Christ the Vine is a painting made of egg tempera paint and gold leaf on a wood panel. The height is 77 cm (30.3 in) and the width is 79 cm (31.1 in). The work was completed sometime between 1425 and 1457 in Crete. Twelve figures exist but they are not the original twelve apostles.
Peter sits with an open book to our left at the highest point in the tree. Across from
Peter to our right
Paul the Evangelist appears. Distinct red halos surrounded all the figures. The majestic angelic figures are weightless in a spaceless setting. Jesus appears in the center as part of the sacred tree. He is nearly half the height of the icon. Seven books are open. The divine figure of Christ Pantokrator is painted in the traditional Italian-Greek Byzantine style. The colors of his garment are the typical red and blue colors. The flesh tones feature a shading technique. The central figure exhibits the typical ecclesiastical hand gesture. The group of two figures to the left and right of Jesus are from left to right:
Mark the Evangelist,
John the Evangelist,
Matthew the Evangelist and
Luke the Evangelist. Many Cretan artists depicted the four evangelists as symbols. Six original apostles appear below the group with open books.
Thaddeus or
Jude is to our left directly below
Saint Mark and
John the Evangelist. On the right, in the same row
James is seated on a branch. The next row of apostles left to right are
Simon and
Bartholomew. The two figures face each other. The final two apostles at the lowest point in the tree from left to right are
Thomas and
Philip. The final two are closest to the ground. The gilded background is still in good condition. Some of the branches have deteriorated but leaves and grapes are visible. The image clearly demonstrates the flattened space of the Italian-Greek Byzantine style. The painting is over five hundred years old. Angelo's work was copied by numerous artists both Greek and Italian. Notable versions were finished by
Leos Moskos and
Victor. Both artists added new symbols to the iconic painting. In
Leos Moskos's version of
Christ the Vine,
Saint Peter holds the
Keys of Heaven in his left hand.
Victor added God himself, and the
white dove to his version of
Christ the Vine. ==Gallery==