Artist Falls from Ladder
Image displayed with permission of Bibliothèque nationale de France
Artist Falls from Ladder
- This painting (also called an illumination) appears in a manuscript likely made in Gondar, Western Ethiopia, and dated to 1700-1799. You can view this painting in the manuscript Bibliothèque nationale de France, Ethiopien d'Abbadie Collection, Manuscript No. 114, f. 24v, s. 50, or learn more about this manuscript at its PEMM Manuscript page. You can also read the related story at its PEMM Story page.
- Many Geʿez manuscript paintings are in "Synoptic Narrative Art” style; that is, a single painting depicts multiple moments in the story, providing a series of vignettes representing different plot points. PEMM calls these "episodes". This painting of PEMM Story ID 33 has 4 episodes. The painting's episode descriptions, locations, and keywords are:
- 1. The painter sitting on a scaffold and drawing a scene (top-left). The object(s) are garden; tree; paint brush; scaffolding; icon. The living being(s) are painter; saint.
- 2. The painter falling down from the scaffold (bottom-left). The object(s) are scaffolding. The living being(s) are painter.
- 3. The icon of St Mary, who extends her hand to save the painter (top-right). The object(s) are icon; throne. The living being(s) are Mary; Jesus Christ; painter.
- 4. A group of demons look on (bottom-right). The object(s) are pit; hellfire. The living being(s) are demon.
- This painting has a caption in Geʿez, which Jeremy Brown has translated as: How the painter painted the garden, the residence of the saints, and the fires of Sheol, the residence of the devil and his hosts; The garden, residence of the saints; The scaffolding on which he was painting.
- The number of PEMM manuscripts that have paintings of this story is 37. The total number of paintings of this story in PEMM manuscripts is 45.
- PEMM's ID number for this painting is 1683.
- To reproduce this image online or in print, please contact the Bibliothèque nationale de France. PEMM does not own the rights.
- If you think any of the information on this page is incorrect (e.g., the location, date, description, captions), please use our PEMM Feedback Form to let us know. We depend on users like you to improve the site.
