Evangelist portraits are a specific type of picture included in ancient and mediævalBibles. These images preface the Gospel books (the books of Matthew, Mark, Luke, and John) and they are a common feature to virtually every existing Gospel book made from the popularization of Christianity (c. 400) until the wide-spread acceptance of French-inspired 'pocket bibles' in the 14th century. The Middle Ages formed the middle period in a traditional schematic division of European history into three ages: the classical civilization of Antiquity, the Middle Ages, and modern times, beginning with the Renaissance. ... A Bible handwritten in Latin, on display in Malmesbury Abbey, Wiltshire, England. ... In Christianity, Gospels are a genre of Early Christian literature essentially concerning the message and meaning of Jesus. ...
Before the 14th century, the Bible was only produced in separate Gospel volumes, which monestary librarians had to collect until they completed a full copy of the Bible; as such, there was far more room for ornamentation than in the small bibles we are familiar with today. Though the amount of ornamentation varies widely, evangelist portraits are a constant in the aesthetic make up of ancient Bibles. They are akin to the title pages of modern books; the portraits served to identify which book of the Bible was being read, and sometimes to remind the reader of the paraphenelia (important events, evangelical animals) associated with a particular author-saint. Evangelist portraits range from modest and humble to completely overwhelming, full-page illustrations of the saint and often depict the saint in the garb of a philosopher or wise-man, a tradition taken from artistic trends of the late Roman Empire, when latin Christianity was beginning to flourish.
As is conventional, the evangelists are represented as contemporary scribes, seated at a lectern surrounded by all the accouterments of the trade--inkpots, quill pens, penknives, etc.
The terrace space for each figure, the emphasis on realistically rendered details such as the furniture construction and the tools of the scribe, and the facial types, with their heavily lidded downcast eyes, are all elements characteristic of the Hausbuch Master's style.
In the portrait of the Evangelist John, shown here, the saint is depicted erasing an error in his text with a pen knife held in his left hand.
Evangelistportraits were painted on the page facing or immediately preceding their gospel book.
Where the environment of the evangelist in the Godescalc paintings is ambiguous, the evangelists in the Ada gospels are clearly located in a well constructed architectural setting.
However, the drapery of the Ebbo evangelists is an expressive development beyond classical and Byzantine drapery, in which the folds take on a dynamic energy of their own that does not closely relate to the form underneath.
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