Vesica Piscis (of Glanstonbury)

About the artwork

“Vesica Piscis” (of Glanstonbury), oil painting with pallet knife on linen canvas 73/54 cm. Glastonbury is notable for myths and legends concerning Joseph of Arimathea, the Holy Grail and King Arthur. After the crucifixion of Jesus, Joseph of Arimathea came to Britain, bearing the Holy Grail. When Joseph landed on the island of Avalon, he set foot just below the Tor. Exhausted, he thrust his staff into the ground, and rested. By morning, his staff had taken root - leaving a strange oriental thorn bush-the sacred Glastonbury Thorn. For safe keeping, Joseph is said to have buried the Holy Grail just below the Tor at the entrance to the Underworld. Shortly after he had done this, a spring, now know as Chalice Well, flowed forth and the water that emerged brought eternal youth to whosoever would drink it. In addition to the legends associated with Glastonbury, the Well is often portrayed as a symbol of the female aspect of deity, with the male symbolized by Glastonbury Tor. The vesica design for the well cover was "typical of many early diagrams, rendering of spiritual truth by means of the purest, most intellectual system of imagery conceived by the mind...” The two interlocking circles is the symbol known as the Vesica Piscis.