The Mass of Saint Gregory is a subject in Roman Catholic art which first appears in the late

Middle Ages In the history of Europe, the Middle Ages or medieval period lasted approximately from the late 5th to the late 15th centuries, similar to the post-classical period of global history. It began with the fall of the Western Roman Empire ...

and was still found in the Counter-Reformation.

Pope Gregory I Pope Gregory I ( la, Gregorius I; – 12 March 604), commonly known as Saint Gregory the Great, was the bishop of Rome from 3 September 590 to his death. He is known for instigating the first recorded large-scale mission from Rome, the Gregor ...

(c. 540–604) is shown saying

Mass Mass is an intrinsic property of a body. It was traditionally believed to be related to the quantity of matter in a physical body, until the discovery of the atom and particle physics. It was found that different atoms and different eleme ...

just as a vision of Christ as the ''

Man of Sorrows Man of Sorrows, a biblical term, is paramount among the prefigurations of the Messiah identified by the Bible in the passages of Isaiah 53 ('' Servant songs'') in the Hebrew Bible. It is also an iconic devotional image that shows Christ, usuall ...

'' has appeared on the altar in front of him, in response to the Pope's prayers for a sign to convince a doubter of the doctrine of

transubstantiation Transubstantiation (Latin: ''transubstantiatio''; Greek: μετουσίωσις '' metousiosis'') is, according to the teaching of the Catholic Church, "the change of the whole substance of bread into the substance of the Body of Christ and of ...

History of the story and the image

The earliest version of the story is found in the 8th-century biography of Gregory by Paul the Deacon, and was repeated in the 9th-century one by John the Deacon. In this version, the Pope was saying Mass when a woman present started to laugh at the time of the Communion, saying to a companion that she could not believe the bread was Christ, as she herself had baked it. Gregory prayed for a sign, and the host turned into a bleeding finger. Israhel van Meckenem The Mass of Saint Gregory

Israhel van Meckenem The Mass of Saint Gregory

This story is retained in the popular 13th century compilation the ''

Golden Legend The ''Golden Legend'' (Latin: ''Legenda aurea'' or ''Legenda sanctorum'') is a collection of hagiographies by Jacobus de Voragine that was widely read in late medieval Europe. More than a thousand manuscripts of the text have survived.Hilary ...

'', but other versions conflate the legend with other stories and the finger is changed into a visionary appearance of the whole of Christ on the altar, and the doubter becomes one of the

deacon A deacon is a member of the diaconate, an office in Christian churches that is generally associated with service of some kind, but which varies among theological and denominational traditions. Major Christian churches, such as the Catholic Chur ...

s. The story was hardly seen in art until the Jubilee Year of 1350, when pilgrims to Rome saw a Byzantine

icon An icon () is a religious work of art, most commonly a painting, in the cultures of the Eastern Orthodox, Oriental Orthodox, and Catholic churches. They are not simply artworks; "an icon is a sacred image used in religious devotion". The most ...

, the ''Imago Pietatis'', in the

basilica In Ancient Roman architecture, a basilica is a large public building with multiple functions, typically built alongside the town's Forum (Roman), forum. The basilica was in the Latin West equivalent to a stoa in the Greek East. The building ...

Santa Croce in Gerusalemme The Basilica of the Holy Cross in Jerusalem or Basilica di Santa Croce in Gerusalemme, ( la, Basilica Sanctae Crucis in Hierusalem) is a Catholic Minor basilica and titular church in rione Esquilino, Rome, Italy. It is one of the Seven Pilgrim ...

, which was claimed to have been made at the time of the vision as a true representation. In this the figure of Christ was typical of the Byzantine forerunners of the ''Man of Sorrows'', at half-length, with crossed hands and a head slumped sideways to the viewer's left. According to

Gertrud Schiller Gertrud Schiller (7 January 1905 – 4 December 1994) was a German art historian, nurse, social pedagogue and Lutheran teacher of religion. Despite not having a doctorate in art history, she wrote what remains a standard work on Christian iconogra ...

and the German scholars she cites, this has now been lost, but is known from many copies, including the small Byzantine

micromosaic Micromosaics (or micro mosaics, micro-mosaics) are a special form of mosaic that uses unusually small mosaic pieces (tesserae) of glass, or in later Italian pieces an enamel-like material, to make small figurative images. Surviving ancient Roman ...

icon of about 1300 now in Santa Croce. This image seems to have had, perhaps initially only for the Jubilee, a Papal

indulgence In the teaching of the Catholic Church, an indulgence (, from , 'permit') is "a way to reduce the amount of punishment one has to undergo for sins". The ''Catechism of the Catholic Church'' describes an indulgence as "a remission before God of ...

of 14,000 years granted for prayers said in its presence. This form of the image, converted to a more standard Western ''Man of Sorrows'', rising from the tabernacle on the altar, shown as a tomb-like box, with the ''

Arma Christi Arma Christi ("weapons of Christ"), or the Instruments of the Passion, are the objects associated with the Passion of Jesus Christ in Christian symbolism and art. They are seen as arms in the sense of heraldry, and also as the weapons Christ ...

'' around him, became standard across Europe, and very popular, especially north of the Alps, as an altarpiece, in miniatures in illuminated manuscripts, and other media. The strong connection of the image with indulgences was also maintained, and largely escaped from any Papal control. There was another Jubilee year in 1500, and the years on either side of this perhaps show the height of popularity of the image. It often appeared in

books of hours The book of hours is a Christian devotional book used to pray the canonical hours. The use of a book of hours was especially popular in the Middle Ages and as a result, they are the most common type of surviving medieval illuminated manuscript ...

, usually at the start of the

Hours of the Cross An hour (symbol: h; also abbreviated hr) is a unit of time conventionally reckoned as of a day and scientifically reckoned between 3,599 and 3,601 seconds, depending on the speed of Earth's rotation. There are 60 minutes in an hour, and 24 hou ...

Penitential Psalms The Penitential Psalms or Psalms of Confession, so named in Cassiodorus's commentary of the 6th century AD, are the Psalms 6, 31, 37, 50, 101, 129, and 142 (6, 32, 38, 51, 102, 130, and 143 in the Hebrew numbering). *Psalm 6 – Domine, ne ...

. The iconography is one of a number of examples where detached

andachtsbilder ''Andachtsbilder'' (singular ''Andachtsbild'', German for devotional image) is a German term often used in English in art history for Christian devotional images designed as aids for prayer or contemplation. The images "generally show holy fi ...

images such as the ''Man of Sorrows'' intended for intense personal meditation, are worked back into monumental compositions for prominent display. The deacon is invariably shown, and in larger compositions there is often a crowd of cardinals, attendants and worshippers, often with a donor portrait included. Sometimes the

chalice A chalice (from Latin 'mug', borrowed from Ancient Greek () 'cup') or goblet is a footed cup intended to hold a drink. In religious practice, a chalice is often used for drinking during a ceremony or may carry a certain symbolic meaning. R ...

on the altar is being filled with blood pouring from the wound in Christ's side. The head tilted to the left of the mosaic in Rome is typically retained in modified form. Sometimes Christ is full-length, and he may appear to be stepping forward onto the altar in later versions. Frequently the

Instruments of the Passion Arma Christi ("weapons of Christ"), or the Instruments of the Passion, are the objects associated with the Passion of Jesus Christ in Christian symbolism and art. They are seen as arms in the sense of heraldry, and also as the weapons Chris ...

are shown on the altar. There were several prints that were often copied by artists, notably ten different

engraving Engraving is the practice of incising a design onto a hard, usually flat surface by cutting grooves into it with a burin. The result may be a decorated object in itself, as when silver, gold, steel, or glass are engraved, or may provide an in ...

s of the subject by

Israhel van Meckenem Israhel van Meckenem (c.1445 – 10 November 1503), also known as Israhel van Meckenem the Younger, was a German printmaker and goldsmith, perhaps of a Dutch family origin. He was the most prolific engraver of the fifteenth century and an imp ...

and a

woodcut Woodcut is a relief printing technique in printmaking. An artist carves an image into the surface of a block of wood—typically with gouges—leaving the printing parts level with the surface while removing the non-printing parts. Areas tha ...

by Albrecht Dürer of 1511. Many of these included printed indulgences, usually unauthorised. The oldest dated Aztec feather painting is a ''Mass'' of 1539 (see gallery) following one of the van Meckenem indulgence prints (not the one illustrated). The print illustrated began with a "bootlegged" indulgence of 20,000 years, but in a later

state State may refer to: Arts, entertainment, and media Literature * ''State Magazine'', a monthly magazine published by the U.S. Department of State * ''The State'' (newspaper), a daily newspaper in Columbia, South Carolina, United States * ''Our S ...

the plate has been altered to increase it to 45,000 years. With the

Protestant Reformation The Reformation (alternatively named the Protestant Reformation or the European Reformation) was a major movement within Western Christianity in 16th-century Europe that posed a religious and political challenge to the Catholic Church and ...

, an image that asserted both divine approval of the

Papacy The pope ( la, papa, from el, πάππας, translit=pappas, 'father'), also known as supreme pontiff ( or ), Roman pontiff () or sovereign pontiff, is the bishop of Rome (or historically the patriarch of Rome), head of the worldwide Cathol ...

and the doctrine of the

Real Presence The real presence of Christ in the Eucharist is the Christian doctrine that Jesus Christ is present in the Eucharist, not merely symbolically or metaphorically, but in a true, real and substantial way. There are a number of Christian denomin ...

was attractive to Catholics, and the iconography continued to be used.

Gallery

File:Mestre da Família Artés - Juízo Final.jpg, As part of a Spanish ''

Last Judgement The Last Judgment, Final Judgment, Day of Reckoning, Day of Judgment, Judgment Day, Doomsday, Day of Resurrection or The Day of the Lord (; ar, یوم القيامة, translit=Yawm al-Qiyāmah or ar, یوم الدین, translit=Yawm ad-Dīn, ...

'', 1500–1520 File:Bernt Notke Gregorsmesse Arhus.jpg,

Bernt Notke Bernt Notke (; – before May 1509) was a late Gothic artist, working in the Baltic region. He has been described as one of the foremost artists of his time in northern Europe. Life Very little is known about the life of Bernt Notke. The No ...

File:Hieronymus Bosch 062.jpg,

Hieronymus Bosch Hieronymus Bosch (, ; born Jheronimus van Aken ; – 9 August 1516) was a Dutch/ Netherlandish painter from Brabant. He is one of the most notable representatives of the Early Netherlandish painting school. His work, generally oil on o ...

, the outer covers for his

triptych A triptych ( ; from the Greek adjective ''τρίπτυχον'' "''triptukhon''" ("three-fold"), from ''tri'', i.e., "three" and ''ptysso'', i.e., "to fold" or ''ptyx'', i.e., "fold") is a work of art (usually a panel painting) that is divided ...

of The ''Adoration of the Magi'' in the Prado File:Mass_of_St._Gregory,_c._1490,_attributed_to_Diego_de_la_Cruz,_oil_and_gold_on_panel_(Philadelphia_Museum_of_Art).jpg, ''Mass of St. Gregory'', c. 1490, attributed to Diego de la Cruz ( Philadelphia Museum of Art) File:Huanitzin.jpg, Aztec feather painting made by or for Diego Huanitzin, nephew and son-in-law of Moctezuma II to present to Pope Paul III, dated 1539.Pierce, 96 File:Albrecht_Dürer_-_The_Mass_of_Saint_Gregory_(NGA_1943.3.3673).jpg, ''Mass of St. Gregory'' by Albrecht Dürer File:Messe de saint Grégoire.jpg, ''Mass of St. Gregory'', c. 1500, by an anonymous master of Bruxelles

Notes

References

* Field, Richard, ''Fifteenth Century Woodcuts and Metalcuts'', National Gallery of Art, Washington (Catalogue), Washington, 1965 * Kamerick, Kathleen; ''Popular Piety and Art in the late Middle Ages: Image Worship and Idolatry in England, 1350–1500'', Palgrave Macmillan, 2002, ,
Google books
* Parshall, Peter, in David Landau & Peter Parshall, ''The Renaissance Print'', Yale, 1996, * Pattison George, in W. J. Hankey, Douglas Hedley (eds),''Deconstructing Radical Orthodoxy: Postmodern Theology, Rhetoric, and Truth'', Ashgate Publishing, Ltd., 2005, ,
Google books
* Pierce, Donna et al.; ''Painting a New World: Mexican Art and Life, 1521–1821'', University of Texas Press, 2004, ,
Google books
* Rubin, Miri, ''Corpus Christi: The Eucharist in Late Medieval Culture'', pp. 120–122, 308–310, Cambridge University Press, 1992, ,
Google books
* Schiller, Gertrud, ''Iconography of Christian Art, Vol. II'', 1972 (English trans from German), Lund Humphries, London, {{ISBN, 0-85331-324-5 * Shestack, Alan; ''Fifteenth Century Engravings of Northern Europe''; 1967, National Gallery of Art, Washington (Catalogue), LOC 67-29080

External links

biblical-art.com
Large selection of images, mostly from manuscripts

Individual paintings in depth:

by

Hans Baldung Grien Hans Baldung (1484 or 1485 – September 1545), called Hans Baldung Grien, (being an early nickname, because of his predilection for the colour green), was a painter, printer, engraver, draftsman, and stained glass artist, who was considered t ...

1511
Walker Art Gallery, Liverpool
Master of the Aachen Altarpiece, c. 1505

Anonymous English wall painting
Getty Museum
Three miniatures and a painting Iconography of Jesus Christian iconography Gothic art Pope Gregory I Passion of Jesus in art by theme

History of the story and the image

Gallery

Notes

References

Further reading

External links