Definitions
from The Century Dictionary.
- noun In decorative art, a space opening, panel, or the like, of an oval shape; also, a work of art filling such a space, as a bas-relief, or the like.
- noun Eccles., the vesica piscis.
Etymologies
from The American Heritage® Dictionary of the English Language, 4th Edition
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Examples
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The mandorla is an oval frame enclosing an important figure.
A Handbook of Symbols in Christian Art Gertrude Grace Sill 1975
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The mandorla is an oval frame enclosing an important figure.
A Handbook of Symbols in Christian Art Gertrude Grace Sill 1975
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Within the mandorla was a youth about fifteen years of age in the guise of an angel, girt round the middle with an iron, and secured by a bolt to the foot of the mandorla in a manner that he could not fall; and to the end that he might be able to kneel, the said iron was divided into three parts, whereof one part entered readily into another as he knelt.
Lives of the Most Eminent Painters Sculptors and Architects Vol. 02 (of 10), Berna to Michelozzo Michelozzi Giorgio Vasari 1542
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The original ornaments show in the middle of the back the Majestas Domini: in a square Christ in the mandorla, surrounded by the symbols of the four Evangelists, the letters Alpha and Omega, and slightly above Him, sol and luna.
Catholic Bamberg: The Vestments of Pope Clement II and Other Treasures from the Diocesan Museum 2009
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The usual background—that background music I was talking about that surrounds us like a great, full-body halo, a mandorla into which we extend ourselves—disappears.
In the Valley of the Shadow James L. Kugel 2011
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The usual background—that background music I was talking about that surrounds us like a great, full-body halo, a mandorla into which we extend ourselves—disappears.
In the Valley of the Shadow James L. Kugel 2011
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The usual background—that background music I was talking about that surrounds us like a great, full-body halo, a mandorla into which we extend ourselves—disappears.
In the Valley of the Shadow James L. Kugel 2011
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It shows the history of salvation through the Old and New Covenant in 40 medallions, in the centre again Christ in the mandorla:
Catholic Bamberg: The Vestments of Pope Clement II and Other Treasures from the Diocesan Museum 2009
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The lowest band, with the flattened Gothic canopies over Beuronese angels (abruptly terminated at the center), lacks the strength to support all this superstructure, while the empty mandorla at the center of the register puzzles me.
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The usual background—that background music I was talking about that surrounds us like a great, full-body halo, a mandorla into which we extend ourselves—disappears.
In the Valley of the Shadow James L. Kugel 2011
whichbe commented on the word mandorla
A gloriole or glory when it surrounds the entire figure of God, Christ, the Virgin Mary, or a saint with a large oval of radiant light. Mandorla is the Italian word for almond. When it surrounds the head only, it is called a halo or nimbus. It indicates divinity or holiness. (From ArtLex)
June 5, 2008