The Saint Dionysius and Saint Margaret Altarpiece from the Cathedral of València

Abstract

This work studies the iconography of Vicent Macip’s altarpiece dedicated to Saint Dionysius and Saint Margaret, which is found in the Cathedral of València. The main subject of the altarpiece is the presence of the Virgin Mary in salvation history. Iconographic categories have been described according to their possible relationship to the descriptions that appear in Francesc Eiximenis’s Vida de Jesucrist [Life of Jesus Christ, in Catalan] (Hereafter, this text will be referred to as VCE). or Isabel de Villena’s Vita Christi [Life of Christ, in Latin] (Hereafter, this text will be referred to as VCV), which are important works of 15th-century Valencian literature in the Catalan language that were read during the time the altarpiece was finished.

The main objective of this work is the analysis and iconographic interpretation of Vicent Macip’s Saint Dionysius and Saint Margaret altarpiece which is found in the Cathedral of València, in an effort to approximate its unitary meaning. For this purpose, fragments from two medieval Lives of Christ and the panels of the altarpiece will be related, noting different hierarchical levels.

1. Location and Origin of the Altarpiece

The Saint Dionysius and Saint Margaret altarpiece is placed in the homonymous chapel in the ambulatory of the Cathedral of València. Different researchers have speculated about the identity of the artist1, but finally Benito (1993) named Vicent Macip2 as the painter. Nevertheless, this altarpiece clearly exhibits the influence of Paolo da San Leocadio who, under the Borja’s patronage, was one of those credited with introducing the Renaissance in València. This altarpiece was painted in tempera and oil painting on a wooden board and was commissioned by Josep de Sanfeliu whose shield appears on both sides of the canopy. The altarpiece comes from the Church of Sant Joan de l’Hospital. Afterward, it was placed in the Church of Sant Joan and Sant Vicent for a short time and in 1923 it was taken to the Diocesan Museum of València. See Llorca (1930, pp. 84–85).

2. Description of the Altarpiece

The altarpiece (5.10 × 3.50 m) is made up of three main sections, together with the canopy and predella. In the central board, the two martyrs appear: St. Dionysius of Paris and St. Margaret of Antioch. On the right side next to the central board, which pertains to the Gospel, the Adoration of the Magi and the Ascension of Jesus can be seen. On the left side next to the central board, which pertains to the Epistle, the Pentecost and the Assumption of the Mother of God are depicted. Above this board, the first apparition of the resurrected Christ, together with the inhabitants of Limbo, are painted.

At the top of the altarpiece, there is an image of the crucified Christ. On the canopy, several saints appear: St. Sebastian, St. Peter of Verona, St. Elizabeth of Hungary, St. Christopher, St. Cosmas and St. Damian, the archangel St. Michael, and the Guardian Angel. On the top of the canopy and of the altarpiece as a whole there is Christ as an image of the Father3 and the Holy Spirit. The predella is composed of five iconographical scenes of the Passion of Jesus Christ: Jesus’s prayer in Gethsemane, the Flagellation, Jesus on the way to Calvary, Jesus’s Descent from the Cross, and, just in the center, Christ as imago pietatis (image of pity), is set on the sepulcher.

3. Central Board

In the central board, St. Dionysius and St. Margaret, on a golden damask background, each display a phylactery beneath their feet with their names in Catalan: sanct Dionís, sancta Margalida.4 (Figure 1).

St. Dionysius, a bishop and a martyr, appears with the garments of a bishop: he holds a staff and wears a mitre, episcopal gloves, a ring, and an embroidered alb with brocade cuffs. He wears a cope with some embroidered images of Christ, St. Peter, St. Paul, St. Apollonia, St. Catherine of Alexandria, and St. Lucy. He holds a book in his hands where the antiphony of St. Dionysius’s festivity can be read5. On the halo, the following sentence can be read in Latin: Sancte Dionis ora pro nobis ut digni eficiamur promissionibus Christi [St. Dionysius, pray for us, so that we may be made worthy of the promises of Christ].

St. Margaret, a virgin and martyr, is accompanied by the dragon, which is the form that the devil took in order to torment her. She carries the cross with which she defeated him. On the halo we find the following sentence in Latin: Sancta Margarita ora pro nobis ut digni eficiamur promissionibus Christi [St. Margaret, pray for us, so that we may be made worthy of the promises of Christ].

4. The Lateral Boards

4.1. Adoration of the Magi

The upper part of the right side next to the central board shows the Adoration of the Magi. There is some contradiction between the traditional iconographic matter and its biblical source (Mt 2:1–12), which does not quote the presence of St. Joseph in this part of the Gospel. It shows a close-up of the Virgin Mary, who sits with the Infant Jesus in her arms. One of the Magi kneels down and places his crown on the floor. Secondly, St. Joseph and one of the Magi can be seen. They have a reasonable attitude regarding the third Magus, who points to Jesus Christ. In the third plane, four young people with unfocused glances and a star are depicted (Figure 2).

The adoration of the Magi appears in the second chapter of St. Matthew’s Gospel (Matthew 2:1–12). While the first chapter is dedicated to explaining the origin of Jesus, the second chapter explains his mission as Messiah. A natural phenomenon announces to the Magi that the birth will take place in the city of David and that the kings of the earth will come to prostrate themselves before the true God. This act of submission indicates the beginning of a new people of God in which, through salvation in Jesus Christ, all the nations of the earth will be united. The Magi represent the first fruits of the Gentiles6.

Eiximenis gives a lengthy explanation of this chapter on the Adoration of the Magi7. Firstly, he tells us that they were interested in astronomy: qui lavors observaven lo cors e moviment celestial e parlaven de la dita estela cerquant e demanant quant vendría. [who then saw the movement of the stars in Heaven and were searching for this star and discussing when it would come] (VCE 4,41 p. 124b), but the identification of the star with Christ came about because of the Holy Spirit: per la qual saberen que la dita estela significava lo Salvador del món era lavors nat, lo qual era Rey e verdader Déu. E açò volien dar a entendre quant ells dehien que ells venien per adorar lo Rey del jueus qui lavors era nat. [Because of him they knew that this star meant that the Savior of the world had already been born, who was the King and the true God. And this is what they meant when they said that they came in order to worship the King of the Jews, who was then born] (VCE 4,42 p. 124v,b).

Eiximenis uses etymology in order to explain the word Magi: sent Matheu appella en latí Magos, ço és hòmens scients e savis e specialment en art de astrología (…) Aquests eren appellats Gaspar, Melchior e Baltasar. [St Matthew calls them Magos in Latin, which means wise men, especially in the art of astrology (…) They were called Gaspar, Melchior and Balthasar] (VCE 4,45 p. 126,b) (…); Deus, donques açí saber que los dits reys informats en Jerusalem que lo Salvador devia néxer en Betlem anaren al dit loch e axí com foren exits de Jerusalem la estela los apparech (…) Lo primer que venints aquests reys en Betlem, la Gloriosa no estava en lo diversori on parí (…) quant los dits reys vinguere ell [Josep] estech fora la dita casa, ne los dits reys no lo·y trobaren ni a ell ni a altre hom sinó lo Salvador ab sa mare. [So you have to know that these kings were informed in Jerusalem that the Savior would be born in Bethlehem and they went to that place and just when they were out of Jerusalem the star appeared (…) First of all when these kings came to Bethlehem, the Virgin Mary was not in the place where her son was born (…) when the kings came he (St. Joseph) was out of that house, and the aforementioned kings did not find him or any other man, but the Savior with his Holy Mother] (VCE 4,48 p. 128v,b) (…); Com lo tretzén jorn aprés la Nativitat del Salvador ells arribasen en Betlem hora de vespres, e en aquell mateix dia veessen e adorasen Jesucrist, e lo dissapte per lo matí tro aprés dinar fossen aquí e encara altra vegada visitasen lo Salvador, lavors diu que ells ab gran reverència offeriren-li aur e encens e mirra. (…) E diu que axí era lur cor inflamat de veure e contemplar lo Salvador e de rahonar-se ab sa mare que per res no·s podien partir d’aquí. (…) Lo sant àngel (…) los revelà (…) que no tornassen a Erodes, mas per altre camí anassen a lurs regions. [They arrived thirteen days after the Savior’s Nativity in Bethlehem in the evening, and on that same day they saw and worshiped Jesus Christ, and they remained there on Saturday in the afternoon, when they visited the Savior again and then in great reverence they offered him gold, frankincense and myrrh. (…) And their hearts and their spirits were so high as they saw the Savior and they talked to his Holy Mother that they did not want to depart. (…) The holy angel (…) revealed to them (…) that they should not come back through Herod’s territory, but they should instead take another way] (VCE 4,51 p. 130a).

4.2. The Ascension of Jesus

The lower part on the right side next to the central board represents the iconographical matter of the Ascension of Jesus, the source of which can be found in the Acts of the Apostles (Acts 1:9–11). This part of the altarpiece shows both an aerial and an earthy level. At the aerial level, Jesus is contemplated ascending towards Heaven and two angels with phylacteries in one of which Viri galilei quid statis aspicientes in caelum? [Men of Galilee, why are you standing looking up at the sky?] can be read, and on the other: Hic Iesus, qui assumptus est a vobis in caelum [This is Jesus, who was taken up by you into Heaven]; at the earthy level, in the center, the Virgin is flanked by six apostles on each side. All indicate serenity in the face of the departure of the Son of God, both by their faces and by the position of their hands with palms together (Figure 3). The Ascension of Jesus is explained in Francesc Eiximenis’s Vida de Jesucrist (VCE) in this way:

E de continent los sants apòstols partiren del cenacle qui és en lo mont de Sion e anaren-se’n en Betània axí com lo senyor los avia manat. E anà-y axí mateix la Gloriosa ab alcuns feels creents. [And suddenly the holy Apostles left the cenacle, which is on Mount Zion, and went to Bethany, as the Lord had told them to do. And the Virgin Mary also went with them, with some believers].

(VCE 10,18 p. 351v,a)

Lavors lo gloriós Senyor primerament se posà sobre una bella pedra plana qui encara es aquí segons diu Sulspicius e diu que les sues santes petgades hi són impresses (…). Segonament diu aquest tantost la sua gloriosa cara rajà e ensenyà les dots de glòria. (…) Ell se levà pujant dret en alt envers lo cel e pujant levà les mans en alt faent gràcies al seu Pare e en senyal de gran amor baxà la cara envers ells e benehí-los altra vegada (…) estant en alt digueren-los axí: Barons de Galilea! Guardats alt al cel sapiats que Jesus, Fill de Déu, qui ara se’n puja ab tanta virtut e potestat davant vosaltres, axí vendrà poderosament e gran al juhí final a la fi del món. E los dits àngels dients aquestes paraules una nuu resplandent se entreposà entre lo Salvador pujant e los apòstols e aquells que aquí eren e ja no·l veeren pus pujant [Then the Lord stood on a beautiful flat stone which is still there according to Sulpicius, and it is said that his footprints are still marked upon it (…). Secondly it is said that his glorious face exploded in light and it showed the features of glory. (…) He arose towards Heaven and also raised his hands as a sign of gratitude to his Father, and as a sign of great love, lowered his face towards them and he blessed them once more. (…) and as he was rising to Heaven the angels said: Men of Galilee! Look at Heaven and be aware that Jesus, the Son of God, who in this moment is rising to Heaven with so much virtue and power in front of you, will come again with great power at the Last Judgement and at the end of the world. And as soon as the angels finished these words, a dazzling cloud appeared between the Lord and the Apostles and the rest of the people who were there at that moment, and they could not see the Lord anymore].

(VCE 10,19 p. 352,a)

4.3. Pentecost

The upper board on the left side next to the central board represents the iconographic matter of Pentecost, the source of which can be found in the Acts of the Apostles (Acts 2:1–25). This iconographic matter follows the pictorial tradition on Pentecost: The Virgin, the Apostles, the tongues of fire, the Holy Spirit in the form of a dove and, at the bottom, the cenacle decorated with classical architectural elements. The Virgin is placed in the center and surrounded by the apostles arranged symmetrically, perhaps in order to illustrate that Mary is the figure that unites the incipient Church: “They all continued steadfastly with one accord in prayer, together with certain women and Mary, the mother of Jesus and his brothers” (Acts 1:14). The Virgin appears with folded hands and on her knees, she holds a book where the first verses of the Te Deum laudamus can be read: Te Deum laudamus, te Dominum confitemur. Te aeternum Patrem omnis terra veneratur. Tibi omnes Angeli; tibi caeli et universae Potestates; Tibi Cherubim et Seraphim [We praise you God, we acclaim you as Lord. May all the Earth worship you, Eternal Father. To you all the angels; to you the heavens and all the Powers; to you the Cherubim and Seraphim] (Figure 4). Eiximenis explains the coming of the Holy Spirit as follows:

Pujat, donchs, lo Salvador, en lo cel imperi, alt sobre tots los altres cels, e pus bell e pus virtuós, los sants apòstols romangueren en lo cenacle de Jesucrist en lo mont de Sion, en Jerusalem. E aquí, per deu jorns orants e dejunants, e apparellant-se a reebre lo Sant Sperit lo jorn de cinquagèsima qui era lo cinquanté dia aprés la Resurreció, segons que posa sent Luch Actuum, primo. E com la gloriosa Mare de Déu, ab altres, fos en lo dit cenacle, e fossen entre tots cent e vint, lo Sant Sperit vench sobre ells e la manera posada per lo dit sent Luch e glosada per los sants doctors estech aquesta. Primerament, lo dit jorn de cinquagesima a hora de tèrcia estech fet gran tro en l’ayre e soptosament aparegueren cent e vint formes de lengües en semblances de foch e posaren-se sobre les dites cent e vint persones, cascuna sobre lo seu. E tantost foren tots plens del sant Sperit. [The Savior arrived at the upper Heaven, which is the most beautiful and virtuous one, high above all others, and at the same time the Apostles remained in Jesus Christ’s cenacle, on Mount Zion in Jerusalem. And they prayed and fasted for ten days, and were ready to receive the Holy Spirit on the fiftieth day after the Resurrection, according to the word of St. Luke Actuum, primo. And as the Holy Mother of Christ was in that cenacle and there were one hundred and twenty people among them, the Holy Spirit came to them in the manner that St. Luke explains and that has been glossed by the holy Doctors of the Church. So that day at the terce hour a great thunder in the air was heard, and suddenly one hundred and twenty tongues with the form of fire appeared, and they were set over these one hundred and twenty people. And thus they were full of the Holy Spirit].

(VCE 10,54 p. 354,a)

4.4. The Assumption of the Mother of God

The lower board of the left side next to the central board represents the Assumption of the Mother of God.8 The apostles appear to form a group around the bed where the Virgin lies covered with a golden damask cloth. In reality, the panel represents the moment in which the Virgin dies and her soul is collected by Christ himself. St. Peter, dressed in a pluvial cloak, seems to be praying a response. At the foot of the bed, another apostle appears with a raised cross, hyssop, and acetre, while St. John holds a lighted candle and a palm branch. Another apostle fans the fire of the cauldron. In all the faces, the pain of the loss of the Virgin can be noticed. E ells, emperò, ploraren molt lo seu partiment. A qui acorrerien d’aquí avant puis lo Salvador e ella, qui tenia son loch, los serien absents? [Nevertheless, they cried a lot over the loss of the Virgin. Whom would they resort to, since the Savior and She, who held his place, would from now on be absent?] (VCE 10,37 p. 360v,b). Francesc Eiximenis, in his explanation of the Assumption of the Mother of God in his Vida de Jesucrist, sheds light on some iconographic elements that can be seen in the board:

Lo segon punt en aquesta materia lo qual posa Teofilus si és que lo fill beneyt li tramés lo àngel que la saludà molt delitablement e li presentà aprés la salutació un ram de palma luent dient-li que lo seu preciós Fill lo li trametia en senyal que ella havia triumfat e ahuda victòria de totes les sues temptacions. E per tal volia que lo dit ram fos portat davant lo lit on ella seria posada quant seria portada a soterrar. [The second point regarding this matter according to Teophilus is that the blessed son of the Virgin sent her an angel who greeted her very kindly and afterwards gave her a bright palm branch and told her that sending her the palm branch was a sign that she had overcome all her temptations. And therefore, he wanted this palm branch to be carried to the bed where she would be placed when she was taken to be buried].

(VCE 10,35 p. 359v,a)

E nota ací aquest doctor que com lo dit àngel li apparech denunciant-li que aprés tres dies finaria ses dies, que en senyal de la victòria de la carn e dels altres enemichs que avia vençuts en sa vida que lo seu gloriós Fill li trametria del cel un bell ram de palma luent lo qual no era fet en terra mas solament era creat en lo cel per la virtut de Déu tot poderós lo qual ram de palma lo gloriós fill seu manava que li fos portat davant lo lit com seria portada a la sepultura. [And this doctor remarks that when this aforementioned angel appeared and announced to her that she would die within three days, as a sign of victory over the flesh and other enemies that she had defeated during her life, her glorious son would carry her a bright palm branch that had not been made on Earth, but had been created in Heaven by the virtue of God Almighty. And her glorious son ordered this palm branch to be taken to the bed on which she would be carried for the burial].

(VCE 10,38 p. 360v,a)

Lavors los sants apòstols tots agenollats li besaren los peus ab gran reverència e prengueren lo lit e portaren lo molt reverent e sagrat cors a la vaill de Josafat on li faeren fer lo sepulcre. E sent Pere portà al cap del lit e cantant intonà lo psalm qui comença In exitu Israel de Egipto e sent Johan per manament de sant Pere portà-li davant lo ram de la palma damunt dit, axí com lo Senyor avia manat fins al dit loch. [And then the holy Apostles knelt down and kissed her feet with great reverence and took the bed where the very holy and reverent body of the Virgin lay to the Josaphat valley, where the sepulcher was made. And St. Peter sang the psalm that begins In exitu Israel de Egipto (When the people of Israel left Egypt) as he was carrying the bed. And St. John followed the command of St. Peter and brought the aforementioned palm branch to the burial place, as the Lord had ordered].

(VCE 10,43 p. 362v,a)

Los sants apòstols continuant son cant vingueren al sepulcre e ahí ab gran reverència posaren lo preciós cors de la verge gloriosa. [The Holy Apostles sang until they arrived at the sepulcher and they placed the precious body of the glorious Virgin there with great reverence].

(VCE 10,43 p. 362v,b)

4.5. The First Apparition of the Resurrected Christ to His Mother

Over the central board, there is The Resurrected Christ standing in a white cloth and in his left hand he is holding the labarum of the Resurrection. The five wounds, open but exsanguinated, cast luminous rays that indicate the glorious body of Christ who, with his hand, points to Adam and Eve who stand out from the multitude of the righteous coming from Sheol. In this group, the good thief can be identified. The Virgin, who looks at the righteous, is kneeling with her back to an oratory covered by a canopy. In it, one can observe the altar table dressed in damask and above it a book and two candlesticks. The crown of thorns, framed by a white cloth, acquires the value of an altarpiece. It occupies a principal place because, according to the contemporary literary works of Vitae Christi (Lives of Jesus Christ), with the resurrection of Christ he had to recover all the blood lost during the Passion and, therefore, the bloody stains of the instrument that tortured the head of the Redeemer had to disappear. Isabel de Villena says in her Vita Christi (VCV):

E, acostant se ja a la posada hon la dita Senyora staua, sanct Gabriel, qui era hu dels ordenadors de la professo, cuyta, ab la verga dor en la ma, per portar la bona noua a sa senyoria, de la qual era special seruidor e priuat; e, entrant dins lo retret de sa altesa, troba sa excellencia algun poch alegra, car havia vist partir de la corona del Senyor qui dauant tenia, e del seu propri mantell, la sanch quey era escampada, e creya que lo seu Fill era resuscitat; ab tot nos podia del tot alegrar, puix vist nol hauia. [And St. Gabriel came to the place where the Virgin was, with his golden cane in order to bring the good news to her, to whom he was a special servant. He also had a good acquaintance with her. And when he arrived where she was, he found her with a little joy, since she had seen that the blood had been removed from the crown of thorns and from the cape that her son wore when he was taken to be crucified. And she thought that her son had resurrected, but she could not be totally happy, since she had not seen it personally].

(VCV 3, 165)

Adam appears in the foreground of the painting because he was overjoyed at the Resurrection, since he and Eve bore all the blame for the condemnation of the human race. It appears in Isabel de Villena’s book:

E, hoint açò Adam ab goig no recomptable, cuytà de anar. E, venint dauant la Senyora, fon recomplit de tanta alegria e consolació que li paregué hauer augmentat en gran grau la benauenturança sua, e prostrà·s als peus de sa altesa volent besar aquells ab sobirana reuerència; e la Senyora no·u permès, reuerint-lo com a pare, e, leuant-se de peus, manà-li que·s dreçàs. [And as Adam heard that with immense joy, he went towards the Virgin. And as he came to the Virgin, he was so full of joy and relief that his blessedness seemed to have grown; and he prostrated himself at the feet of the Virgin, and he wanted to kiss them with great reverence; but the Virgin did not allow it, since she revered him as a father, and she stood up, and ordered him also to stand up].

(VCV 3, 174)

The visit of the righteous to the Virgin also appears in religious literature. The aforementioned Vita Christi explains it as follows:

E, la Senyora vehent dauant si Adam e·ls fills seus ab tanta glòria e jocunditat, fon lo goig de sa senyoria infinit, car veja complit de tot son desig que del instant de la sua incarnació hauia supplicat lo eternal Pare per la reparació e glorificació de natura humana, la qual obtengué perdent la vida de aquell excel·lent Fill qui, sens comparació, molt més que la pròpria vida amaua; e per ço sa clemència estimaua molt e·s alegr[au]e de aquella redemptió com a cosa que molt li costaua. [And when the Virgin saw Adam and his sons in front of her, she was full of infinite glory and joy, since her wish was accomplished. Since the moment of the Incarnation she had requested the eternal Father to repair and glorify human nature, and it was done through the death of that excellent Son, whom she loved more than herself without comparison. And because of her leniency she praised and rejoiced over that Redemption, even though it was something that cost him dearly].

(VCV 3, 176)

Regarding the light of the stigmata, Isabel de Villena says the following:

E dit açò, aquell gloriosíssim cors fon reunit ab la ànima guarit de totes les nafres, exceptat de les principals cinch, que per gran excel·lència hauia reservades, les quals embellien tant aquell glorificat cors e lançauen de si tanta claror e resplandor que, admirats tots los àngels e sancts qui aquí eren, e recomplits de irrecomptable goig e alegria, prostrats en terra, adorant sa Magestat, digueren: “Dignus es Domine lesu Christe accipere laudem e benedictionem et gloria et honorem.” [And afterwards, that extremely glorious body joined with his soul, and it was healed from his wounds, except for five, which had been reserved by His Excellency. And these wounds embellished so much that glorified body and threw so much light and gleam that the angels and saints that were there prostrated themselves to the ground, and full of countless joy and delight, they worshiped his Majesty and said: “Dignus es Domine lesu Christe accipere laudem et benedictionem et gloria et honorem.” (You Lord Jesus Christ are worthy of praise, and benediction, and glory, and honor)].

(VCV 3, 161)

4.6. Dead Jesus Christ on the Cross

In the upper part of the altarpiece, we can see the dead Jesus Christ on the cross with the Virgin Mary and St. John the Apostle on either side. Mary Magdalene kneels at the foot of the cross. This panel shows influences of the Flemish primitives both in the style of the constructions that emerge among the abundant vegetation and in the floating perizonium that, following the scheme of the Flemish primitives, is aligned with the heads of the characters establishing a line that seems to mark the horizon, leaving the trunk and the head of Christ in the upper part of the panel, as if putting him in contact with the sky. The Virgin and St. John maintain eye contact with the Crucified while Mary Magdalene seems to collect the blood of Christ that drips down the stipes (the vertical part of the cross) with a cloth. The landscape is composed of a flowing river that separates the place of the crucifixion from a walled city that appears in the background.

5. The Predella

One cannot lose sight of the fact that, for Catholics, the Mass is the unbloody renewal of the bloody sacrifice of Calvary. Perhaps, for this reason, the predella, the closest place to the priest during the celebration of the holy sacrifice, in the altarpiece of St. Dionysius and St. Margaret, is dedicated to some scenes of the Passion: Jesus’s prayer in the garden, the Flagellation, Jesus on the way to Calvary, his descent from the cross and, in the center, the representation of Christ as a man of sorrows or imago pietatis (image of piety).

In this altarpiece, in the prayer in the garden, the sleeping apostles, Peter, James, and John appear in the foreground while, in the background, Jesus kneels, comforted by an angel who shows him the will of God the Father: the cross. In the third plane, a crowd of soldiers with torches and weapons can be seen, led by Judas Iscariot, who points to Jesus. In the background, there is a walled city composed of towers and houses with gabled roofs.

The iconographic type of the Flagellation shows two thugs scourging Jesus who, tied to a column, occupies the center of a room. At one end of this room, Pontius Pilate can be seen sitting on his throne and, at the other end, at what appears to be the entrance door to the room, the Apostle Peter is questioned by the doorkeeper of the building (John 18:16). In the foreground, two figures are sitting around a fire.

The iconographic type of the man of sorrows or imago pietatis, which occupies the central part of the bench, represents the dead Christ showing his wounds. Two angels and St. John the Apostle hold the body of Jesus with a canvas while they lay him in the sarcophagus, while the Virgin and Mary Magdalene contemplate the wounds in his hands. The landscape is composed of some mountains in the background and the entrance of a cave where Jesus will be buried.

The fourth panel of the predella shows Jesus on his way to Calvary. He appears in the center of a procession that is led by a group of soldiers armed with spears. From this troop, a banner and a bugle stand out, both decorated, like the shields, with a double-headed eagle. It seems that Jesus has stopped in front of a woman who contemplates how the face of the Redeemer has been engraved in the veil with which she has just wiped the face of Christ. The Virgin, accompanied by a group of women, contemplates the passing of the procession from the proximity of a wall. In the background, some mountains can be seen.

The last panel of the predella represents the unbinding of Jesus. The iconographic type is organized around the vertical figure of Christ and the white canvas through which St. John the Apostle, Mary Magdalene, Joseph of Arimathea, and Nicodemus slide the dead body from the cross. The Virgin, attended by the holy women, appears to be fainting in pain on one side of the panel. Isabel de Villena’s Vita Christi explains it this way:

E axi, aquesta Senyora, turmentada per tanta dolor, Veent dauant si aquelles persones que al seu Fill amauen tan carament, perdé lo parlar e totes les forces, e caygue esmortida; [And so the Virgin Mary, tormented with so much pain, seeing in front of her the people who loved her son so dearly, lost her speech and all her strength, and fainted].

(VCV 3, 84)

On the other side of the panel, two figures seem to be in communication with one another while one of them shows the nails that have shattered Jesus’s limbs. The landscape is made up of vegetation and a Nordic-style walled city. This is how Isabel de Villena explains it:

Joseph e Nicodemus, ab tot tinguessen molta dolor e compassió del dolorós capteniment de aquella Senyora, hagueren a pendre esforç per executar lo que fer-li auien, e dreçaren les scales, fermant les en la creu, e ells abduix pujaren, cascú per sa escala; car lo que ells podien fer en seruici del Senyor no·u volien comanar a nengun altre. E, començant arrancar aquells dolorosos claus, sanct Joan los féu senyal que·ls y donassen amagadament, que la senyora Mare no ves de prop la feredat e granea de aquells claus que axí cruelment hauien turmentat lo seu amat Fill; e axí fon fet. E, desclauades les mans per aquells virtuosos homens, besauen-les ab molta dolor e làgrimes, no gosant cridar per no alterar la dolorosa Mare, qui tan prop li staua. E Joseph, qui era pus animós, per ésser caualler hauia la força de sa persona bé experimentada, dix a Nico[de]mus que lexàs lo braç del Senyor que tenia, que ell sol sostendria tot lo cors, e que deuallàs a desclauar los sagrats peus. E, Nicodemus dexant lo braç, Joseph abraçà aquell cors ab singular reuerència e amor, sentint tanta consolació dins la sua ànima que quasi ixqué de si mateix; e conegué ésser pus rich e mes abundós en tot bé tenint aquel Senyor que si posseýs tots los béns del món. [Even though Joseph and Nicodemus suffered much pain and compassion for the Virgin, they endeavored to do what they had to do, and they set the stairs, tightened them to the cross, and each one of them got up through his stair, since they did not want to order other people to do what they could do personally for the Lord. And when they began to pull those painful nails out, St. John requested them to deliver them to him secretly, so that the Virgin could not see how big they were, and the harm that they had inflicted on her beloved Son, and thus it was done this way. And when they pulled the nails from his hands out, they kissed his hands with lots of pain and tears, but they did not dare to shout, so as not to upset his glorious mother, who was next to them. And Joseph, who was strong and could carry the weight of the whole body, told Nicodemus to let the arm of the Lord loose, which he was holding, that he would hold the whole body, and that instead he should pull the nails out from the feet. And when Nicodemus dropped the arm, Joseph embraced that body with so much love and reverence, and feeling so much consolation in his soul, he understood that in that moment he was richer and more abundant in goods than if he had possessed all the goods on the Earth].

(VCV 3, 90–91)

In these five panels, the influence of Paolo da San Leocadio on Vicent Macip is more evident than in the rest of the altarpiece, both in the arrangement of the figures and in the models that followed. The landscape presents, in addition to strong Leocadian reminiscences, a certain dependence on Flemish designs, demonstrated by the à pignon rooves of the houses and the presence of leafy vegetation. See (Benito and Galdón 1997a).

6. The Canopy

The iconographic matters that appear on the canopy can be divided into three groups. Firstly, there is Christ with the Holy Spirit in the form of a dove; secondly, there are two angels; and thirdly, there is a group of six saints.

The top of the altarpiece is surrounded by three panels: St. Michael the Archangel and the Guardian Angel of the city, on the sides, while the upper part shows the Holy Spirit in the form of a dove and Christ holding a book from which the following sentence can be read: Ego sum via, veritas et vita. Et alfa et omega et principium et finis [I am the way, the truth and the life. And the alpha and the omega, the beginning and the end]. Christ’s image quite closely follows Francesc Eiximenis’s description in his Vida de Jesucrist, where in order to facilitate contemplation of the Redeemer, he describes his physical appearance in this way:

les celles que havia altes e pontades, el nas gran e bell, e lo front ample e la faç ampla e la boca poqua, e les dentes fort belles e blanques e la barba poqueta mas bifurcada, los ulls fort bells e queucom gracets. E.ls cabels fins als muscles, declinants a color de castanya. (…) Avia les mans longues ab fort bells dits, los braços fort responents a la sua statura, sinó que eren fort rescarpats. Lo pit ample e les espatles belles e amples. E la altea del seu cors tenia egualtat, cor ne era dels majors ne dels menors mas decantava més a granea cor era gran covinentment. (…) era vestit de dues gonelles (…) una vestedura de filadiç morat, la qual no era cosida ab agulla ans la li féu la Gloriosa mare sua ans que·l Senyor nasqués e crexia ab ell. (…) e com preycava alçava la ma dreta tenint tres dits levats en alt. [the eyebrows were high, the nose was big and beautiful, and the forehead was wide, and the face was wide but the mouth was small, and the teeth were very beautiful and white, and the beard was not very grown but split in two, the eyes were very beautiful and endearing. His hair went down to his shoulders, and was mostly brown in color. (…) He had long hands with very beautiful fingers and his arms were according to his height. His chest was wide and his shoulders beautiful and wide. And he was of average height, although a little taller than the rest of the people. (…) And he wore two shirts (…) made of violet cloth, which were not sewn with needles, but made by his mother the Virgin before he was born, and they grew with him. (…) And when he preached he raised his right hand with three fingers pointing to the sky].

(VCE 8, 1; 215v,b)

The rest of the iconographic types of the canopy consists of a group of six holy helpers or healers: St. Sebastian who, together with St. Roch, is invoked as an advocate against the plague; St. Peter of Verona who is recognized as a protector against storms and headaches; St. Elizabeth of Hungary, an advocate against long-term illnesses; St. Christopher, invoked to protect against lightning, storms, plagues, epilepsy, and even toothaches; and it is believed that St. Cosmas and St. Damian were doctors, which is why they have been considered as protectors of health since medieval times in Valencia. This devotion continued to flourish during the 16th century when their figures were common in many altarpieces and free-standing tables.

7. Comprehensive Explanation of the Altarpiece

The boards of the vertical sections reflect a Marian theme: the presence of the Virgin Mary in the mystery of Salvation. At the top of the canopy, Jesus Christ appears in the center of a mystical mandorla that expresses his dual human and divine nature9. He carries a book in his hand where the following words can read: Ego sum via, veritas et vita. Et alfa et omega et principium et finis (I am the way, the truth and the life. And the alpha and the omega, the beginning and the end). This can be considered the corollary of the altarpiece: recapitulating all things in Christ (Eph 1:10). The glory of the saints is a manifestation of the glory of Christ, and the Virgin Mary is the head of all the saints. Therefore, this woman is a singular being in Salvation History. This is the case because the second person of the Blessed Trinity, being God, obviated his divinity (Phil 2:6) and took human form (Gal 4:4), through the participation of this woman.

The ultimate display of Christ’s humanity can be contemplated at the top of the altarpiece, where the iconographical type of the crucifixion appears. There, the Virgin Mary and St. John the Apostle flank the cross. Taking the Gospel of St. John (John 19:17–37) as the source of this iconographic type, a double Marian significance can be noticed. First, the Virgin is given as mother to the Apostle who symbolizes all the disciples of Christ. See Thurian (1962, p. 237). Secondly, Jesus addresses his mother by calling her “woman”, which signals the prophetic value of the Daughter of Zion on whom all the messianic hopes fall. See Feuillet (1966, p. 370). According to de la Potterie, this spiritual motherhood of Mary is the image and form of the motherhood of the Church (Potterie 1993, p. 268).

These two meanings are the basis of the iconographic matters that appear in the altarpiece. The upper board of the central part represents the resurrected Christ’s first apparition to his mother. The meaning of this board could be contrasted with the Annunciation, where Mary accepts the message of the angel and becomes a co-redeemer. The result of co-redemption can be observed in this iconographical type, where Christ shows to his mother all the inhabitants of Sheol that have been freed by his redeemer, death, which has taken place because the Son of God was incarnated in the Virgin Mary.

The Adoration of the Magi appears in the upper part of the right side next to the central board. In this panel, the Virgin Mary appears seated with the child in her arms surrounded by three crowned figures, one of whom, kneeling on the ground, has taken off his crown. This iconographic type, the source of which is found in the second chapter of the Gospel of St. Matthew, points to the recognition of the kingship of Christ by all the peoples of the earth and, in doing so, the Davidic ancestry of the Jews is reaffirmed10. This text has a deep Marian meaning, since when the Gospel mentions the presence of the child with his mother (Matthew 2:11), it links the mother to the son’s royal function.11

The two next boards, Ascension and Pentecost, find their source in the Acts of the Apostles. In this book, St. Luke explains the first steps of Christianity, and it can be noticed how the figure of the Virgin Mary was central to the primitive church of Jerusalem (Acts 1:12–13).

Finally, there is the Assumption of the Mother of God, surrounded, as in the two previous boards, by all the apostles. At the bottom, the reception of Mary’s soul by the second person of the Holy Trinity is contemplated. Around Mary, the newborn Church is gathered, proceeding from the death and resurrection of Christ. This fact, which spans all history, unifies into a single people, not only the apostles and disciples of Christ but also the ancient inhabitants of Sheol, and extends to reach all the peoples of the earth, as indicated by the Adoration of the Magi.

Salvation for eternal life also has a reflection in the healing of temporary illnesses, and for this reason, all the saints who appear on the canopy, as already discussed, heal different physical illnesses, while the two angels, St. Michael and the Guardian Angel, protect from immaterial dangers.

8. Conclusions

Throughout this work, we have been able to show some theological premises that place Vicent Macip’s altarpiece of Saint Dionysius and Saint Margaret within the pieces destined both for the instruction of the faithful and for their personal piety. Thus, this altarpiece visually explains some milestones in the history of the Church and the universal value of Redemption.

The predella of the altarpiece is clear evidence of the pious and esthetical impulse to contemplate Christ’s humanity, and with this aim, it depicts some of the milestones of the Passion of Christ so that it can be linked to the sacrifice of the Mass, which could have been held next to these boards.

The literary sources from which Macip may have drawn his inspiration cannot be firmly established. However, no element of the painting seems to have been painted at random; on the contrary, all aspects present a good theoretical foundation that goes beyond pure aesthetic disposition, and which leads us to suppose a very precise documentation. In order to be able to approach an interpretation of the visual discourse, we have had to base this study, therefore, on what are known in the history of art as indirect sources, such as Francesc Eiximenis’s Vida de Jesucrist and Isabel de Villena’s Vita Christi.

In order to advance in the confirmation of this hypothesis it would be necessary to delve into the reception and cataloging of the literary works that Macip used to design the iconographic programs of the pieces painted both by himself and by the members of his workshop.