Illustrations of Gospel Stories

by Jerome Nadal, S.J.

The Author and His Books:

Jerome Nadal (1507-1580), a Spaniard from Majorca, was one of the first ten members of the Society of Jesus (a.k.a. the Jesuits). For many years he served as the personal representative or "delegate" of the founder, St. Ignatius of Loyola (1491-1556), in visiting Jesuit houses throughout Europe, especially to explain and implement the Constitutions of the Society of Jesus.

Ignatius himself urged Nadal to compile and distribute an illustrated guide for prayerful meditation on the Gospels, in the tradition of the Spiritual Exercises, although the work was not completed until after both men had died. Nadal selected the biblical scenes to be included, commissioned and directed the layout of the illustrations, and composed notes to accompany each scene. With the cooperation and support of Antwerp publishers Christophe Plantin and Martinus Nutius, 153 engravings were eventually produced by Bernardino Passeri, Marten de Vos, and Jerome and Anton Wierix.

In 1593 these illustrations were published in a volume entitled Evangelicae Historiae Imagines ("Illustrations of the Gospel Stories"), arranged in chronological order of the life and ministry of Jesus. In 1594 and 1595 they were again published in larger volumes, entitled Adnotationes et Meditationes in Evangelia ("Notes and Meditations on the Gospels"), with more extensive accompanying text, and rearranged according to the order of readings used in the liturgical year, as prescribed in the Roman Missal. (See the Bibliography below for details about Nadal's books. See also my webpage on the Roman Missal.)

These books became very influential in Counter-Reformation Europe, since the illustrations were among the first to use the new techniques of "perspective drawing," which more realistically depicted three-dimensional shapes in two-dimensional drawings, such as used in the scientific drawings of the day. These techniques made the Gospel stories much more vibrant and realistic, and thus more effective as aides for evangelization and meditation. The influence of these engravings can clearly be seen in the work of later Bible illustrators, such as Gustave Dore.

Description of the Plates:

Each of the woodcuts in the 1595 edition includes several pieces of liturgical, biblical, and/or descriptive information:

• The right edge contains two sets of numbers, both running from one to one hundred fifty-three:
  • The Arabic numerals above indicate the order of the plates in Nadal's 1593 Evangelicae Historiae Imagines, following his chronological sequencing of the events in Jesus' life;
  • The Roman numerals below indicate the order of the plates in Nadal's 1595 Adnotationes et Meditationes in Evangelia, rearranged to follow the sequence of readings in the liturgical year, according to the Roman Missal of the time.
  • Note: On this website, we will always give both plate numbers, first from the 1593 edition, then from the 1595 edition.
    • Thus, plate 101-lxxvii refers to plate 101 of the 1593 ed., which was renumbered as plate lxxvii of the 1595 edition.
    • There are a few errors in the numbering of the pages (see note 1 below).
• The top line (in all capital letters) of most woodcuts indicates the day of the liturgical calendar (Feast, Sunday, or Weekday) on which this Gospel episode was used in the Roman Missal of the late sixteenth century.
  • In case two or more illustrations depict different parts of the same reading, the top line of the second or following woodcut usually says Eadem Dominica ("the same Sunday"), or Eodem Sabbatho ("the same Saturday"), or Eadem Feria ("the same weekday").
  • In over 50 plates, the liturgical day is not explicitly mentioned, since it can be presumed:
    • plate 7-ix depicts the second part of the reading for the Epiphany of the Lord (plate 6-viii), but is simply entitled "Adoration of the Magi";
    • plates 101-lxxvii to 103-lxxix and 107-lxxx to 133-cvi depict various scenes of the Passion of Christ, read during Holy Week;
    • plates 134-cviii to 146-cxx depict the various resurrection appearance stories, read on Easter Sunday and during the Octave of Easter.
• The second line (in large italics) usually contains Nadal's descriptive title of the scene.
  • In some cases, no descriptive title was added because the name of the feast is descriptive enough (e.g., The Annunciation, The Day of Pentecost, etc.).
  • For those plates which do not indicate the liturgical day (see above), Nadal's descriptive title is given in all capital letters (on the top line).
• The third line (in small italics) lists the biblical references (book abbreviations and chapter numbers) where this scene is found in the Bible.
  • Most references are to one or more of the Four Gospels (Matth., Marc., Luc., Ioan.).
  • In some cases, the reference simply says Eodem cap. ("same chapter") or Eisdem capp. ("same chapters").
  • Only a few plates give references to biblical texts outside of the Gospels:
    • The Acts of the Apostles are referred to on plates 147-cxxv to 149-cxxvii, regarding the Ascension of Jesus and the Day of Pentecost.
    • References to Pauline letters are given only on plate 102-lxxviii (also listing 1 Cor 10) and plate 131-ciiii (also listing Eph 4).
    • Old Testament texts are mentioned only on plate 131-ciiii (Zech 9, Eccl 24).
  • A few plates do not list any biblical references, since they depict scenes from the life of Mary that are accepted in Catholic tradition but not found in the Bible:
    • plate 135-cix depicts the non-biblical tradition that the risen Jesus appeared to his own mother
    • plates 150-cl to 153-cliii depict the death, burial, resurrection, and assumption of the Virgin Mary
  • One plate contains an error in the biblical reference (see note 2 below).
• For many plates, the third line also gives the year of Jesus' life in which this episode is thought to have occurred.
  • The dating of Jesus' public ministry presumes that he was baptized at age 29, and died at age 33.
  • Some plates do not mention a year:
    • plates 1-cvii and 2-cxlix implicitly take place before Jesus' birth;
    • plates 101-lxxvii, 103-lxxix, 107-lxxx to 146-cxx, and 147-cxxv to 149-cxxvii (events surrounding Jesus' death, resurrection, and ascension) implicitly take place in the thirty-third year;
    • plates 150-cl to 153-cliii (the death, burial, assumption, and coronation of Mary) occur in some unspecified year after Jesus' death and resurrection.
• The woodcut itself often contains several different elements in the main scene and/or related sub-scenes in lighter print in the corners or near the edges. These elements are labeled with small capital letters, keyed to the descriptions below the image.
• Below the woodcut are brief descriptions of the labeled elements in the scene or the related sub-scenes. These are Nadal's "points" or suggestions for prayerful meditation of the scene and the biblical text which it depicts.

Cover Plates of the 1595 Edition: The Title Page depicts the four evangelists, the seal of the Society of Jesus, and several other figures. The Frontispiece, which reprints the engraving of the Title Page of the 1593 edition, features a large image of Jesus. (click on either image at right for a larger view)

The 153 Gospel Illustrations of the 1595 edition, arranged in the liturgical order of the Roman Missal:
(for a listing of the same plates in chronological order of the life of Jesus, as in Nadal's original 1593 edition, click here)

Errors and Other Notes:

For a listing of the plates in chronological order of the life of Jesus, as in Nadal's original 1593 edition, click here.

There are a few errors in the pagination, the biblical references, and the page titles of the 1595 edition:

• 1) Two plates contain errors in the numbering:
  • plate 124 (of the 1593 ed.) was incorrectly numbered in the 1595 edition as plate xciiii, but should have been xcvii.
  • plate 144 (of the 1593 ed.) was incorrectly numbered in the 1595 edition as plate xcviii, but should have been cxviii.
• 2) The biblical reference for the Raising of Lazarus (plate 76-lxi) should not be John 9, but John 11.
• 3) "Monday of Holy Week" is the title of both plates 84-lxxi and 89-lxxv. However, the scene depicted in plate 89-lxxv (subtitled "Gentiles come to Jesus") is from John 12:20-36, which is part of the reading for "Saturday after Passion Sunday" (John 12:10-36)

Recall, as explained in the "Description of the Plates" above, that this website lists the plate numbers from both the 1593 and 1595 editions together; thus, plate 101-lxxvii refers to plate 101 of the 1593 ed., which was renumbered as plate lxxvii of the 1595 edition.

All the readings of the liturgical year as prescribed in the 16th century Roman Missal are illustrated separately in Nadal's books, with the following exceptions, to avoid duplications:

• 4) The reading for Thursday after Ash Wednesday (Matt 8:5-13, The Healing of the Centurion's Servant) was part of the longer reading prescribed for the Third Sunday after Epiphany (Matt 8:1-13); thus a note on the bottom of plate 22-xxii (Ash Wednesday) refers the reader back to the previous feast (plate 27-xiii).
• 5) The reading for the Second Sunday of Lent (Matt 17:1-9, The Transfiguration of Jesus) was the same as the reading of the previous day, Saturday after the First Sunday of Lent (plate 63-xxxiii)
• 6) The reading for the 6th Sunday after Pentecost (Mark 8:1-9, The Feeding of the 4000) is extremely similar to the story of the Feeding of the 5000 (found in Matt 14:13-29; Mark 6:30-44; Luke 9:10-17; and John 6:1-14), which is read on the 4th Sunday of Lent (plate 43 of the 1593 ed.)
• 7) The reading for the 9th Sunday after Pentecost (Luke 19:41-47, Jesus Throws the Sellers out of the Temple) was also used on Tuesday after the First Sunday of Lent (plate 88 of the 1593 ed.)
• 8) The reading for the 15th Sunday after Pentecost (Luke 7:11-16, Jesus Raises the Son of the Widow of Nain) is also read on Thursday after the Fourth Sunday of Lent (plate 28 of the 1593 ed.)
• 9) Note also that the terms Passion Sunday and Palm Sunday may be confusing for modern readers. Since the Second Vatican Council (1962-65) both of these titles are applied to the sixth Sunday within the Season of Lent, one week before Easter. In contrast, before Vatican II, and thus also in the Roman Missal of Nadal's time, "Passion Sunday" referred to what today is called "The Fifth Sunday of Lent" (two weeks before Easter), and the following week was called "Palm Sunday" (at the beginning of "Holy Week", one week before Easter).

Acknowledgements:

These images were graciously provided by Fr. Joseph MacDonnell, S.J. (R.I.P.), formerly Professor of Mathematics at Fairfield University, who compiled a large website with various Jesuit-related materials.
All 153 woodcuts from Nadal's 1595 edition are available on his "Gospel Illustrations" webpage. He scanned them from the copy of Nadal's book in the John J. Burns Library of Boston College, courtesy of its director, Robert O'Neill.

Bibliography:

• Jerome Nadal, SJ. Evangelicae Historiae Imagines: Ex ordine Euangeliorum, quae toto anno in Missae Sacrificio recitantur, In ordinem temporis vitae Christi digestae. Antwerp, 1593.
• Jerome Nadal, SJ. Adnotationes et Meditationes in Evangelia: Quae in sacrosancto missae sacrificio toto anno leguntur, cum evangeliorum concordantia, historiae integritati sufficienti. Antwerp: Martinus Nutius, 1594; second edition 1595.
   
• Joseph F. MacDonnell, SJ. Gospel Illustrations: A Reproduction of the 153 Images taken from Jerome Nadal's 1595 book "ADNOTATIONES ET MEDITATIONES IN EVANGELIA". Fairfield, CT: Fairfield Jesuit Community, 1998.
• Jerome Nadal, SJ. Illustrated Spiritual Exercises. Preface by Richard W. Rousseau, S.J. University of Scranton Press, 2001. - out of print; possibly in some libraries
   
• Jerome Nadal, SJ. Annotations and Meditations on the Gospels. Volume 1: The Infancy Narratives. Translated by Frederick A. Homann, SJ. Saint Joseph's University Press, 2003.
• Jerome Nadal, SJ. Annotations and Meditations on the Gospels. Volume 2: The Passion Narratives. Translated by Frederick A. Homann, SJ. Saint Joseph's University Press, 2007.
• Jerome Nadal, SJ. Annotations and Meditations on the Gospels. Volume 3: The Resurrection Narratives. Translated by Frederick A. Homann, SJ. Saint Joseph's University Press, 2005.
• Joseph P. Lea and Walter S. Melion. Annotations and Meditations on the Gospels: Cumulative Index. Saint Joseph's University Press, 2014.