The subtleties of a painting
In the sacristy of the monastery of St. Anthony of Padua in Izamal hangs a splendid oil painting depicting friar John Duns Scotus, a Franciscan friar born in Edinburgh in 1266, and considered one of the greatest theologians and philosophers of the Middle Ages. A large part of his theological opus was devoted to defending the dogma of the Immaculate Conception, which led to him being called a “Marian doctor”.
Friar John Duns was beatified by Pope John Paul II in 1993, and his liturgical feast is celebrated on the 8th November. However, his memory and ideas have been venerated among the order of St. Francis for centuries. Evidence for this is the painting in question, hanging in the monastery in Izamal. The painter is unknown, although it was possibly done in the mid-18th century.
The picture has a remarkably rich symbolic content. The Blessed John is depicted full-length, wearing a Franciscan habit, with a thick cord around his waist. In his right hand he holds a quill which is poised above a desk on which we see ink wells, an academic cap with tassels denoting a doctor in Theology, and an open book in which we read the Latin phrase “Potuit, decuit, ergo fecit” which translates as “He was able, it was fitting, so he did it”, referring to God’s role in the mystery of the Immaculate Conception. In his left hand, the theologian holds what appears to be a statue of the Virgin Mary, represented with the costume and features associated with her advocation as the Immaculate Conception.
At the top of the painting are two Franciscan crests and a Latin inscription which, translated, reads “A true portrait of the Subtle Doctor”, a title by which John Duns has been known since Mediaeval times, in recognition of his great wisdom.
Among the more interesting details of this picture are some which might surprise the viewer: the Blessed rests his feet, shod in simple sandals, on a fantastic wild beast and five male heads. They represent the Serpent of the Apocalypse, and the faces of five major philosophers who headed heretical movements, opposed to church dogma, but who were defeated by the thinking of Catholic theologians such as the “Subtle Doctor” John Duns Scotus.
This jewel of Yucatecan sacred art is remarkable not only for its artistic merit, but also for its allegorical meaning, and is unique in the region. Access to the sacristy where it hangs is restricted, and so the piece is not open to the general public.