It has been far too long since we've featured some drawing here on LAJ, and what better place to turn than one of LAJ's own writers, Daniel Mitsui. Daniel's work will be familiar to many readers already; he specializes in highly detailed ink drawings known for their copious detail and ornamentation. In the past, we have featured his altar card designs and more recently his collaboration with Gardiner-Hall on designs for altar rugs for the Cathedral-Basilica of Covington, Kentucky.
Today, I wanted to turn toward some work of Daniel's which is not strictly liturgical, dealing instead with the mysteries of the rosary. Here is what he has to say about the pieces, beginning with the Joyful Mysteries:
...composed of a title, five quatrefoils and four roundels inside a decorative framework of tiny plants and animals inspired by millefleur tapestries. A small scene of a unicorn hunt as an allegory of the Incarnation is included in the bas-de-page. This allegory is explained in the text of the medieval bestiary:
The unicorn ... is a little beast, not unlike a young goat, and extraordinarily swift. It has a horn in the middle of its brow, and no hunter can catch it. But it can be caught in the following fashion: a girl who is a virgin is led to the place where it dwells, and is left there alone in the forest. As soon as the unicorn sees her, it leaps into her lap and embraces her, and goes to sleep there; then the hunters capture it and display it in the king’s palace. Our Lord Jesus Christ is the spiritual unicorn.... He is called very swift, for neither principalities nor powers, nor thrones nor lordships could capture Him; the underworld could not hold Him, and not even the most cunning devil could understand Him. But by the will of the Father alone He descended into the Virgin’s womb to save us.[...]
The five quatrefoils contain scenes of the five Joyful Mysteries of the Rosary: the Annunciation, the Visitation, the Nativity of Christ, the Presentation in the Temple and Christ among the Elders.
The Four Major Prophets - Isaiah, Jeremiah, Ezekiel and Daniel - appear in roundels between the larger scenes.
Next, the Sorrowful Mysteries:
...composed of a title, five quatrefoils and four roundels inside a decorative framework of plants associated with the Passion: olive, hyssop, myrrh, grape, passionflower and the species of jujube that was the source of the Crown of Thorns.
The five quatrefoils contain scenes of the five Sorrowful Mysteries of the Rosary: the Agony in the Garden, the Flagellation, the Crowning with Thorns, the Carrying of the Cross and the Crucifixion.
The four winged creatures representing the Four Evangelists appear in roundels between the larger scenes.
Finally, the Glorious Mysteries:
...composed of a title, five quatrefoils and four roundels inside a decorative framework of vines, leaves and tendrils. A butterfly in the bas-de-page symbolizes the Resurrection.
The five quatrefoils contain scenes of the five Glorious Mysteries of the Rosary: the Resurrection and Ascension of Christ, the Descent of the Holy Ghost, and the Assumption and Coronation of the Blessed Virgin.
The four Great Fathers of the Latin Church - St. Gregory the Great, St. Jerome, St. Augustine and St. Ambrose - appear in roundels between the larger scenes.
