Material : Fresco
| Item 18 on 28
Indoor Architecture
Fresco (Ceiling)
Vitrine : 5
Area related
Le Vatican (Le Vatican)
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"In the eighth month, in the second year of Darius, the word of the Lord came to Zechariah, ... the son of Iddo ..." (Zechariah 1, 1 - 2).
The prophet is protrayed on the entrance wall as an old bearded man, with his bust shown in profile, in the act of reading a book. Zechariah, who lived around 500 BC worked on sustaining the Israelites on their return from exile in Babylon with the word of God. They were disappointed due to a lack of signs of divine blessing for the hardships suffered. In the first part of his book (Zechariah ch.1-6), eight visions are described that foretell the coming of the Messiah. With these the prophet tries to infuse courage into the disheartened souls of his people. In the following chapters the prophet promises the coming of the day of reward (Zechariah, 8, 1-23) and the future restoration of Israel, which will be preceded by wars and calamities (Zechariah , ch. 9-14) due to the failure to recognize the Messiah (Zechariah 9, 9-10). The words of Zechariah, foretelling the coming of the Messiah, are repeated in the Gospel according to Matthew to demonstrate the Messianic coming of Christ (Matthew 21,4-7).
Prophets and Sibyls seated on monumental thrones are alternated along the long sides, while the short sides are dominated by the figures of Zachariah and, above the altar, of Jonah (Jonah 1,2), who has a pre-eminent position inasmuch as he is the prefiguration of Christ (Matthew 12,38-40; 16,1-4; Luke 11,29-30). The Prophets and Sibyls are identified by a text in the label below them and are those who were the first to sense the coming of the Redeemer. The Prophets and Sibyls therefore testify as to the continuous wait of mankind for the Redemption. The former did in fact foresee the coming of Christ for the people of Israel. The latter, although belonging to the pagan world, are represented here because of their prophetic gifts, in this way extending the wait for Redemption from the chosen people to all mankind.
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Michel-Ange
Article "Michel-Ange" d'Etienne Bricon paru dans La grande encyclopédie : inventaire raisonné des sciences, des lettres et des arts - Paris 1885-1902
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