Heilige Simon en Lazarus 1824

Johann Nepomuk Strixner captured these saints with a somber, gray-toned lithograph. Simon and Lazarus are instantly recognizable, with Lazarus bearing the bishop’s mitre and crozier, symbols of ecclesiastical authority and pastoral care. The crozier, a staff topped with a crook, is not merely an emblem of office. Consider its earlier counterparts in ancient Greece or Rome—the shepherd’s crook, a symbol of care and guidance, but also of power. Here, it is transformed, imbued with the weight of Christian tradition. The mitre echoes this sentiment: from its origins as a simple head covering, it has become an ornate symbol of dignity and power. Think of the various headpieces worn by rulers and deities throughout history. These all tap into our collective understanding of authority and reverence. Such symbols are the signposts of our shared cultural memory, eliciting a response that is both conscious and deeply ingrained. We see not just objects, but echoes of centuries past, resurfacing, ever evolving.