Page 238 - The Grotesque Children's Book

Aurelio: So we need to do two things. Figure out the clues pointing to Santi’s destination,
Tozzo: and find an image which symbolizes Christ’s Throne to see if Santi got there or not.
Aurelio:
Easy! I’ll start looking right now. What are the symbols for Christ’s throne?
Tozzo:
Aurelio: The cross, of course, or anything which makes a cross, like tree branches or folded
arms or, or like the old woman’s scarf we were just looking at. Her scarf folds
Tozzo: across her heart.
Aurelio:
Tozzo: A cross might represent Christ; I understand that. What else should I look for that
Aurelio: might also represent him?

Tozzo: A crown. Could be a garland, or a vine in the hair, or an actual crown. Or a fish.
Aurelio: Like I said, a fish of any kind could be Christ. Or a globe. Or a halo. A horn. A
Tozzo: ladder. A lamb. A lily. A mountain. A pelican. A phoenix. A salamander. A
Aurelio: rock. A rope. A scepter. A stone crushing a snake. A flourishing tree. A whip. A
Tozzo: thorn. A mandorla. A tetramorph.
Aurelio:
Tozzo: Now you’re just making up words.
Aurelio:
No, no. A mandorla is like a frame in the shape of a pointed oval shape, like an
almond, like a halo, only it goes around the entire holy figure.

(stifling a yawn) And a tetramorph?

That’s just a fancy name for a single image made up of four different elements.
Like a creature with a face of one animal, a body of another, and wings, and,
something else for feet, like vines or some unexpected thing for a tail.

You paint those all the time, Aurelio. They’re all over your ceilings.

Guilty.

So they’re all Christ?

Naw. Like you say, Christ hasn’t exactly answered any of my prayers. I just like
making weird creatures.

You should write a glossary, Aurelio.

A glossary. Of what?

A glossary of Symbols in art.

Who’d read it?

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