The motive of the humiliation of the body of the medieval ascetics in the visual arts

Abstract

This article analyzes the fine examples of humiliation of the flesh in the practice of asceticism, continuing the development of the plot of Calvary suffering of Jesus Christ. The subject of the ‘Passion’ was firmly established in the culture of the Middle Ages, giving viewers an aesthetically experienced admiration for the martyrdom of the great ascetics of Christianity. The author presented the evolution of instruments of torture and martyrdom (cross, spear, scourge, whips) in relics — the core of Eastern culture. The icon ‘The Adoration of the chains of St. Peter’ is an example of the pious relationship of Christians to the instruments of torture used against the firm defenders of the doctrine of Christ. Particular attention is paid to the phenomenon of foolishness in Christ, the Russian analogue of the Byzantine martyrdom. The author examines examples of the suffering of revered ascetics in the Middle Ages, it became a kind of attribute of the polypathy of Christian martyrs, undertake voluntarily. Drawing parallels between the different kinds of art of the Middle Ages, the author draws attention to the similarity of the topic ‘mortification of the flesh’. This motif came into hagiography and was reflected in the fine arts, which was one of the main recognizable features in the shape of a holy fool for Christ’s sake. Visualising the veneration of the attributes of suffering for the most ardent devotees of the Christian faith and the typology of works of art with objects of humiliation of the flesh is a meaningful leitmotif of this article. Refs 23. Figs 8.