The symbolism of the pomegranate in painting: How is this fruit related to the Passion of Christ?

2024 Author: Richard Flannagan | [email protected]. Last modified: 2023-12-15 23:55

The first artistic depictions of fruits appeared more than 3000 years ago during the time of Ancient Egypt, in the tombs of which still lifes depicting food were discovered. The Egyptians believed that fruit paintings would become available food for the dead in the afterlife. What symbolism does this most exquisite fruit in culture and painting bear? How is the pomegranate related to the suffering of Christ?

For artists of the Byzantine, Gothic, Northern and Italian Renaissance periods, fruit was part of a rich visual language. Today, fruits with their various textures, colors, aromas have become an attractive motive for many artists. Most of the fruits in the paintings act as complements to human figures. But even in paintings in which fruit is the center of attention, there are hints of deeper and more sensual meanings. The appearance of the fruit depicted is often allegorical. Like human life, fruits are perishable and ephemeral, and therefore many art historians consider fruits to be a representation of the transitory nature of our existence. When the fruits in the images are fresh and ripe, it symbolizes abundance, generosity, fertility, youth and vitality. But rotten fruits serve as a reminder of mortality, the inevitability of change and, in some cases, a reflection of sin and human self-interest.

Symbols of the pomegranate in various cultures and religions

Pomegranate is perhaps the most interesting fruit for art. The botanical name of the pomegranate Punica granatum proves that it comes from Roman Carthage. The aesthetically beautiful form of this delicious fruit has various symbolic representations, and its numerous seeds make it a symbol of fertility. The Qur'an mentions pomegranate three times as an attribute of earthly and heavenly fruits. It represents the good deeds done by God, which is why it is also sometimes called the “Heavenly Apple.” In Judaism, the pomegranate is revered for the beauty of the tree and its fruits. The seeds symbolize holiness, fertility and abundance. The pomegranate, according to the Judaists, has 613 seeds and corresponds to the 613 commandments of the Torah. Fruit images also figure in Jewish architecture (pomegranates adorned the columns of the temple of King Solomon and the clothes of Jewish kings and priests). In Solomon's song, the cheeks of Sulamith are compared to halves of a pomegranate. On Rosh Hashanah (Jewish New Year), Jews eat this fruit one seed at a time to fulfill as many desires as possible.

According to Bedouin custom, pomegranates are a symbol of fertility at weddings. When the bride enters the house, the groom reveals this fruit - this is the desire of the spouses to have many children. In China, the pomegranate often appears in ceramic art, symbolizing fertility, abundance, prosperity, virtuous offspring and blessing. In Christian symbolism, the numerous seeds of this fruit represent the Church. unity of faith and believers. Also, the pomegranate appears in the images of Mary as "Mother of the Church". When the deep red pomegranate shell opens, the seeds bleed with deep red sap, a symbol of the Precious Blood of Christ. The torn peel of the fruit symbolizes Easter morning, proof of Christ's triumph over death. The seeds escaping from the pomegranate are also compared to Christ escaping from the coffin. The ancient Greeks considered the pomegranate a symbol of fertility and associated it with the goddesses Demeter, Persephone, Aphrodite and Athena. According to Greek myths, the pomegranate tree grew out of the blood of the infant Baccus after he was "killed" and eaten by the titans. Since it was later resurrected by Rhea, mother of Jupiter, the pomegranate can be considered a symbol of resurrection. In the Middle Ages, the similarity between the pomegranate and the imperial ball made it a symbol of power, which is probably a holdover from ancient Germanic ideas. The ball-shaped top of the fruit forms a heraldic crown, a sign of royalty.

Pomegranate symbolism in painting

The most famous painting with a pomegranate - "Proserpine" by Dante Gabriel Rossetti (1874) - a symbol of temptation and fall from grace. The myth of Proserpine in Greek and Roman mythology contains the story that the goddess, who was carried away by Pluto into the underworld and forced to marry, was tempted to eat a pomegranate. A fatal mistake will forever deprive her of freedom and connect her with Pluto in the underworld (every six months of each year, according to the number of six pomegranate seeds eaten, she can spend at home, the rest of the months - in the underworld).

In Christian art, the Christ Child often holds a pomegranate in his hand. For example, as in the famous example of Botticelli (1487).

In the famous painting "Madonna Magnificat" Maria gave her child a pomegranate, which he accepted with surprise. In the second version - the Baby holds a grenade in his hand and looks directly at the viewer. Another important significance of the pomegranate is that when it is in the hand of Mary, the fruit represents the virginity of the Virgin Mary - at the same time it is a recognized representation of Fertility. Both paintings are believed by art historians to be portraits of the children of Lorenzo di Medici.

Particularly attractive is Fra Angelico's painting Our Lady of the Pomegranate. The painting depicts the Christ Child holding a handful of blood-red pomegranate seeds in his little hand. This gesture signifies his willingness to go through the Passion of Christ and shed His Blood for humanity.

Albrecht Durer painted two portraits of Emperor Maximilian I holding a pomegranate as the personification of the imperial scepter. Maximilian I chose the pomegranate as his emblem to demonstrate the union of many peoples and states under his unified authority.

The younger contemporary and friend of Peter Paul Rubens, the Flemish painter Cornelis de Vos, worked successfully in various genres. He was recognized as an excellent portrait painter, and also created majestic paintings on well-known religious and mythological subjects. In the "Family Portrait" of Cornelis (1630), a garnet is clearly visible in the right hand of a woman. Her nine children and the fertile land in the background are an allegory of childbearing.

Thus, the pomegranate is the most exquisite fruit in terms of its attractive aesthetic appearance (from the shape to the top of the fruit), which is conducive to a fantasy image, as well as an attribute of prosperity, fertility, childbirth and the personification of Christian motives.

Author: Jamila Kurdi