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Baptismal Font with Symbols of the Four Evangelists and Four Angels
1100-119926 3/4 x 31 1/2 in. (67.9 x 80 cm)
North Italian artist
Italy
Italian; made in Northern Italy
Object Type:
Sculpture
Medium and Support:
Limestone
Credit Line:
R. T. Miller Fund
Accession Number:
1949.5
Location: Currently on view
A baptismal font is a basin that serves as a vessel for the water used in the religious ceremony of Christian baptism, or initiation. This font is decorated with the symbols of the four evangelists, the writers of the Gospel books of the New Testament. The angel represents Saint Matthew; the lion, Saint Mark; the ox, Saint Luke; and the eagle, Saint John. According to Christian tradition, the four Evangelists are also equated with the four rivers of Eden that spring from the Fountain of Life, a concept fitting to the sacred water and spiritual birth associated with the ritual of Christian baptism.
[Gallery label text, June 2013]
[Gallery label text, June 2013]
Provenance
Bardini Collection, Florence; Brummer Gallery, New York; purchased from them by the Gallery in 1949
Keywords
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Additional Images
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Exhibition List
This object was included in the following exhibitions:
- Recent Acquisitions to the Permanent Collection Memorial Art Gallery 9/30/1949 - 10/30/1949
Bibliography
This object has the following bibliographic references:
- Article Scope: Reproduction only. Susan Dodge Peters, ed. Memorial Art Gallery: An Introduction to the Collection. New York, New York: Memorial Art Gallery in association with Hudson Hills Press, 1988.
- Article Title: A 12th Century Baptismal Font. Article Scope: Article and reproduction. Memorial Art Gallery. Gallery Notes. Rochester, New York: Memorial Art Gallery, 1935-1995. Volume Number: 14, Issue Number: 5. Issue Date: April-May, 1949.
- Article Scope: Reproduction only. Rochester Memorial Art Gallery of the University of Rochester Handbook. Rochester, NY: University of Rochester Press, 1961.
- Article Author: Walsh, David A.. Article Title: An Italian Romanesque Baptismal Font. Article Scope: Article and reproduction. Porticus. Rochester, NY: Memorial Art Gallery Volume Number: 6 Issue Date: 1983. Page Number: 13-18
- Article Scope: Mention. Elizabeth Brayer. Magnum Opus: The Story of the Memorial Art Gallery, 1913-1988. Rochester, NY: Memorial Art Gallery, 1988.
- Article Author: Cahn, Walter. Article Title: Romanesque Sculpture in American Collections. VII. New York and New Jersey. Article Scope: Article and reproduction. Gesta. New York, NY: International Center of Medieval Art Volume Number: 10, Issue Number: 1. Issue Date: 1971. Page Number: 45+, Figure Number: 14, p. 52
- Article Scope: Mention and reproduction. Annual Report. Rochester, NY: Memorial Art Gallery Issue Date: June, 1949.
- Times-Union. Rochester, NY: Gannett
- Article Title: Doubtful Authenticity. Article Scope: Entry and reproduction. Walter Cahn. Romanesque Sculpture in American Collections: Vol. II: New York and New Jersey, Middle and South Atlantic States, the Midwest, Western and Pacific States. Turnhout, Belgium: Brepols, 1999. Page Number: 250-251
Portfolio List
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