Learning through Art: The Woman with the Haemorrhage

Fresco of woman with HaemorrhageThis fresco image is very simply drawn and easily passed over because of this simplicity. It is, however, worth pausing to look at the few details for these details illustrate extraordinary messages the Church has found in this event told in the Scriptures. This fresco can be seen in the catacombs of Sts Marcellinus and Peter in Rome, dating from the beginning of the fourth century. Catacomb art reveals truths about the faith of these earliest Christians that are valuable for us to consider. For example, much of the fresco art is found in the cubicles made for Christian family burials. The art, rather than indicating the identity of the family, frequently turns the viewer towards the message of Christ and his Church, so much so that the family name is unknown. It is as if fresco art were saying, ‘For you have died, and your life is hid with Christ in God’ (Col.3:3).