in
Mausoleum M in the pre-4th-century necropolis beneath St Peter's Basilica – interpreted by many as representing Christ The halo was incorporated into
Early Christian art sometime in the 4th century with the earliest
iconic images of Christ, initially the only figure shown with one (together with his symbol, the
Lamb of God). Initially the halo was regarded by many as a representation of the
Logos of Christ, his divine nature, and therefore in very early (before 500) depictions of Christ before his Baptism by
John he tends not to be shown with a halo, it being a matter of debate whether his
Logos was innate from conception (the Catholic/Orthodox view), or acquired at Baptism (the
Adoptionist view). At this period he is also shown as a child or youth in
Baptisms, though this may be a hieratic rather than an age-related representation.
and Transfiguration'' of Christ, with cross haloes; the
apostles,
angels and
prophets have plain ones (1025–50,
Cologne). A
cruciform halo, that is to say a halo with a cross within, or extending beyond, the circle is used to represent the persons of the
Holy Trinity, especially
Jesus, and especially in medieval art. In Byzantine and Orthodox images, inside each of the bars of the cross in Christ's halo is one of the
Greek letters Ο Ω Ν, making up —"ho ōn", literally, "the Existing One"—indicating the
divinity of Jesus. At least in later Orthodox images, each bar of this cross is composed of three lines, symbolising the
dogmas of the Trinity, the
oneness of God and the
two natures of Christ. In
mosaics in
Santa Maria Maggiore (432–40) the juvenile Christ has a four-armed cross either on top of his head in the radius of the nimbus, or placed above the radius, but this is unusual. In the same mosaics the accompanying angels have haloes (as, in a continuation of the Imperial tradition, does
King Herod), but not
Mary and
Joseph. Occasionally other figures have crossed haloes, such as the seven doves representing the
Seven gifts of the Holy Spirit in the 11th century
Codex Vyssegradensis Tree of Jesse (where
Jesse and
Isaiah also have plain haloes, as do the
Ancestors of Christ in other miniatures). Later, triangular haloes are sometimes given to
God the Father to represent the
Trinity. When he is represented by a
hand emerging from a cloud, this may be given a halo. Plain round haloes are typically used to signify
saints, the Virgin Mary,
Old Testament prophets, angels, symbols of the
Four Evangelists, and some other figures.
Byzantine emperors and empresses were often shown with them in compositions including saints or Christ, however the haloes were outlined only. This was copied by Ottonian and later Russian rulers. Old Testament figures become less likely to have haloes in the West as the Middle Ages go on. is depicted during his lifetime, so with a square halo, c. 820,
Santa Prassede, Rome.
Beatified figures, not yet canonised as saints, are sometimes shown in medieval Italian art with linear rays radiating out from the head, but no circular edge of the nimbus defined; later this became a less obtrusive form of halo that could be used for all figures. Mary has, especially from the
Baroque period onwards, a special form of halo in a
circle of twelve stars, derived from her identification as the
Woman of the Apocalypse. ''''
were sometimes used for the living in donor portraits of about 500–1100 in Italy. Most surviving ones are of Popes and others in mosaics in Rome, including the Episcopa Theodora head of the mother of the Pope of the day. They seem merely an indication of a contemporary figure, as opposed to the saints usually accompanying them, with no real implication of future canonization. A late example is of Desiderius, Abbot of Monte Cassino, later Pope, from a manuscript of 1056–86; Pope Gregory the Great had himself depicted with one, according to the 9th-century writer of his vita'',
John, deacon of Rome. A figure who may represent
Moses in the 3rd century
Dura Europos Synagogue has one, where no round halos are found.
Osbert Lancaster notes the presence of square haloes in
donor portraits in the 7th-century church of
St Demetrios in
Thessalonika. Personifications of the
Virtues are sometimes given
hexagonal haloes. Scalloped haloes, sometimes just appearing as made of radiating bars, are found in the manuscripts of the
Carolingian "
Ada School", such as the
Ada Gospels. The whole-body image of radiance is sometimes called the '
aureole' or
glory; it is shown radiating from all round the body, most often of Christ or Mary, occasionally of saints (especially those reported to have been seen surrounded by one). Such an aureola is often a
mandorla ("almond-shaped"
vesica piscis), especially around
Christ in Majesty, who may well have a halo as well. In
depictions of the Transfiguration of Jesus a more complicated shape is often seen, especially in the
Eastern Orthodox tradition, as in the famous 15th century icon in the
Tretyakov Gallery in
Moscow. pictured with a halo. In
Christian iconography, saints may also be depicted with
wreaths,
palm branches,
white lilies or other
attributes. Where
gold is used as a background in
miniatures,
mosaics and panel paintings, the halo is often formed by inscribing lines in the
gold leaf, and may be decorated in patterns (
diapering) within the outer radius, and thus becomes much less prominent. The gold leaf inside the halo may also be burnished in a circular manner, so as to produce the effect of light radiating out from the subject's head. In the early centuries of its use, the Christian halo may be in most colours (though black is reserved for
Judas,
Satan and other evil figures) or multicoloured; later gold becomes standard, and if the entire background is not gold leaf, the halo itself usually will be.
Decline of the halo .
Coronation of the Virgin. Note the haloes of the kneeling figures at the front, seen from behind. With increasing
realism in painting, the halo came to be a problem for artists. So long as they continued to use the old compositional formulae which had been worked out to accommodate haloes, the problems were manageable, but as Western artists sought more flexibility in composition, this ceased to be the case. In free-standing medieval
sculpture, the halo was already shown as a flat disk above or behind the head. When
perspective came to be considered essential, painters also changed the halo from an aura surrounding the head, always depicted as though seen full-on, to a flat golden disk or ring that appeared in perspective, floating above the heads of the saints, or vertically behind, sometimes transparent. This can be seen first in
Giotto, who still gives Christ the cruciform halo which began to be phased out by his successors. In northern Europe the radiant halo, made up of rays like a
sunburst, came into fashion in French painting around the end of the 14th century. In the early 15th century
Jan van Eyck and
Robert Campin largely abandoned their use, although some other
Early Netherlandish artists continued to use them. In Italy at around the same time,
Pisanello used them if they did not clash with one of the enormous hats he liked to paint. Generally they lasted longer in Italy, although often reduced to a thin gold band depicting the outer edge of the nimbus, usual for example in
Giovanni Bellini. Christ began to be shown with a plain halo. (attributed),
Benois Madonna. Floating semi-transparent haloes in perspective.
Fra Angelico, himself a
monk, was a conservative as far as haloes are concerned, and some of his paintings demonstrate the problems well, as in several of his more crowded compositions, where they are shown as solid gold disks on the same plane as the picture surface, it becomes difficult to prevent them obstructing other figures. At the same time they were useful in crowded narrative scenes for distinguishing the main, identifiable, figures from the mass of a crowd.
Giotto's
Lamentation of Christ from the
Scrovegni Chapel has eight figures with haloes and ten without, to whom the viewer knows they are not meant to attach a specific identity. In the same way, a
Baptism of Christ by
Perugino in Vienna gives neither Christ nor
John the Baptist haloes, as sufficiently recognisable without them, but a saint in the background, not usually present in this scene, has a ring halo to denote his status. In the
High Renaissance, even most Italian painters dispensed with haloes altogether, but in the Church's reaction to the
Protestant Reformation, that culminated in the
decrees on images of the Council of Trent of 1563, their use was mandated by clerical writers on religious art such as
Molanus and Saint
Carlo Borromeo. Figures were placed where natural light sources would highlight their heads, or instead more discreet quasi-naturalistic flickering or glowing light was shown around the head of Christ and other figures (perhaps pioneered by
Titian in his late period).
Rembrandt's
etchings, for example, show a variety of solutions of all of these types, as well as a majority with no halo effect at all. The disk halo was rarely used for figures from
classical mythology in the Renaissance, although they are sometimes seen, especially in the classical radiant form, in
Mannerist and
Baroque art. By the 19th century haloes had become unusual in Western mainstream art, although retained in iconic and popular images, and sometimes as a medievalising effect. When
John Millais gives his otherwise realist
St Stephen (1895) a ring halo, it seems rather surprising. In popular graphic culture, a simple ring has become the predominant representation of a halo since at least the late 19th century, as seen for example in the logo for the
Simon Templar ("The Saint") series of novels and other adaptations. == Origins and usage of the different terms ==