Our Favorite Thing for today is the Cleveland Museum of Art’s Column Capital of Daniel in the Lion’s Den (1962.247)! Zoe Appleby is a doctoral student studying Medieval and Byzantine art under Drs. Elina Gertsman and Elizabeth Bolman.
“This column capital comes from Saint-Aignan-sur-Cher, France, c. 1125–50. The massive carved limestone block once crowned a column in a French Romanesque church. Traces of paint indicate it was originally brightly colored to enhance this emotionally terrifying scene.
“The central figure is the prophet Daniel, famed interpreter of dreams. The Hebrew Bible relates that he was thrown into a pit of lions by the Babylonian king; however, an angel of the Lord was sent to close the mouths of the lions, preserving Daniel’s life for three days in the den before he emerged unscathed.
“On this capital, Daniel is seated on an architectural throne, he wears robes and makes perhaps a teaching gesture with his right hand. His left hand clasps a decorated codex; this accessory is unusual for the Old Testament prophets who are commonly depicted with scrolls rather than books. In this instance, the codex as well as the appearance of Babylon, curving above Daniel, make reference to images of Christ enthroned in church apses. The trials of Daniel were understood as a typological foreshadowing of Christ’s death and resurrection.
“On each side, lions with smiling jaws and long tongues move closer to the prophet. In true Romanesque fashion, these beasts are alive with thrilling terror. Each stocky lion is individuated by its pose, expression, and curling mane. On Daniel’s left, three lions move threateningly towards him. The head and wings of the angel of the Lord are seen hovering above, surveying the scene. On his right, two lions with flicking tails loom towards the prophet while above these a third beast paces in hungry anticipation and a fourth grins menacingly down at the viewers with a wildly flaring mane.
“While the lions on this capital were clearly meant to terrify, the individuality given to each indicates that they were also meant to entertain. This capital shows us that medieval people enjoyed being frightened just as much as we do today.”
