The Frontispiece of Scivias

Amandla Cardenas

Medieval Art and Architecture History

Dr. John Hendrix

Formal Analysis:

The Frontispiece of Scivias is a self portrait of Hildegard from the front page of her Liber

Scivias. Dating back to the Medieval era, the portrait depicts Hildegard at the very moment

that she was receiving a vision from God: a burning light coming from heaven is poured into

her mind. She is seen dictating the vision to Volmar and sketching on a wax tablet. As the

focal point of the painting, she is located in the center under a wide and high arch covering

most of the space of the portrait. On top of the arch is a triangular roof with two windows.

Also, there are two simple looking and tall pillaresque towers on both sides, typical of the

twelfth-century illuminated manuscripts. On top of the towers lay an oval roof. The pitch

roof and the oval roof are connected by a blue tiled roof set in the background. These three

elements of architecture are located at the top of the picture.

The major pictorial elements of the painting are Hildegard, the flame pouring in her head, her

writing on the tablet, and Volmar transcribing the event, all in the center of the composition.

The flames are coming from the arches are falling directly onto her head, like water. The

tablet is resting in her lap, where the left hand is holding it and the right hand is etching the

words of God. Hildegard is connected to the rest of the portrait by the flame, by leaning her

back on the left side of the arch, gracefully etching the words of God while facing the priest.

The whole composition creates a continuous relationship between architecture, God, people,

writing and the church.

All the lines are thick and flowing creating a serene expression around the figures and an

emphasis on the edges around the objects and the architecture. Creating a sensation of acting

independently to portrait, a one dimensional portrait, yet they touch each other expressing the

connection between the different elements. For example, on Hildegard the lines depict the

main features of her face, hands and drapery, emphasising a serene expression and

connecting her to the rest of the portrait. The lines depicting Hildegard are a combination of

thick exterior and interior lines drawn in a smooth and consistent way. The lines are almost

even in thickness, however the variation happens in the expression of the lines, where in

some cases it is more wavy to depict movement and in other cases to define the contour of

Hildegard’s body.

Due to the effect of colours the portrait looks simple and soft. There is a gleaming golden

background, enhancing the figures in the front and creating contrast between background and

foreground. The other tones in the rest of the figures are brown, red, blue and green. The

tonalities of the work contribute to the the hole image as a hole.

The entire image does not follow standard scale proportions. The architecture is amplified to

the point where it covers most of the picture vertically and horizontally. The arch occupies

most of the center, leaving little spaces to the columns. Mary is represented big related to the

hole image, she is almost the same high as the towers and the arches. Her size is big and

robust, and she is approximately half the size of the arch.

There is balance in the image, specially in the architecture. The arch is located in the middle,

there are two towers and tow roofs, one on each side. The roof on top is also balance because

the center of the roof is located in the middle of the image.

The rhythm of the work is regular, with the repetition of elements like vertical lines. The

arrangement of the elements is even

 The picture represents the experience of a single serene moment. It is a depiction of a

religious event that is taking place. It is the projection of a divine event where the words of

God are being written through Mary. On the other hand, on the painting are other elements like

the architecture, the priest and the tablet scenes of people sitting, washing, moving upstairs or

downstairs, or crossing the bridge and paddling a boat in a slow peace. This artwork relates to

other artists such as those who also depicted landscape work in the neoclassical period.

In the book of Scivias she received her visions in a conscious state. Her work provides a series

English

Like many during her time, she believed that women were inferior to men and

therefore should be subservient to them. Though this opinion is often unpopular nowadays,

she was incredibly influential in encouraging the empowerment and education of women. In

the Southwest Review she acknowledges being a person full of knowledge who wanted to

inspire others to learn. This becomes clear when she writes, “I am a museum, a mother to

museums.” As documented by Constant J. Mews, she saw herself not as a priest but instead

as a prophet. She interacted with many important figures within the church, including many

popes. They saw her as an advisor, someone to assist them when they needed spiritual

guidance. She held a personal relationship with Guibert Gembloux, a monk from Lotharingia.

He displayed a profound interest in Hildegard’s prophetic visions. In the letters he wrote

about Hildegard, he illustrated their shared endeavour and his thoughts about her role as both

a woman and an authority figure.

The concept of iustitia Dei is central to Hildegard’s writing. A major theme of this concept is

moral righteousness as an embodiment of Christ. ‘He sent his Son into the world to be the

capstone of the corner that faces east, made up of the righteousness (ilustia) first prefigured in

Noah and perfected in the incarnation of the Son”

The Liber Scivias is the first theological-cosmological work
by Hildegard of Bingen (1098-1179), a woman whose character and
ability has earned her an appreciation which is unprecedented. The
manuscript – to be considered as a guide – takes into consideration the
concepts of Universe and man, respectively representing macrocosm and
microcosm, and deals with the process of salvation which can only be
attained through redemption