Murals of the Basilica

The Iconography of the Abbey Basilica

One way to approach the art of the Abbey Basilica is through its iconography.

Iconography deals with documents created in the visual arts. Literally, it means "writing in images," so to study iconography is to "read" the meaning of the images. Iconography is concerned with the subject matter - the content -  rather than the form of art.

There are three iconographic schemes represented in the frescoes and paintings of the basilica. The first and most important concentrates on the Blessed Virgin Mary; this reflects the fact that the abbey is dedicated to Mary as the Immaculate Conception.

The second theme presents the angels, since they are the secondary patrons of the abbey. Our motherhouse is named Engelberg (Mount Angel) and our abbey's original name was New Engelberg.

The third focus is the life of St. Benedict and St. Scholastica. Conception Abbey is, of course, a Benedictine monastery.

Marian iconography is found in three locations: the apse (the large, semi-circular niche at the east end of the church) where the emphasis is on the Immaculate Conception; the triforium level of the nave (above the series of arches), where fourteen frescoes present the life of the Blessed Virgin; the ceiling vaults, where many of the angels hold banners with Marian-related statements.

The Apse
The central Marian figure of the basilica is the Immaculate Conception, painted on the ceiling of the apse. The dogma of the Immaculate Conception, defined in 1854, holds that the Blessed Virgin Mary was free from sin from her first moment of existence. Mary was exempt, in a unique and exceptional way, from the impact of sin. Or more positively, she was given a greater degree of grace than other humans were because of her roles as the "God-bearer." She alone among humans remained faithful to God's will throughout her entire life.

The iconography of the Immaculate Conception is the visual representation of a concept, not a narrative scene (as are the murals of the Life of the Blessed Virgin). The Basilica's depiction is of the triumph of Mary over original sine, more particularly, her triumph over Satan, the cause of original sin.

In the painting of the Immaculate Conception, Mary is surrounded by a mandorla or rays of the sun. Her head is encircled by twelve stars and she stands upon a moon.

The imagery is taken from Apocalypse 12: "And a great sign appeared in heaven: A woman clothed with sun, and the moon under her feet, and on her head a crown of twelve stars." The woman in Apocalypse brought forth a son, who was to rule all the nations; a great battle in heaven resulted in the dragon being cast from heaven.

The woman of the Apocalypse stands atop a crescent moon, which surmounts a globe. It in turn is entwined by a serpent, which has an apple in its mouth. The serpent is taken from the story of the Garden of Eden, where Eve succumbs to the temptation of the serpent. Mary as the New Eve, reverses Adam and Eve's fall by bringing forth Jesus, the salvation of the world. The apple signals that the woman is triumphant no only over the apocalyptic beast but also over the serpent who is the tempter.

Fr. Lucas Etlin, OSB, a monk of Conception, painted the Immaculate Conception. On the Blessed Virgin's slippered foot, he has inscribed: "Ora pro me, L." or "Pray for me, Lucas."

The Saints
Below the figure of the Immaculate Conception is a group of eight saints, named here in corresponding pairs: Sts Anna and Joachim, the parents of Mary are given a place of honor in the center of the group. To the left of St. Anna is St. Joseph, the spouse of Mary and the foster-father of Jesus, and to the right of St. Joachim is St. John the Baptist, the cousin of Jesus and his precursor. Next to St. Joseph is St. John the Evangelist and next to St. John the Baptist is St. Benedict. Finally, St. Anselm of Canterbury is on the far left end, while St. Augustine of Hippo stands opposite him. The composition is tied together with nine palm trees forming an arch over each of the saints; the sprinkling of various flowers suggests the Garden of Eden and Paradise.

Each of these saints is presented with some iconographical symbol and his name in Latin, with the exception of Anna, who is identified only with the legend, "St. Mater Anna" (Holy Mother Ann).

St. Joachim holds a pair of turtledoves, to be offered in the Temple at Mary's presentation.

St. Joseph carries a flowering rod (his staff bloomed as a signal to the high priest that he was chosen to be Mary's husband).

St. John the Baptist is presented in his camelhair clothing, with unkempt hair. He is pointing to the Lamb of God.

St. John the Evangelist is depicted with a pen and an eagle. The pen signals that he is an evangelist; the eagle testifies to John's penetrating understanding of the divine mysteries. John the Evangelist has been identified as the "beloved disciple" to whom a dying Jesus entrusted his mother.

St. Benedict is presented with his pastoral staff and is accompanied by a raven. In St. Gregory the Great's "Life of St. Benedict," a raven carried away poisoned bread, thus saving Benedict's life.

Throughout the Middle Ages and the early modern period, theologians engaged in serious debate concerning the dogma of the Immaculate Conception. The outermost saints, St. Anselm of Canterbury and St. Augustine of Hippo, are placed among the saints as witnesses to belief in the dogma.

Curiously, the teaching of neither man - taken as a whole - would support the dogma. St. Anselm appears here as an archbishop, with miter, crosier and pallium, accompanied by a basket filled with parchment rolls, signifying his importance as the theologian who wrote the Monologion, the Proslogion, the Cur deus homo, and other theological treatises.

Until 1904, a treatise entitled De conceptione sanctae Mariae ("On the Conception of Saint Mary"), which supported the dogma of the Immaculate Conception was attributed to Anselm. It was actually by  his friend, Eadmer of Clare. Anselm's own theology of redemption, expressed in his De conceptu virginali et originali peccato, would not allow for the Immaculate Conception since he asserted that redemption depended on the inescapable transmission of original sin at conception.

Augustine, bishop of Hippo, is depicted with miter and crosier, and , in recognition of his reputation as a great theological writer, is holding a book in his hand. Inscribed on the book is the quotation from his treatise, De natura et gratia, which appears to uphold the Immaculate Conception. Translated, the text reads, "We must except the holy Virgin Mary, concerning whom I wish to raise no question, when it touches the subject of sins, out of honor to the Lord."

Augustine, however, taught that original sin was transmitted by conjugal intercourse through inherent desire. Christ was immune because he was conceived virginally - Mary was not.

At the foot of Augustine is a small, winged figure pouring water from a shell; there is a body of water in the background. Undoubtedly, this is an illustration of the legend of the child/angel who attempted to empty the sea into a hole in the sand. When the saint dryly remarked on the futility of his effort, the child answered that it was no more hopeless than Augustine's attempt to achieve a rational understanding of the Trinity.

The inclusion of this visual reference to an anti-rational argument perhaps indicates the superiority of revelation to reason. Could the iconographer of the abbey basilica have wished to remind us of the futility of trying to arrive at a rational understanding of the Immaculate Conception?

The Triumphal Arch
The artwork of the Triumphal Arch that delineates the apse is an introduction to the dogma of the Immaculate Conception. On the face of the arch is the text from Genesis 3 (sometimes called the protoevangelium) which, translated, says: "I will place enmities between thee and the woman, and thy seed and her seed: she shall crush thy head, and thou shalt lie in wait for her heel" [Douai translation]. Latin theologians have consistently evoked from this passage the picture of Mary Immaculate crushing the head of the serpent.

On the underside of the arch is a row of medallions taken from the "Litany of Loretto." This litany, which is commonly used in the Western Church, was inspired by earlier litanies, laudes, praises, and invocations honoring the Blessed Virgin. The forty-nine titles of Our Lady presented in the Litany of Loretto fall in four categories; the ten presented in the Abbey Basilica come from a series associated with Old Testament prophecy and symbolism:

"Seat of Wisdom." The first medallion, reading from north to south, recalls the title given to the Blessed Virgin, the "Seat of Wisdom." Here we see a throne, on which rests an open Gospel book, inscribed with the alpha and the omega (Christ as the beginning and end). in this medallion, Mary is represented by the throne holding Jesus Christ, who is represented by the Gospel book.

"Spiritual Vessel." The next three medallions use the word "vessel." Mary is a receptacle filled with spiritual blessings, with spiritual life. Perhaps a better word than "vessel" would be "chalice," and this is what the iconographers chose to depict. Mary is shown as the chalice (the vessel) of the Eucharist (the Body and Blood of Our Lord), which is represented by the host, grapes and wheat sheaves.

"Vessel of Honor." In this medallion, Mary is the vase holding flowers, she is the "chalice of honor." Mary is the joy of Jerusalem, the splendor of Israel, the honor of all the faithful.

"Singular Vessel of Devotion." This phrase, which is odd in English, might better be translated from vas insigne devotionis to "splendid chalice of dedication." Mary is presented here as the lamp holding the oil that consumes itself for the sake of the light it casts.

"Mystical Rose." Like the lily, the rose is one of the principal symbols of the Blessed Virgin - the "rose without a thorn." A rose is presented in this medallion, surrounded by three leaves. The rosary derives from garlands of red and white roses.

The central medallion is not taken from the Litany of Loretto but presents a Christological symbol, the cross intertwined with the figures alpha and omega.

"Tower of David." A tower with a harp attached to it is a somewhat naive presentation of "Tower of David." The harp, of course, is an iconographical symbol of King David. In the New Testament the Evangelists assume the Messiah is a descendent of David.

"Tower of Ivory." In this medallion, Mary is presented as a tower with two elephant tusks jutting out from each side. The tusks, of course, are the ivory of the Tower of Ivory. In its In its whiteness and firm texture, the substance itself is a symbol of moral incorruptibility and strength.

"House of God." This medallion depicts the facade of a church, golden and shining. Mary's body is the home in which Jesus lived and took nourishment. It is tempting to see the facade of St. Peter's Basilica in Rome in this design.

"Ark of the Covenant." Shown here is a boat, much like Noah's ark, the structure of which is similar to the churches shown in the medallions on either side. The ark is meant to remind one of the "Ark of the Covenant." Just as Mary conceived Jesus in her womb, so the Ark of the Covenant is God's dwelling in the bosom of Israel.

"Gate of Heaven." The gate of heaven is depicted here as standing open, floating on clouds, with the Eucharistic host floating between the doors. Above the doors are the crossed keys of St. Peter.

The invocations from the Litany of Loretto are continued in the vaulting over the half-bay which contains the north door of the church. Since the bay was used to house the Blessed Virgin altar, the continuation of the litany there was appropriate. The invocations read: Salus infirmorum ("health of the sick"), Refugium peccatorum ("refuge of sinners"), Consolatrix afflictorum ("comfort of the afflicted"), and Auxilium christianorum ("help of Christians").