Belshazzar’s feast 975

This is Ende’s illuminated manuscript of Belshazzar’s Feast, created around 975. The composition is structured by a strong architectural frame—striped semi-circular arch atop two vertical columns. This divides the scene into distinct registers, creating a clear hierarchy of space and meaning. Ende uses line and color to define forms, favoring symbolic representation over naturalistic depiction. The figures are stylized, flattened, and arranged in a way that emphasizes their symbolic roles rather than their physical presence. This deliberate distortion challenges conventional spatial logic, creating a world where symbolic meaning takes precedence. The limited palette of reds, blues, and yellows, applied with a deliberate lack of shading, underscores the artwork’s conceptual focus. The use of symmetry in the upper register is unsettled by the chaotic banquet scene below, heightening a sense of imbalance and unease, reminding us that art invites ongoing questioning and diverse interpretations.