APOSTLES

Apostles: translation

The wordapostlesstems from the Greekapostellosand stands forto send forth. It refers to the 12 disciples of Christ who were charged with the mission to spread his word throughout the world. There are four biblical sources that give the names of the apostles:Matthew10: 1-5, Mark 3:16,Luke6:14, and the Book of Acts 1:13. These men arePeter, his brother Andrew, James, James' brotherJohn, Philip, Bartholomew, Thomas, Matthew, James the son of Alphaeus, Thaddaeus (also called Judas, the brother of James), Simon, and Judas Iscariot. After Judas betrayed Christ, he was replaced by Matthias (Acts 1:21), and laterPaulalso became part of the group. Of these men, Peter, Andrew, Philip, Bartholomew, Thaddeus, and Simon were crucified. James was killed by a sword, Matthew by a halberd, and Thomas by a spear. James the son of Alphaeus and Matthias were stoned to death, Paul was beheaded, Judas Iscariot hung himself, and John is believed to have died of natural causes. TheCrucifixionof St.Peterwas rendered byMichelangeloin the Pauline Chapel at the Vatican (1542-1550) andCaravaggioin theCerasi Chapelat Santa Maria del Popolo,Rome(1600).St.James Led to His Executionby sword is one of the scenesAndrea Mantegnaincluded in the Ovetari Chapel at the Church of the Eremitani, Padua, in 1454-1457. The calling of the apostles by Christ was also a common subject in art, asDomenico del Ghirlandaio'sCalling of Sts.Peter and Andrewin theSistine Chapel, Rome (1482), and Caravaggio'sCalling of St.Matthewin theContarelli Chapelat San Luigi dei Francesi, Rome (1599-1600), show.The apostles were present at theLast Supper, as depicted byAndrea del Castagno(1447) in therefectory of Sant' Apollonia, and atPentecostwhen they began to speak in foreign tongues, asEl Grecoportrayed them in c. 1608-1610 (Madrid, Prado). The apostles witnessed theDormitionandAssumptionof theVirgin, withHugo van der Goes(c. 1481; Bruges, Groeninge-museum) andTitian(1516-1518;Venice, Santa Maria dei Frari) depicting each scene respectively. Peter, James, and John were present at theAgony in the Gardenas Mantegna (mid-1450s) andGiovanni Bellini(c. 1460, both London, National Gallery) represented them. Thomas doubted Christ'sResurrection, so Christ showed him his wounds from the Crucifixion, a sceneVerrocchiopresented in his sculpture of c. 1465-1483 for one of the niches ofOrsanmichele, Florence. Finally, John is the author of the Book of Revelations, the last book in the Bible, which provided much inspiration to artists; for example,Hans Memlincpainted theapocalypticVision of St.John on Patmos(1479; Bruges, Hospital of St. John) as one of the side panels to theAltarpieceof theVirginand Angels.