Forty-sixth Pope: Hilarius - 1 comments

Hilarius, I have to say, has a great name, and some really cool manuscript portraits to draw from. Way to go, Mr. Pope.

Forty-fifth Pope: Leo I - 0 comments

Leo the First's portrait actually spelled "LEO MAGNUS" out in mosaic tiles.

Forty-fourth Pope: Sixtus III - 1 comments

I'm really liking the Sixtuses; they've got really evocative portraits to draw from. Sixtus III was responsible for building quite a few nice churches and monuments in Rome, including some major fund-raising for St. Peter's.

Forty-third Pope: Celestine I - 0 comments

Celestine sent St. Patrick to Ireland as a missionary. Does that make him somehow responsible for green beer?

Forty-second Pope: Boniface I - 3 comments

Boniface I began his papacy at the same time as his anti-pope, Eulialius. He lived at the same time as St. Ausgustine, and fought against the Pelagian heresy. His neck was probably not this wide in real life, however.

Forty-first Pope: Zosima - 1 comments

Zosima's portrait is a bit like a subway map of himself; all parallel lines and controlled angles.

Fortieth Pope: Innocent I - 1 comments

What you see here is the beginning of a trend. Or is it a mystery? The Innocents do not very innocent. In fact, I think they look decidedly Guilty.

Thirty-ninth Pope: Anastasius - 0 comments

Anastasius had a very large face.

Thirty-eighth Pope: Siricius - 0 comments

The image I found of Siricius was a very cracked mosaic.

Thirty-seventh Pope: Damasus I - 2 comments

Damasus I is one of my favorite Popes yet. How about that hat, ladies & gentlemen? And not every Pope can look so cool with a square beard.

Thirty-sixth Pope: Liberius - 0 comments

Liberius came to power after Antipope Felix was deposed.

Thirty-fifth Pope: Julius I - 0 comments

Julius I was pope from 337 to 352.

Thirty-fourth Pope: Mark - 0 comments

Why does Pope Mark look like Coca Cola's version of Santa Claus? I don't know, really. But I have a couple of theories:

1. I'm starting on the popes that oversaw the fall of the roman empire, and after that the 'dark ages.' The portraits that are available for me to draw from are getting pretty spares, and often I'm working from a small, blurry image of a mosaic. I end up making a few of the facial details up, or at least inferring them from the mosaic work.

2. Or maybe I'm just feeling the late fall chill - which in Hong Kong is 70 degrees at night. Brr!

Thirty-third Pope: Sylvester I - 0 comments

Sylvester was known as Constantine's Pope. Yes, that Constantine, who converted on a battlefield and effectively legalized Christianity.

This blind contour was worth a 2-page spread in the sketchbook. That's Sylvester on the left, blessing the battle-hardened Constantine on the right. Followers of both men look on from behind, with dubious looks on ther faces, as if they're not sure how this whole church-state thing is going to work out.

Thirty-second Pope: Miltiades - 0 comments

Miltiades had really good hair, as far as popes go.

Thirty-first Pope: Eusebius - 1 comments

Eusebius lays down the law.

Thirtieth Pope: Marcellus - 0 comments

Twenty-Ninth Pope: Marcellinus - 0 comments

Twenty-eighth Pope: Caius - 0 comments

Caius has a serious robe.

Twenty-seventh Pope: Eutychian - 0 comments

Eutychian's burial place is somewhat famous - he was buried in the Crypt of Callixtus.

Twenty-sixth Pope: Felix I - 0 comments

Felix I set down the laws regarding consecration of churches. Neat.

Twenty-fifth Pope: Dionysius - 1 comments

from a stained glass!

Double Dose! Twenty-fourth Pope: Sixtus II - 1 comments

OK, so the portrait of Sixtus II that I drew from was so compelling, I had to draw him twice.



and



Sixtus II was one of the first martyrs of the Valerian persecutions, also beheaded.

Twenty-third Pope: Stephen I - 2 comments

Stephen I is traditionally a martyr, although with a name like that, he probably saw it coming.

Twenty-second Pope: Lucius I - 0 comments

Another short term pope - this time only eight months. The papacy was a tough position at the time, because Christians were still being actively persecuted by the Roman Empire.

Twenty-first Pope: Cornelius - 0 comments

Cornelius was opposed by the anti-pope Novatian. I think he looks a little too jaunty here, with his hunting horn and his big grin, to be too concerned.

Twentieth Pope: Fabian - 1 comments

Fabian was chosen to be Pope when a crowd of Christians gathered in Rome after the death of Anterus. A dove landed on his head, which effectively ended the discussion.

Nineteenth Pope: Anterus - 1 comments

Anterus held the papacy for only one month and ten days! Then he died.

Eighteenth Pope: Pontian - 6 comments

Despite what my drawing implies, Pontian was not a dwarf king. Seriously. Don't believe the rumors.

Seventeenth Pope: Urban I - 0 comments

The patronage of St. Urban (the first) is invoked against storms and lightning - or so says Wikipedia.

Sixteenth Pope: Callixtus I - 0 comments

Callixtus reigned for five years, and then was martyred in a 'popular uprising.' Traditionally, he was thrown down a well!