Johannes

Johannes ses med tavle og griffel i færd med at skrive sit evangelium. Ved hans venstre fod ørnen, der er hans evangelistsymbol, således som profeten Ezekiels vision angiver det. Modelleret af Pietro Marchetti.

Figur
Johannes var den yngste i gruppen af apostle og fremstilles altid ung og skægløs. Han står med skrivetavle og med en ørn ved sine fødder. Han var søn af Zebedæus og bror til Jakob (den ældre), og de to kaldtes også Tordensønnerne.

Historie
I traditionen ses Johannes som ”den som Jesus elskede” og derfor også ham, som Jesus nævner, da han hænger på korset. Til Maria siger Jesus (om Johannes): ”’Kvinde, dér er din søn’, derpå sagde han til disciplen: ’Dér er din mor’”.

Traditionen har tidligere tillagt Johannes at være forfatter til Johannes Evangeliet, Johannes Brevene og Johannes Åbenbaring. Det er dog meget lidt sandsynligt. I kunsten optræder han enten sammen med de tre andre evangelister: Matthæus, Lukas og Markus eller sammen med apostlene. Som apostel plejer han at stå med en kalk: et bæger hvorfra der snor sig en slange.

I Vor Frue Kirke er Johannes imidlertid karakteriseret ved sit evangelisttegn, en ørn, og han står yderligere med en tavle, parat til at nedskrive sit evangelium. Det er helt udsædvanligt at afbillede ham i rollen som evangelist, når han står sammen med apostlene, og Thorvaldsen har næppe kunnet se det i andre kirker. Han har sikkert gjort det helt bevidst, for han gør det samme i fremstillingen af Matthæus.

Som apostel har Matthæus ofte et regnebræt og en pengepose som sit kendetegn, men som evangelist identificeres han ved at et vinget menneske følger ham, sådan som vi ser det i Vor Frue kirke.

De to evangelier repræsenteret begyndelsen, inkarnationen, og slutningen, opstandelsen, hvilket kan være grund nok til deres fremtrædende placering og usædvanlige ikonografi.

De fire evangelisters symboler er: Johannes’ ørn, Matthæus’ menneske, Markus’ løve og Lukas’ okse. De stammer dels fra Ezekiels vision og dels fra Johannes Åbenbaring, hvor fire himmelvæsner bærer Guds tronstol.

Fakta
Der findes en tegnet skitse af figuren på bagsiden af et brev fra 1.4.1821. Skitse i ler 1821. I 1823 modellede Giuseppe Pacetti en udgave efter Thorvaldsens skitse, der dog blev kasseret, men siden genbrugt som Judas Thaddæus, der også blev kasseret i 1827. Figuren blev modelleret endeligt af Nicolo Marchetti i 1824.

Apostlen Johannes i Vor Frue Kirke af billedhugger Bertel Thorvaldsen. Foto: Jakob Faurvig

English

John The Apostle and Evangelist

The Statue
John was the youngest in the group of Apostles and is always portrayed as young and beardless. He is standing with a writing tablet and an eagle by his feet. He was a son of Zebedee and brother of James (The Greater), and the two are also known as ’The Sons of Thunder’.

The Story
In the tradition John is seen as “the one whom Jesus loved”, and thus he is also the one Jesus mentions on the Cross. Jesus says to Mary (about John): “’Dear woman, here is your son.’ And he said to this disciple, ’Here is your mother’". According to tradition, John is the author of the Gospel of John, the Epistles and the Book of Revelation. That is, however, highly unlikely. In the arts he is either portrayed with the three evangelists, Matthew, Luke and Mark, or with the Apostles. As an Apostle he usually holds a chalice: a cup from which a snake emerges. In Church of Our Lady however, John is characterised by his evangelist-emblem, an eagle; furthermore, he is holding a tablet, ready to write down his gospel.

Portraying him in the role of evangelist is extremely unusual when he is with the Apostles, and it is unlikely that Thorvaldsen has seen such portrayal in other churches. He has definitely made a conscious decision to do so, because he portrays Matthew in the same manner. As an Apostle Matthew often holds a numbers board or a bag of money as his characteristic, but as an evangelist he is identified by a winged man following him, the way we see it in Church of Our Lady. The two Gospels represent the beginning, the incarnation and the end, the resurrection, which can be the reason for the prominent location and unusual iconography. The symbols of the four evangelists are: John’s eagle, Matthew’s angel, Mark’s lion and Luke’s ox. Their origin is partly Ezekiel’s vision and partly the Book of Revelation, where four heavenly creatures carry the Throne of God.

The facts
There is a drawn sketch on the back of the statue from a letter dated April 1st, 1821. Sketch in clay 1821. In 1823 Giuseppe Pacetti sculpted a version from Thorvaldsen’s sketch, which was rejected, but later reused as Jude Thaddeus, which was also rejected in 1827. The figure was finally sculpted by Nicolo Marchetti in 1824.