Visitation of Elizabeth, Flight into Egypt

Visitation of Elizabeth

Elizabeth, inspired by the Holy Spirit, greeted Mary as the Mother of the Lord, praising her for believing in the Lord’s words delivered by the angel. She was the first to whom the mystery of the Incarnate Word of God was revealed. In Elizabeth’s greeting, Mary found confirmation of the words of the angelic message. In response, Mary sang the glorious hymn Magnificat, in which she praises God for His mighty deeds and for His goodness and mercy shown to the poor and humble. In the iconography of the Visitation, both women are often depicted in a pose that corresponds to the liturgical exchange of the kiss of peace.

Flight into Egypt

The massacre of infants ordered by Herod caused the Holy Family to flee to Egypt. While the Gospel dedicates only a few verses to this event, apocryphal texts elaborate on it, creating numerous legends about the miraculous events that accompanied Jesus’ escape from Bethlehem. In this panel, the figure of Jesus Christ is particularly emphasized.

The Blessed Mother, seated on a donkey (in the medieval composition type of Sedes Sapientiae), serves as a throne for the Child. The fact that He is not an ordinary child is indicated by the cruciform nimbus, which belongs only to the Savior. In the arms of the cross are inscribed three Greek letters “OωN,” meaning “The One Who Is,” identifying Him as God. The artist not only illustrated an episode from Jesus’ life but also conveyed the dogmatic truth that He, to whom the Magi paid homage and whom Herod persecuted, is the Son of God.

In the apocryphal Arabic Gospel of the Infancy, we read: “Then Joseph arose and saddled the donkey, and put the Virgin and the child Jesus upon it, and set out along the western side of the river [Nile] towards the south. And when at the sixth hour he turned his gaze towards the south, he saw a great tree and went [towards it] and came under that tree. And they rested a little, for it was hot and the child was thirsty.” The narrative continues with a description of the search for water and the preparation of a vessel to carry it on the journey: “And Joseph went around the whole place [of rest] and did not find [even] a drop of water to give the child to drink. And [then] Jesus looked around and saw a stone under the tree, and went [there] and sat upon it and struck it with his right foot. And at that instant [the stone] broke open and released sweet water. And Joseph made a small reservoir, like a shepherd would, and water flowed into it. And he gave [it] to the child to drink, and Joseph and the Virgin, and Salome, and the donkey drank…” (Arabic Infancy Gospel, Apocrypha 2).

The Płock Doors panel depicts the moment when, after the rest, Joseph saddled the donkey, placed the Virgin and the Child Jesus on it, and set off on their journey.

Płock Doors

The Płock Doors, also known as the Magdeburg Doors, Korsun Doors, or Sigtuna Doors, were bronze doors once located in the Cathedral Basilica of the Assumption of the Blessed Virgin Mary in Płock. This is a relic of Romanesque art. Currently, the original doors are in the western portal of St. Sophia’s Cathedral in Veliky Novgorod, Russia, and a bronze casting (copy) has been in the Płock Cathedral since 1982.

Research indicates that the doors were probably in Płock for about 250 years before they adorned St. Sophia’s Cathedral in Veliky Novgorod. It is unclear how the doors ended up in Novgorod. According to a 15th-century legend, they were brought from Byzantium by Prince Vladimir the Great via Korsun in Crimea (hence the name Korsun Doors), although this is unlikely.

According to some historical hypotheses, they were looted in the 13th century by Lithuanians during their raid on Masovia. Other historians believe they were given as a gift by the Polish clergy or the dukes of Płock to Prince Lingwen Olgierdovich of Novgorod, brother of Władysław II Jagiełło. Some sources say they arrived in Novgorod as early as 1170, shortly after being made, while others suggest before the mid-15th century. According to a version announced in 1823 by Friedrich von Adelung, the doors are a military trophy of the Novgorodians (specifically Karelians, Estonians, Izhoras, and northern Russians), who captured them in 1187 during an expedition to the then-capital of Sweden, Sigtuna (hence the 19th-century name Sigtuna Doors).

The doors for the Płock Cathedral were ordered by Bishop Alexander of Malonne (died 1156). Master Riquin, with assistant Waismut, cast them in bronze using the lost-wax technique between 1152 and 1154 in one of the Magdeburg foundries. It is uncertain whether it belonged to the local fabrica ecclesiae, operating at the cathedral, managed by Bishop Wichman of Wettin (c. 1110–1192).

Figures of bishops and craftsmen are among the reliefs, to which in the first quarter of the 15th century, the representation of a Russian caster, Master Abraham, was added. He also adapted the doors to the western portal of the St. Sophia Cathedral in Veliky Novgorod, adding Cyrillic inscriptions translated from Latin. It is hypothetically assumed that the doors were looted from Płock at the end of the 13th century and, after various fates, were hung as a “copper icon” in an Orthodox church at the beginning of the 15th century.