Saint John on Pathmos

Folio 17r from Les Très Riches Heures du Duc de Berry. This page shows the apostle John, banned to the island Pathmos, where he is said to have received his Revelation.

John is portrayed at the exact moment described in (Rev. 1:10) ‘I was in the Spirit on the Lord's day, and I heard behind me a loud voice, like a trumpet.’

John is often pictured with the tribute of an eagle, as in this book of hours. Above, God, with on his lap, the lamb of God, symbol of Jesus Christ. He is flanked by two rows of elders.

In the background the rowing boat with which John is taken to the island. He is returning to the inhabited world.

The texts, with their fine initials, read: "Inicium sancti evangelii secundum johanne" (first words of the sacred Gospel according to John) en "In principio erat verbum et verbum erat apud deum" (in the beginning was the word and the word was with God).