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mandorla

noun
  1. (in painting, sculpture, etc) an almond-shaped area of light, usually surrounding the resurrected Christ or the Virgin at the AssumptionAlso called: vesica
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Word Origin

from Italian, literally: almond, from Late Latin amandula; see almond
Collins English Dictionary - Complete & Unabridged 2012 Digital Edition © William Collins Sons & Co. Ltd. 1979, 1986 © HarperCollins Publishers 1998, 2000, 2003, 2005, 2006, 2007, 2009, 2012

Examples from the Web for mandorla

Historical Examples

  • Over her head is a Trinity, in a mandorla surrounded by cherubs.

    Luca Signorelli

    Maud Cruttwell

  • This represents the Eternal Father within a mandorla of cherubs.

  • The mandorla recalls the altar-pieces of Borgo and of Lyons.

  • Finally, Donatello made two busts of prophets for the Mandorla door.

    Donatello

    David Lindsay, Earl of Crawford

  • The groups of angel musicians around the mandorla in the "Assumption" and two "Ascensions" are practically identical.