celebrate the occasion. Such discernable exuberance on the part of the father makes the elder son think that the father is perhaps more favourable towards his errant sibling and does not appropriately appreciates his loyalty and noble sentiments. The father allays the misgivings of the elder son and placates him by saying that’ “My son, you are always with me, and everything I have is yours. But had to celebrate and be glad, because this brother of yours was dead and is alive again, he was lost and is found (Luke 15: 31-32, New International Version: Online).” This parable was the Messiah’s way of rebutting the aspersions of Pharisees as to Him being open towards and accepting of repentant and sinners and gives expression to the joy and bliss felt by an individual who has corrected his ways and has come back to the flock of the faithful. The Story of the Prodigal Son and the Western Art, Literature and Music In total there exist about thirty parables in the Bible, yet the gravity of the story of the Prodigal Son is such that it tends to be one of the four prominent parables that found a place of eminence in the medieval art (Ross 1996). As the European art progressed to the variety and versatility of Renaissance, the depiction of the scenes from the parable of the Prodigal Son became more ubiquitous, thematic and symbolic in scope (Ross 1996). In fact it happened to be the most preferred story of the medieval and Renaissance artists, writers and poets. The appeal of the story tends to be so strong and gripping that it managed to solicit the attention and respect of even the masters like Albrecht Durer and Rembrandt (Ross 1996). In the late 15th and early 16th century, the story of the Prodigal Son got interwoven in the morality plays with much verve and enthusiasm, the directors and artists resorting to a range of plots and twists to add a sense of novelty and interest to a theme that was ancient and sacrosanct in its scope. The writers further added to the substance of the actual story to make the adaptations more popular and engrossing. It goes without saying that the story constitutes such an integral part of the Western ethics and folklore that even contemporary groups and singers like Rolling Stones, Iron Maiden, Kid Rock, and Billy Idol found it suitable to wet their creativity and imagination, not to mention the reverence of the theologians and writers like Henri Nouwen and Andre Gide (Ross 1996). The relevance of the story lies in its ability to make way for the elaboration of ancient, eternal and sound wisdom in a way that is discernibly and misleadingly simplistic and naive. The sense of hope and forgiveness enshrined in this biblical parable is something that is timeless and is bound to retain its validity since the times and ages to come. Thus the tale stands to be a perfect theme for any sort of artistic or creative endeavour as it offers an artist the opportunity to embody a grave and gargantuan theme through superficially innocent techniques and craft, presenting the challenge to limit the eternal within the casual expressions of the involved characters. Quintessence of the Story of the Prodigal Son One does not need to be a Professor in Biblical History to grasp the gist of the story of the Prodigal Son. A simple reading of a modern version of the Book is enough to catch the quintessence of the parable. It is not without a reason that since the times immemorial, this parable has been the theme of a plethora of theological works, works of art and gospels. The context in which the people in the times of Jesus listened to this tale is still relevant and alive with all its intensity and verve. The society in the Roman times was steeply pyramid like, elaborating into an endless strata of slaves, free men, the rulers and the ruled, the religious and temporal elites at the top of the pyramid maintaining their status quo with an iron grip, with no consideration for forgiveness and grace. In such a merciless scenario, the story of the Prodigal son presented a relatively unheard of idea, where God comes out as a benign and forgiving father, who not only is willing to forgive and embrace the sinful and repentant, but actually goes a step forward to do so. There is no denying the fact that the society, irrespective of the prevalent times and age is always going to retain on form or other of stratification, and hence the story of the Prodigal Son is always going to hold its relevance and appeal forever, for both the artists and the commoners. Prodigal Son Window Prodigal Son Window is a work of medieval art that depicts the parable of the Prodigal Son with all the due intensity, vivacity and finesse. The three signature panels of the Prodigal Son Window show the tanning of hides, merchants selling hides and scraping of hides. The other panels show the scenes and segments from the parable of the Prodigal Son like the dismayed father trying to counsel his younger son, the prodigal son wresting his share in the inheritance, the elder brother sweating it out in his father’s fields, the prodigal son venturing out with his servant to the unknown lands, the lost son being welcomed and received by the women of dubious character, the prodigal son squandering his inheritance in feasting, gambling and fornication, the driving out of the prodigal son from the dens of sin, prodigal son working as a swineherd, the return of the lost son, the homecoming feast, the killing of the fat calf by the servant, the return of the disheartened elder son and the gesture of the wise father to reconcile his two sons (The Prodigal Son Window: Online). The magnificence of the Prodigal Son Window lies in catching the entire scope and theme of the story over a canvass that obviously had its limitations and constraints. Medieval Art and Stained Glass: Poor Man’s Bible The stained glass in the medieval world was primarily used in the churches to depict the themes and teachings from Bible and was popularly known as the Poor Man’s Bible. It goes without saying that a majority of the populace in the medieval times was unlettered and thus pragmatically unable to benefit from the teachings of the Bible. The printing press was literally nonexistent and the handwritten copies of the Holy Book commanding their price in gold were only accessible to the rich and the well to do and the religious elites. Under such circumstances, it was a big challenge for the Church to take the teachings of the Bible to all and one. The only option left before the Church was to resort to the medium of art to take the preaching of the Bible to the common masses. The stained glass windows were created by expert craftsmen by resorting to a specialized technique that involved fixing the pieces of multicoloured glass in a mesh of lead and using the metal bars to support the entire frame (Kemp 1997). The minute details like facial features of the characters were painted on the glass surface and the white surfaces were enlivened by covering them with a variety of colours (Kemp 1997). The stained glass windows served the twin purpose of adding to the luxuriousness and sheen of the hitherto solemn church interiors, while at the same time presenting to the laity a kaleidoscopic insight into the corrective and ethical themes and stories from the Bible. Courtesy the durability of this artwork, that many stained glass windows embellishing the churches all around Europe have managed to survive till today. The Prodigal Son Window is one such magnificent and matchless work of art. There is no denying the fact that the stained glass windows played a pivotal role in carrying forward and perpetuating the teachings of the Holy Church through the rough and tumble of the European history, be it the medieval ages, Byzantine era or the glory and ardour of Renaissance (Kemp 1997). It was and is an art form that brought to life the bliss, beneficence and purity of the biblical themes and stories in an elaborate style, to be cherished, revered and held by the eyes of anyone endowed with interest and respect, irrespective of one’s social status, literacy or material standing. The Poor Man’s Bible certainly succeeded in leaving its mark on the history of Western art, politics and religion. It conclusively succeeded in carrying forward the tradition of narrative rendering initiated by Aristotle and promoted and carried forward by Franciscans (Caviness 1991). Analysis of the Prodigal Son Window The Prodigal Son window is a symmetric representation of the parable of the Prodigal Son. In a way it scores over the mother source in the sense that it brings in a visual and multicoloured element into the story. The various scenes from the story are sequentially well arranged over the glass pane garnished by both geometrical and floral motives imbued with hues of bright red, deep blue and silent yellow. The hallmarks of the story that is the unification of the father and the son and the sacrificing of the fat calf symbolizing the annihilation of the evil within human constitution command a central place in the overall arrangement, with the sordid elements of the story like the ravelling of the prodigal son and the lost son amidst the swine encircling them, indicative of the evanescence and ephemeral nature of the evil, marking a fleeting moment in the total design of the divine creation. The signature panels depicting the tanning, scrapping and selling of hides symbolize the nobility of labour and hard work, a value that commands an elevated place in the biblical teachings and of course was a theme close to the heart of the common people that such windows were deemed to instruct and guide. The pleasures of the flesh not only constitute a recurring theme in the Prodigal Son Window, but have been depicted with an immaculate craftsmanship and detail, discernibly depicting the amorous beckoning of the courtesans and the short lasting lechery of the prodigal son. The facial expressions of the characters reflect the pangs of flesh with a lifelike detail and minuteness. The entire compilation brings to life the gravity and depth of the themes and values, which the original story intends to pass on to the humanity. The ardour with which the courtesan welcomes the prodigal son riding a horse is clearly visible, and the embracing of the courtesan by the prodigal son depicts the heat and potency of the wayward flesh with all the due intensity and strength. The driving out of the prodigal son from the brothel stands out to be well suited climax to this steamy trip, with the bent head of the lost son being the incarnation of shame, loss and remorse. It vividly brings out the penitence and sorrow of a lost soul, ruminating on the bygone days of bliss and faith. The shameful and befallen events in the life of the prodigal son are arranged into a floral pattern on the top half of the stained glass, with the ultimate fall of the prodigal son that is him being employed by a farmer as a swineherd, a job considered to be unbefitting of a god-fearing individual in the Judaic tradition constituting the centre of this floral pattern of sin and debauchery. The beauty of the artwork lies in giving way to a mosaic like arrangement on the window pane with scenes of grace and fall uniformly interspersed side by side, highlighting the marble and mud like nature of human life. The scenes between the father and the son are imbued with emotion and genuine sorrow. Especially the pane depicting the counselling of the younger son by the father smacks of filial disappointment and remorse. The body languages of the central character are loaded with anguish, disppointment and split. The scene depicting the receiving of the inheritance of the prodigal son is particularly moving, with the humility of the father symbolizing a graceful rejection to the divine will and the covetousness of the son loaded with waywardness and wilfulness. The embrace of the courtesan and the son ironically contrasts with sincere and loving embrace of the father and the son in the reunion scene. Conclusion The Prodigal Son Window immaculately succeeds in bring to life the Word. It is not only a rare and matchless piece of art in the stained glass genre, but a work of art that successfully brings the depth and vitality of the everlasting channels of the Word to the yearning humanity even in the times when the Bible stands to be the most sold book in the world and literacy is not that uncommon a trait. Total Words: 2,555 (10 Pages) References Bourges Cathedral, The Prodigal Son Window, viewed 2 January 2010, Caviness, MH 1991,’The Simple Perception of Matter and the Representation of Narrative’, Gesta, vol. 30, no. 1, pp. 48-64. Kemp, W 1997, The Narratives of Gothic Stained Glass, Cambridge University Press, New York. New International Version, Luke 15: 32-32, BibleGateway.com, viewed 2 January 2010, Ross , Elsie 1996, Medieval Art: A Topical Dictionary, Greenwood Publishing Group, Westport. Read More