Grail search - artistic journey to the depths of history and legends [Topics "Thematic painting option"]

The human soul is at all times corrupted into something noble and incomprehensible. And the Grail quest theme runs for centuries. He wrote legends about him, wrote books and, of course, pictures. Tradition says that the Holy Grail, like a bowl, is made of stone that fell from the crown of Lucifer when it fell to hell. Later, he was eaten or drunk by Jesus Christ during the Last Supper:

The Last Supper
What is done by Spanish artist Vicente Juan Macip (1507-1579), better known as Juan de Huang, representing the school of painter of the Renaissance period, depicted in his paintings. He was a very religious man, he wrote extensively on religious topics, and also participated in the cathedral mural.

The first written reference to the Grail and its search appear in Arturovsky cycle legend. The Round Table Knights now and then make an effort to find a sacred relic. According to one version of the poetic poetic novel, from Wolfram von Eschenbach pen, which, in turn, is quail with unfinished poetry by Chretien de Troyes, who first went in search of Sir Percival (Parzival, or - as someone like). However, for the beginning of the quest he has not become a pack, and even a knight as well. Hidden in the depths of his mother, who did not suffer the fate of his father, who fell on the joust, he accidentally met a brilliant knight (what is irony!) And wants to be one of them.

The long journey takes Percival to the castle of King Amfortas - a nobleman with traces of agonizing suffering on his face:

Amfortas. Book opera by Viktrol with illustrations
Some relate it to the Fisherman King, who was wounded by a sorcerer by using a magic spear on his thigh. He could be healed by the Grail, where he is the keeper, but he can not touch everything because of the same magic. The only thing that will bring him healing, according to the prophecy, is a fool who must ask the right questions. But Percival felt disrespectful to ask anything and wake up outside the castle.

Now he must find the spear to return to Amfortas and the Grail. Along the way he must go through a series of temptations, prepared by the evil wizard, one that is clearly manifested by artist Arthur Hacker (1858-1919 gg.) - the English representative of neoclassicism and prerafaelitizma times Queen Victoria. For a while, Hackers are very successful and popular. He founded the New England Art Club, whose members were inspired by French art.

The picture shows the moment when the cross on the sword of the Percival sword is red and the knight realizes that he is in the hands of an assistant sorcerer:

Percival
In the end, he gets through all the tests, returns to Fisher King's castle and asks the right question: "Who serves the Grail?". The king was healed, and Percival became the new guardian of the magical artifact.

Another legend of the authorship of Thomas Malory states the main grail-seekers Sir Galahad - Lancelot's son and Lady Elaine. The story is very confusing, because according to one version, Galahad is looking for the Grail:

Like Sir Galahad, Sir Bors and Sir Percival were fed by the Holy Grail, but Sir Percivale's sister died
Much attention was paid to the extraordinary representative subject of the Pre-Raphael poet and illustrator of Dante Gabriel Rossetti (1828-1882 gg.).

And according to another version: the mother of Galahad - Elaine - the daughter of Joseph's descendant of Arimathea, who was supposed to deliver this cup to Europe, she herself had the Grail. In general, there are many options for searching and searching for the legendary Grail. Even Lancelot looked for it:

Sir Launcelot in the Chapel of the Holy Grail
In the picture of Edward Burne-Jones (1833-1898 gg.) - the English painter, close to the Pre-Raphael spirit, he is portrayed as falling asleep on the night of the Grail chapel.

What's the cup? The version of the blood of Jesus Christ gathered in him I will soon be dismissed. So I represent Joseph of Arimathea, walking through the crowd with a cup at the top of the bloody Savior. The question is - why? Well, just in case. It looks very unattractive and, I would even say - immoral.

The version that the Grail is the cup used by Jesus at the Last Supper is more or less consistent. One of the last known of his guards, or rather, of the guards, is considered Escalarmond de Foix, the Archdiadicon of the Cathars. Qatar is one of the sect of Christianity, which is declared heretical, because the views of its participants do not coincide with the treatment of the ruling church. They believe that the universe is based on two same principles - good and evil. And they think the material world is just evil. In addition, they deny the cross where Jesus Christ was executed as a symbol of worship, because it is a weapon of torture and Dead.

In 1244 the fortress of Monsegur fell after a year-long siege - the last fortress of the Cathars. All the fortresses consisted of fifteen knights and fifty soldiers, but they encountered several thousand royal soldiers. More than two hundred monks and nuns were burned, twenty-five people chose suicide. Presumably, the Esclarmonde de Foix was burned in 1245. But the popular gossip formed a beautiful legend, and according to him a white dove fled from the fallen walls of the castle, whose predecessor had brought the Grail's secrets.

It seems to me that the image of Dante Gabriel Rossetti "Holy Grail" describes him, whose contemporaries simply call "Toulouse dove," so pure is his life:

Holy Grail
She is a very educated woman. History has kept a record of his participation in the "Montreal meeting", where he discussed the equivalent of men in theology. When the next question about Esclarmonde put the priests in a dead end, they instead replied annoyedly "send" him to the shaft, where she should be the place.

The typical picture of tension between the church and the Cathars is illustrated by Spanish painter Pedro Berrugette (1450-1503), who works at the Gothic and Renaissance intersections:

Saint Dominic and Albigenses (Cathari from Albi)
This is a time of strife between St. Dominic and Cathar, where the books of both sides were thrown into the fire. However, the church books are miraculously, of course, untouched by the flames, which are evidence of the falsity of Cathar teachings.

It's easy to write such a story after two hundred years after the incident: still no one knows how it works - eyewitnesses are gone. However, to this day, many are trying to understand what exactly the Grail is. Or by whom?

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All artwork presented in the article is in the public domain

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