4 ♥ / 1 week ago
4 ♥ / 1 week ago
17 ♥ / 2 weeks ago
3 ♥ / 1 month ago
3 ♥ / 1 month ago
1 ♥ / 1 month ago
1 ♥ / 1 month ago
3 ♥ / 1 month ago
4 ♥ / 1 month ago
6 ♥ / 1 month ago
1
2
3
4
5
→
![(The Moorish king Caspar)by Hendrick Heerschop (1626– 1690)Since the seventh century in the Western Church, the Magi have been identified as Caspar, Melchior and Balthasar.However the earliest tradition is inconsistent as to the number of the Magi. The Eastern tradition favored twelve Magi. In the West, several of the early Church fathers — including Origen, St. Leo the Great and St. Maximus of Turin — accepted three Magi. Early Christian painting in Rome found at the cemetery of Sts. Peter and Marcellinus depicts two magi and at the cemetery of St. Domitilla, four.In the earliest depictions, the Magi are shown wearing Persian dress of trousers and Phrygian caps, usually in profile, advancing in step with their gifts held out before them. These images adapt Late Antique poses for barbarians submitting to an Emperor, and presenting golden wreaths, and indeed relate to images of tribute-bearers from various Mediterranean and ancient Near Eastern cultures going back many centuries. The earliest are from catacomb paintings and sarcophagus reliefs of the 4th century. Crowns are first seen in the 10th century, mostly in the West, where their dress had by that time lost any Oriental flavour in most cases.[1] Later Byzantine images often show small pill-box like hats, whose significance is disputed. They are usually shown as the same age until about this period, but then the idea of depicting the three ages of man is introduced: a particularly beautiful example is seen on the façade of the cathedral of Orvieto. The scene was one of the most indispensable in cycles of the Life of the Virgin as well as the Life of Christ.Occasionally from the 12th century, and very often in Northern Europe from the 15th, the Magi are also made to represent the three known parts of the world: Balthasar is very commonly cast as a young African or Moor, and old Caspar is given Oriental features or, more often, dress. Melchior represents Europe and middle age. From the 14th century onwards, large retinues are often shown, the gifts are contained in spectacular pieces of goldsmith work, and the Magi’s clothes are given increasing attention. By the 15th century, the Adoration of the Magi is often a bravura piece in which the artist can display their handling of complex, crowded scenes involving horses and camels, but also their rendering of varied textures: the silk, fur, jewels and gold of the Kings set against the wood of the stable, the straw of Jesus’s manger and the rough clothing of Joseph and the shepherds.The name Casper and the same sounding name Kasper are derived from Gaspar which in turn is from an ancient Chaldean word, “Gizbar”, which according to Strong’s Concordance means “Treasurer”. The word “Gizbar” appears in the Hebrew version of the Old Testament Book of Ezra (1:8). In fact, the modern Hebrew word for “Treasurer” is still “Gizbar”. By the 1st century B.C. the Septuagint gave a Greek translation of “Gizbar” in Ezra 1:8 as “Gasbarinou”. There are numerous modern variations such as Gaspar (Spanish and Portuguese), Gaspare (Italian), Gaspard (French), Kaspar (German and Dutch), Casper (English), Kacper (Polish), Kasperi (Finnish), Kasper (Danish), Gáspár (Hungarian),and Kaspars (Latvian).By the 6th century, the name Gaspar was recorded in mosaic at the Basilica of Sant’Apollinare Nuovo in Ravenna, Italy as one of the traditional names assigned by folklore to the anonymous Magi mentioned in the Gospel of Matthew account of the Nativity of Jesus. The letter “G” in the name Gaspar was clearly different than the letter “C” used elsewhere, suggesting that the name Gaspar preceded the name Caspar, and not the other way around as some have supposed.](http://25.media.tumblr.com/c72f70f4b2d0747e18b54b482305a338/tumblr_mmcig3DyaR1r9e4kjo1_250.jpg)
