I left mid-morning and started at the Bode Museum. There were a few themes throughout it. The first was Byzantine and Middle Ages art, which mostly focused around Christianity. It also has one of the largest coin collections in the world. Its sculptures date from the early Middle Ages through the Renaissance. So, there was much to see and admire, especially for Christians. I was really looking forward to seeing the oaken sculpture of John the Baptist's head on a platter, but it had been removed, probably for restoration. There were a LOT of statues, paintings, and reliefs of the Virgin Mary. I knew that she was a big deal in the Medieval Church, but I was blown away. One could probably count how many times Mary and Jesus were depicted in Bode, and Mary would probably edge Jesus out. Here's a whole two rooms devoted to Mary (except the statue of a cherub in the middle):
I was very impressed by the altar pieces; Bode had a large number still very well preserved. This one amused me...Peter obviously isn't too happy about letting people into heaven, or is it because he's on the back side of the altar piece? I'll let you decide. Let me know if that isn't St. Peter to the right. I think it is, because he's carrying the church and has a key in his left hand. If it isn't St. Peter, he still looks like a very angry bishop.
This giant crucifix reminded me of the crucifix at Concordia University Wisconsin, because in chapel there, there used to be Mary standing just under Jesus.
This mosaic came from the apse of a Roman Catholic church in Italy (I think). The church had been deconsecrated, and the mosaic sold to the Bode museum for preservation. I was impressed by the imagery, and the audio guide actually did a very good job at explaining everything to those who wouldn't point everything out. Just a few notes: there are three depictions of Christ, one on top of another. The main picture is Jesus holding the cross in victory with a book in his left hand. The two verses, proclaiming that Jesus and the Father are one, were chosen to combat Arianism, a heresy which had been growing at the time this church was built. Arianism stated that Jesus did not always exist but had been created by God the Father. Thus Jesus is simply a creature, though semi-divine, as they would claim. And who fought against him in which Church Council? Fellow seminarians, you better be able to answer it before you finish reading this sentence. It's Athanasius and the First Council of Nicaea in 325. The Nicene Creed came out of this Council as a repudiation of Arius' beliefs and teachings. If you're interested about learning more, I encourage you to ask your pastor, who should be able to tell you more and/or put some books into your hands. Back to the mosaic... Jesus is flanked by two angels, Michael and Gabriel. Theh lamb above him is also a representation of Jesus as the Lamb of God, who shed his blood for our sins. You must look up to get a better view of it. Coming down from the lamb are 10 doves. The audio guide said that they symbolized the disciples, which I was confused about. Usually there's 12 depictions of the disciples, with one symbolizing Judas in a different manner. But even if they took out Judas, there should be 11. Does anyone have any guesses? And finally there's Jesus in Judgment, sitting on the throne of God with the Book of Life in his hand. Beneath him is the foaming sea, representing earth and the chaos of sin there. It is finally calmed and restored to perfection in the Last Day. We know nevertheless that Jesus is in control and will come again. Seven of the angels to his sides have trumpets and symbolize the seven angels in Revelation chapters 8-11. The third angel from the left is kinda fat...
Finally, I really liked this painting. One can see a direct line from God in heaven down through the Lamb (its blood pouring into a chalice) and the altar to the baptismal font...very sacramental. After looking again at this painting, I can see four groups. The bottom right represents the Holy Orders (monks, bishops, popes, priests), the bottom left the male laity (especially scholars), and the upper right the women. I have no idea who the upper left group represents. There are some bishops and laity mixed together. Perhaps the Eastern Orthodox Church, separated as they are from the western church? Just a conjecture. Nevertheless, they join in the worship of the lamb.
After the Bode Museum, I visited the Altes Museum. It's differentiated from the Neues Museum only in name. They both contain old sculptures, art, and artifacts. In fact, the artifacts in the Neues Museum (primarily Egyptian) are older than those from the Altes Museum (Roman and Greek).
My interest in mythology and Roman and Greek history was again piqued. There was so much that I recalled from my high school days. Again, look through the album above for the album. One thing I learned was that the Caesars' marble busts probably weren't true likenesses of them, but represented his character and birth in various ways. For example, it was important that every Caesar look like the other Caesars, to stress the continuity in their ruling. The sculptors did this by parting the hair in the exact same way in every bust. Every Caesar has similar locks of hair curling in very similar ways, as you can see here. Most likely the hair styles changed through the decades of Roman rule, but the busts needed to look alike.
Finally I visited the Neues Museum, which housed a lot of Egyptian artifacts. The bust of Queen Nefertiti is quite famous; so famous that they wouldn't let anyone take pictures of it. Here instead is a picture from the internet:
It's 3,300 years old! There were also a lot of richly decorated coffins.
Around the upper part of the courtyard is a frieze by Hermann Schievelbein, from the 19th Century. It depicted Mt. Vesuvius in the middle spewing lava out of his mouth. From him people were fleeing, taking their possessions with them. Interestingly, two people are welcoming them and their goods. Those people look quite...German. Yes, indeed- the Schievelbein depicted Friedrich August Stüler (the museum’s architect) and Ignaz von Olfers (its first director) welcoming the artifacts of antiquity into his museum for others to observe and learn from. So though the people of Herculaneum and Pompeii died terrible deaths, and though people throughout antiquity also died as all men do, all have left behind invaluable artifacts that we should treasure today. They are in the left side of the first picture below. And in the second picture is Vesuvius.
After that, I wanted to visit the Alte Nationalgalerie (an art museum), but it had already closed. I doubt I'll go back to visit it in the next few weeks, since I won't be in Berlin for much longer, but perhaps later.
Enjoy this video of a violin player outside the Altes Museum. He knew some Vivaldi and Mozart, and I sat and listened for 10-20 minutes, as did a number of others.
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