Daniel in the Lions' Den
12th century
Capital of an engaged column
Old Cathedral, Salamanca
As usual Daniel is depicted as a beardless youth, but in other respects the image breaks from the usual iconography by showing us Daniel in Heaven. Unlike the naked Daniel who stands orant among the lions in paleo-Christian images, this Daniel sits fully dressed on a throne above the viewer, flanked by winged lions who serve more as expressions of his authority than as adversaries. His head-dress and trousers remind the viewer that he was indeed an authority figure, in the court of the eastern king Nebuchadnezzar. These aspects of the iconography arise from the Christian interpretation of Daniel as a
type
an Old Testament figure, event, or object by whose characterics one can foresee the characteristics of a New Testament figure, event, or object
of Christ. But at the same time his palms-out gesture echoes that of the Virgin Annunciate in Romanesque images of the Annunciation. In his faithfulness even unto death among the lions he is like Mary, who declared herself a "handmaid of the Lord," and like Christ, who "emptied himself, taking the form of a servant…obedient unto death," and this is why "God also hath exalted him" and enthroned him among the prophets and patriarchs in Heaven. (See Luke 1:38, Philippians 2:7-9).
Examine the side view and the front view in full resolution.
Read more about Daniel.
Photographed at the cathedral by Richard Stracke, shared under Attribution-NonCommercial-ShareAlike license.