Iconography of St. Veronica – ideological aspects and functions of depictions

Abstract

The starting point for the analysis of medieval iconography of St. Veronica is her depiction (wall painting, 3rd quarter of the 15th century) in the Cathedral Basilica of St. John the Baptist and St. John the Evangelist in Toruń. The painting represents St. Veronica standing, holding the veil with the likeness of the face of Christ (Vera Icon); it can be found on the eastern wall of the southern nave, on the right of the presbytery. This article is an attempt to decode ideological aspects and functions of the painting in the context of the times and the circumstances of its creation: the religiosity of the inhabitants of Toruń in that period, as well as historical events. A classification and analysis of various iconographic types of St. Veronica in medieval depictions is presented. The article also indicates a group of depictions, as well as specific works of art, to which the wall painting refers. It was established that the author of the Toruń painting, out of a number of possible iconographic types of St. Veronica, chose the one that encompassed interlinked levels of religious meaning. Placed in a space accessible for the laity, the painting reflected religious and, to an extent, also political needs of the middle class of that period.