Friday 18 January 2019

Tree of Jesse

The Tree of Jesse is a pictorial representation of the lineage of Christ through the growth of a vine. It has been a popular subject in stained glass since medieval times. The example shown above from St Mary's Priory church, Abergavenny, is much more recent, having been completed in 2016 by the artist Helen Whittaker. Her example follows the traditional scheme of Christ and The Virgin in the centre with the subsidiary characters surrounding them. A departure from convention is the use of overlapping circles and the resultant double pointed shapes (vesicas) as a unifying device. You can read more about the design and iconography here.

photo © T. Boughen     Camera: Sony DSC-RX100