Getty Museum

The Lamb on Mount Sion

Date

about 1255–1260

Medium

Tempera colors, gold leaf, colored washes, pen and ink

Culture

English

Department

Manuscripts

Institution

Getty Museum

After seeing the beasts, Saint John has a vision of the lamb: "And I saw, and behold a lamb stood on Mount Sion," accompanied by 144,000 who bear "his name and the name of his father written on their foreheads." (Apocalypse 14:1) The lamb was understood by medieval commentators to signify Jesus, the same lamb who was able to open the book at the beginning of the Apocalypse. Although the text does not specify that the 144,000 were also lambs, the illuminator represented them in this manner. Clearly, the peaceful lamb and his followers, marked with Jesus' name, were meant to contrast with the two ferocious beasts from the previous chapter and their followers, who also bore a sign on their foreheads.

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