A Few Notes about Halos

Halos have long been a visual sign for those who "read" through images.  The halo designates goodness and divine presence, helping the viewer identify who's who in the picture.  Certain halo designs are restricted to particular people or individuals of a particular period.  A square halo, for example, was used by some artists to designate a "saint" who was alive at the point the work was created.

In the Connick windows at OSLC, we see three basic halo types, in three colors -- gold, white, and red, often in some combination within the same panel.  So far I don't see a clear pattern to the use of halo color -- it seems more to connect to the color needs of the panel.

The tri-radiant halo, symbolizing the Trinity, is a circle with three bars.  The bars may be red (illustrated below) or gold.  It's used only for representations of Jesus:

Most of the other individuals depicted with halos have a simple, circular white or yellow disc; this would include the holy family, angels, Jesus' followers, and those doing good works (the Good Samaritan in top right image below).  In the images below, also note Jesus' tri-radiant halo (red bars in infancy; gold bars in adulthood). 

However, a certain group of individuals depicted have strikingly different halos -- David, Samuel, Moses, and Elijah (the Sacristy Windows and Window 5b, the Transfiguration).  These individuals are all from the Old Testament, and their halos differentiate them accordingly.  

David's and Samuel's halos look like a red circle with white triangles or spikes:

Elijah and Moses have halos with a similar design but without the color.  In the image below, note the contrast in halos between the three apostles (Peter, James, John) on the left and the two Old Testament figures (Moses and Elijah) on the right, while Jesus has a tri-radiant halo:

(Left:  Image Medallion from Window 5b; Right: Close-up of Moses and Elijah)

At this point I do not have a name for this type of halo, except that it looks somewhat similar to the cusped octagonal halo identified by Daniel Mitsui as one developed by some artists in 15th century Spain and "used only for saints in the Old Testament."  

The image below, taken from "Adoration of the Magi" by Blasco de Grañén, shows three different halos, including Joseph (top left) with the cusped octagonal halo, Mary with a gold disc, and Christ with three crosses dividing his halo (a variation of the tri-radiant halo). Because Joseph died before the resurrection, he would be classed with those saints in the Old Testament who similarly waited for the resurrection to release them from Hell/Limbo.

A portion of
"Adoration of the Magi"
by  Blasco de Grañén

Obviously Joseph's halo doesn't look much like the Old Testament halos in the OSLC windows, but its cusps remind me of the white triangles/spikes in David/Samuel's halos, and the pattern that Mitsui identifies, of using this halo for saints who died prior to the resurrection, is the same pattern used by Connick in the OSLC windows. 

More information would be welcome--I hope you will contact me if you have knowledge to share on this topic!