25 August 2024


When I visited the National Gallery for Scotland on Friday, I made a new friend. It was a small painting by the Italian artist, Bernardo Butinone. He was painting in the latter half of the fifteenth century, probably in Milan, Italy.

My eye was immediately drawn to the painting because it centres on a stone spiral with the Christchild seated  on top. He looks like a dwarf dancing mischievously on  this mathematical platform. ‘I’m the King of the castle, you’re the dirty wee rascal!’ Well, not quite but you get the point.

The legend beside the painting told us two things. Firstly, the painting was one of sixteen scenes from the life of Christ which formed part of an altarpiece. The paintings had been removed from their original location and distributed all over the world.

Secondly, the painting was given this interpretation. ‘The unusual spiral throne on which Christ is seated may be an allusion to the Tower of Babel and the confusion of languages associated with it, over which the divine wisdom triumphs.’

Maybe? Of the nine doctors, five have hats, some look Islamic. Are these doctors antipathetic to the doctrine of Christianity? Two pair are having a private discussion. Three are gesticulating with their hands. One sits with arms folded, indifferent to the wisdom of the Christ.

The spiral widens as it descends. It is logarithmic. Its centre is the Christchild at the top but as it decreases it becomes ever wider and greater as the Word of God travels from its divine source out into the world. I think this is a more favourable explanation than Babel with its confusion. Pentecost put an end to these language barriers!

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