Poor Man's Bible - Examples

Examples

• The decoration of the Baptistery of Padua, a small cubic domed church which stands next to the city's cathedral, executed by Giusto de' Menabuoi, comprises one of the most complete and comprehensive frescoed Poor Man's Bibles (1376–78).
• The The Collegiate church of San Gimignano contains a remarkably intact and consistent scheme by a number of different painters, comprising a Last Judgement, an Old Testament narrative including the Story of Job and the Life of Christ, as well as several other frescoes and artworks.
• The mosaic scheme of St Mark's Basilica in Venice covers the portals, porches, walls, vaults, domes and floors. There are also a Rood Screen and the Pala d'Oro, as well as reliquaries of every imaginable description.
• Chartres Cathedral contains an incomparable range of stained glass, including some of the earliest in situ in the world. It also has three richly carved Gothic portals of which the stylised 12th century figures of the western Royal Portal are the earliest.

• The western façade of Thann, Haut-Rhin's Collegiate church of Saint-Thiébaut features a particularly vast and ornate portal, whose multiple tympana, archivolts and surrounding statues depict 150 scenes from the Old and the New Testament with over 500 different figures.
• Canterbury Cathedral contains a greater number of early Gothic windows than any other English Cathedral. While the 19th century saw the removal of some of the glass to museums and private collections, with reproductions put in their place, much still remains, including the fragmentary Poor Man's Bible window (reproduced above).
• Isenheim Altarpiece by Matthias Grünewald (1506–1515) shows scenes of the birth, crucifixion and glory of Christ. The sick would be placed to sleep in front of the image of the crucified Christ, in the hope of healing. Different aspects of the altarpiece would be revealed in different seasons of the year. The church in which it is housed is now open as a museum.
• The Cathedral of Ghent contains the Ghent Altarpiece by Hubert and Jan van Eyck (1432). It is a Poor Man's Bible within itself, the various scenes representing the Fall of Man and the Salvation, with the Mystic Lamb of God and the enthroned Christ at its center.
• The church of San Zaccaria in Venice contains a series of huge oil paintings by many of Venice's best known painters, illustrating the story of St Zachariah was the father of John the Baptist, as told in the Gospel of Luke. The church also houses Giovanni Bellini's altarpiece of the Madonna and Child surrounded by Saints

• The windows of St Andrew's in Sydney make up one of the earliest complete schemes of English 19th century glass. It shows the Life of Jesus, the Miracles and the Parables. The set was completed and installed by Hardman of Birmingham for the consecration in 1868. A short walk away is St Mary's Catholic Cathedral with another cycle of Hardman windows dating from the 1880s to the 1930s.