06 Works, Today, April 29th, is Pope Pius V's day, With Footnotes - #120

Bartolomeo Letterini

Santi Giovanni e Paolo in Venice. Chapel of Pius V

Table altarpiece Pius V 

Santi Giovanni e Paolo, Venice

Bartolomeo Litterini was tactive in the workshop of his father Agostino in San Canciano (Venice). A craft enterprise mainly engaged in the production of devotional works, altarpieces and canvases for the churches of Venice and the Veneto region.
Bartholomew had an introverted character, dominated by the paternal personality and wishes of the clients. The shop was his world. He did not marry.
He hardly ever left Venice, closing his days at almost eighty years "troubled by the sore nerves".
Non-front row painter, he still tried to be present in the culture of his century.
His the first period was "dark", strong dramatic content and a dense naturalism that marked the production for the churches of the Val Seriana, which brought Litterini into contact with the renowned sculptor of Rovetta Andrea Fantoni.

The litterian inspiration then gave way to a lighter and brighter colorism (in the footsteps of Sebastiano Ricci, Pellegrini, Amiconi), to a quieter compositional atmosphere, to a realism in the recovery of the figures that somehow resumed the Veronesian lesson. More on Bartolomeo Litterini

Pope Pius V (17 January 1504 – 1 May 1572), born Antonio Ghislieri, was head of the Catholic Church and ruler of the Papal States from 8 January 1566 to his death in 1572. He is venerated as a saint of the Catholic Church. He is chiefly notable for his role in the Council of Trent, the Counter-Reformation, and the standardization of the Roman Rite within the Latin Church. 

Luis Muñoz Lafuente, (1756–1838) 

Santo Tomás de Aquino, c. 1795

Oil on canvas

Museum of Huesca 

Luis Muñoz Lafuente ( Huesca , 1756-1838) was a Spanish painter and sculptor, a disciple of Fray Manuel Bayeu according to the handwritten annotation that appears in his portrait, drawn by Valentín Carderera.

Lafuente worked for the cathedrals of Huesca and Jaca and especially for Sertoriana University.

In 1798 he received the title of painter and sculptor from the Royal Academy of Fine Arts of San Luis de Zaragoza for an oil on the theme of Lot's drunkenness and a relief depicting Minerva presenting Sertorio with the plans of the University of Huesca. More on Luis Muñoz Lafuente

Pius V declared Thomas Aquinas a Doctor of the Church.

As a cardinal, Ghislieri gained a reputation for putting orthodoxy before personalities, prosecuting eight French bishops for heresy. He also stood firm against nepotism, rebuking his predecessor Pope Pius IV to his face when he wanted to make a 13-year-old member of his family a cardinal and subsidize a nephew from the papal treasury.

George Gower  (1540–1596)

Plimpton Sieve Portrait of Queen Elizabeth I, c. 1579

Oil on panel

Height: 104.4 cm (41.1 in); Width: 76.2 cm (30 in)

Folger Shakespeare Library

Elizabeth I, Queen of England, depicted with a sieve in her left hand. The sieve alludes to the myth of Tuccia, a roman Vestal Virgin who proved her virginity by carrying water with a sieve.  It was acquired by George Arthur Plimpton in 1930, hence the name.

George Gower (c.1540–1596) was an English portrait painter who became Serjeant Painter to Queen Elizabeth I in 1581. He was a grandson of Sir John Gower of Stittenham, Yorkshire.

His earliest documented works are the two 1573 companion portraits of Sir Thomas Kytson and his wife Lady Kytson, now in the Tate Gallery in London.

Gower is also famous for painting the Plimpton "Sieve" Portrait of Queen Elizabeth in 1579, now at the Folger Shakespeare Library. The sieve that Elizabeth carries signifies the Roman vestal virgin Tuccia, who carried water in a sieve to prove to her chastity, thus representing Elizabeth's status as a virgin queen. The globe over her right shoulder symbolizes her position as the leader of global empire.

Gower was appointed to the position of Serjeant Painter to Queen Elizabeth in 1581. This allowed him to paint most of England’s aristocracy. The post also made him responsible for painted decoration at the royal residences, and on coaches and furniture. Among his works were a fountain and the astronomical clock, both at Hampton Court Palace. He also inspected portraits of the Queen by other artists prior to their official release. More on George Gower

By means of the papal bull of 1570, Regnans in Excelsis, Pius V excommunicated Elizabeth I of England for heresy and persecution of English Catholics during her reign.

Andries van Eertvelt, (1590–1652)

The Battle of Lepanto of 1571, c. 1640

Oil on canvas

88.7 by 169 cm.

Private collection

The Battle of Lepanto  took place on 7 October 1571 in the Gulf of Patras, off western Greece, and was perhaps the most significant sea battle in European history. It was fought between the forces of the Ottoman Empire, under Uluç Ali Pasha and those of the Christian Holy League (a coalition between Venice, the Papacy, Spain, the Republic of Genoa, the Knights of Malta and others) under John of Austria, at a time of growing Ottoman expansion in the west. The victory at Lepanto was landmark in the history of western Christendom, for at one stroke it stemmed Ottoman expansion in the Mediterranean and prevented their influence from spreading west. The battle lasted for 5 hours and involved more than 400 galleys, a dozen galleasses (covert galleys with artillery) and over 60,000 fighting men, an unprecedented array of forces for its time. More on The Battle of Lepanto

Circle of Andries van Eertvelt  (1590–1652)

The Battle of Lepanto, c.1622

Oil on copper

Height: 44.4 cm (17.4 in); Width: 70.8 cm (27.8 in)

Museum voor Schonen Kunsten, Ghent

Andries van Eertvelt (1590, Antwerp – 1652, Antwerp), was a Flemish painter, draughtsman and engraver who was one of the first Flemish artists to specialize in marine art. Andries was born in Antwerp and baptized in the Antwerp cathedral on 25 March 1590. He was registered as a master in the Antwerp Guild of St. Luke in 1609. After the death of his wife he travelled together with one of his pupils, Matthieu van Plattenberg, to Italy. Van Eertvelt is documented in Genoa from 1628–1630, where he lived with his compatriot Cornelis de Wael, who also practiced marine art, in particular the depiction of sea battles. Cornelis de Wael was a long-term resident of Genoa and arranged work for van Eervelt during his stay there.

Van Eertvelt had a very successful career as a marine artists and some of his works were exported to markets in Spain and Portugal. He also had an eager clientele in the Dutch Republic. Van Eertvelt also appears to have engaged in diplomatic activity. He took some letters relating to a possible peace treaty between Spain and the Dutch Republic from Balthazar Gerbier, an Anglo-Dutch diplomat residing in Antwerp, to Constantijn Huygens, the secretary to the Prince of Orange, in the Dutch Republic. More on Andries van Eertvelt 

He also arranged the formation of the Holy League, an alliance of Catholic states to combat the advancement of the Ottoman Empire in Eastern Europe. Although outnumbered, the Holy League famously defeated the Ottomans at the Battle of Lepanto in 1571. 

Fr. George W. Rutler

Battle of Lepanto and Our Lady of Victory

Pius V attributed the victory to the intercession of the Blessed Virgin Mary and instituted the feast of Our Lady of Victory. More on Saint Pius

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05 Works, Today, April 29th, is Saint Endelienta's day, With Footnotes - #119

Unknown artist

Endelienta of Cornwall Icon

Saint Endelienta was a Cornish saint of the 5th and 6th century. She is believed to be a daughter of the Welsh King Brychan, and a native of South Wales who travelled to North Cornwall to join her siblings in converting the locals to Christianity. 

Unknown artist

Stained glass window showing Brychan; saint and king of Wales; at Brecon church

Legend says that she was a goddaughter of King Arthur, and that she lived as a hermit at Trentinney where she subsisted on the milk of a cow. The saint is commemorated in the church and village of St Endellion which bear her name.

Tradition makes her a daughter of King Brychan, of Brycheiniog in South Wales. The village of Saint Endellion in Cornwall, named after her, is from where she is said to have evangelized the local population. Two former wells near the village were named after her.

Unknown artist

Saint Endelienta crossing the Bristol Channel 

The saint is believed to have been a native of South Wales who crossed the Bristol Channel to join her siblings in converting the people of North Cornwall to Christianity. She subsequently moved on to the mainland where she stayed with her brother, Saint Nectan, at Hartland, before eventually choosing to settle at Trentinney, south-west of the present day village of St Endellion.

St Nectan

She lived at Trentinney as a hermit, where legend says that she subsisted solely on the milk of a cow, and the water from two nearby wells. Her sister, St Dilic settled nearby and the two would often meet along a certain path whose grass would ever afterwards grow greener than elsewhere.

N. C. Wyeth, (1882–1945)

Title page of The Boy's King Arthur, c. 1922

Newell Convers Wyeth (October 22, 1882 – October 19, 1945), known as N. C. Wyeth, was an American artist and illustrator. During his lifetime, Wyeth created over 3,000 paintings and illustrated 112 books, 25 of them for Scribner's, the Scribner Classics, which is the work for which he is best known. The first of these, Treasure Island, was one of his masterpieces and the proceeds paid for his studio. Wyeth was a realist painter just as the camera and photography began to compete with his craft. Sometimes seen as melodramatic, his illustrations were designed to be understood quickly. He is notably the father of painter Andrew Wyeth and the grandfather of Jamie Wyeth, both celebrated American painters. More on Newell Convers Wyeth

The cow was killed by the Lord of Trentinney after straying onto his land. He in turn is said to have been killed by Endelienta's Godfather, reputed to be King Arthur, after Arthur was angered by the deed and sent his men to exact revenge. However, Endelienta was said to be unhappy that Trentinney had been killed in her name, and restored the nobleman back to life.

Unknown artist

The Collegiate Church of St Endellion

She is thought to have died on 29 April some time in the 6th century, and possibly at the hands of Saxon pirates. She was buried at the top of a hill, and a church built over her grave. The present church at St Endellion stands on that site. More on Saint Endelienta

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05 Works, Today, April 28th, is Saint Theodora of Alexandria's day, With Footnotes - #118

Unknown artist
St. Theodora of Alexandria
Museo del Prado

St. Theodora of Alexandria and her husband lived in Alexandria. Love and harmony ruled in their family. A certain rich man was captivated by the youthful beauty of Theodora and attempted to lead her into adultery, but was initially unsuccessful. He then bribed a woman of loose morals, who led the unassuming Theodora astray by saying that a secret sin, which the sun does not see, is also unknown to God.

Theodora betrayed her husband, but soon came to her senses and realizing the seriousness of her fall, she became furious with herself, slapping herself on the face and tearing at her hair. 

Francisco de Zurbarán, (1598–1664)

Desert Mothers

St. Hieronymus with St. Paula Romana and her daughter, St. Eustochium , c. from 1638 until 1640

Oil on canvas

Height: 247 cm (97.2 in); Width: 174 cm (68.5 in)

National Gallery of Art 

Francisco de Zurbarán (baptized November 7, 1598 – August 27, 1664) was a Spanish painter. He is known primarily for his religious paintings depicting monks, nuns, and martyrs, and for his still-lifes. Zurbarán gained the nickname Spanish Caravaggio, owing to the forceful, realistic use of chiaroscuro in which he excelled. More on Francisco de Zurbarán

Her conscience gave her no peace, and she went to a renowned abbess and confessed her transgression. Seeing the young woman’s repentance, the abbess spoke to her of God's forgiveness and reminded her of the sinful woman in the Gospel who washed the feet of Christ with her tears and received from Him forgiveness. 

James Tissot, (1836–1902)

The Ointment of the Magdalene, between 1886 and 1894

Gouache over graphite on gray wove paper

Height: 22.2 cm (8.7 in); Width: 27.8 cm (10.9 in)

Brooklyn Museum 

Jacques Joseph Tissot (15 October 1836 – 8 August 1902), Anglicized as James Tissot, was a French painter and illustrator. He was a successful painter of Paris society before moving to London in 1871. He became famous as a genre painter of fashionably dressed women shown in various scenes of everyday life. He also painted scenes and characters from the Bible. More on James Tissot

St. Theodora resolved to go off to a monastery to purify herself by labor and by prayer. She left her home secretly, and dressing herself in men's clothes, she went to a men's monastery, since she feared that her husband would find her in a community of women.

Theodora of Alexandria

Miniature Minology of Basil II. Constantinople, c. 985

Vatican Library. Rome

In order to test the newcomer, the monastery’s abbot would not permit her to enter. St. Theodora spent the night at the gates. In the morning, she fell down at the knees of the abbot telling him her name was Theodore from Alexandria, and entreated him to let her remain at the monastery for repentance and monastic labors. Seeing the sincere intent of the newcomer, the abbot consented. Even the experienced monks were amazed at Theodora's all-night prayers on bended knee, her humility, endurance and self-denial. The saint labored at the monastery for eight years. Her body, once defiled by adultery, now became a vessel of the grace of God and a receptacle of the Holy Spirit.

While on a journey to buy provisions, Theodora was instructed by her abbot to stay at the Enata Monastery if there was cause for delay. There was also a young woman staying at the guest house of this same monastery. She tried to seduce St. Theodora, not realizing the monk before her was a woman. Discouraged that she had been rejected, the girl undertook a liaison with another guest and became pregnant. Ultimately, the father of this shameless girl began to question his daughter about the father of the child. The girl told him the father was the Monk Theodore, which was immediately reported to the abbot of St. Theodora’s monastery. Upon being confronted, St. Theodora replied, "As God is my witness, I did not do this." Knowing of Theodore's purity and holiness of life, the abbot did not believe the accusation. 

When the infant was born, the monks brought the infant to the monastery where St. Theodora lived and reproached all of their monastics for leading an unchaste life. The abbot became angry at the innocent Theodore and entrusted the infant into the care of the saint, throwing her out of the monastery in disgrace. The saint humbly submitted to this new trial, seeing in it the expiation of her former sin. She settled with the child not far from the monastery in a hut. Shepherds, out of pity, gave her milk for the infant, and the saint herself ate only wild vegetables.

Bearing her misfortune, St. Theodora spent seven years in banishment. Finally, at the request of the monks, the abbot allowed her to return to the monastery with the infant, and in seclusion she spent two years instructing the child. The abbot of the monastery received a revelation from God that the sin of the monk Theodore was forgiven. The grace of God dwelt upon the monk Theodore, and soon all the monks began to witness the signs worked through the prayers of the saint.

Before her death, St Theodora shut herself in her cell with the child and instructed him to love God above all things.. After this, she prayed and, for the last time, she asked the Lord to forgive her sins. The child also prayed together with her. Soon the words of prayer faded from the lips of St. Theodora, and she peacefully departed to a better world.

The Lord revealed to the abbot the spiritual accomplishments of the saint, and also her secret. The abbot, in order to remove any dishonor told of his vision and uncovered the bosom of the saint as proof. The monastics shrank back in terror. Falling down before the body of the saint, with tears they asked forgiveness of St. Theodora. News of St. Theodora’s death reached her former husband, and he received monastic tonsure at this same monastery where his wife had lived. The child also followed in the footsteps of his foster-mother. Afterwards, he became abbot of this very monastery. More on St. Theodora of Alexandria

The Only Orthodox Church Dedicated to Saint Theodora of Alexandria

Pieria, Macedonia, Greece

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07 Works, Today, April 27th, is Simeon of Jerusalem's day, With Footnotes - #117

Unknown artist
Saint Simeon

Simeon of Jerusalem was a Jewish Christian leader and according to most Christian traditions the second Bishop of Jerusalem; from 62 or 70 to 107AD

Unknown artist

Saint James of Jerusalem, Brother of Our Lord Jesus Christ and Martyr, c. 62

According to tradition the first bishop of Jerusalem was James the Just, the "brother of the Lord". He was appointed bishop by the Apostles Peter, St. James and John. 

The is no doubt Simeon  was one of those brethren of Christ who are mentioned in the Acts of the Apostles as having received the Holy Spirit on the day of Pentecost. 

Rembrandt  (1606-1669)

Simeon and Hanna in the temple, date1627

Oil on oak

Height: 56 cm; Width: 44 cm

Hamburger Kunsthalle

Rembrandt Harmenszoon van Rijn (15 July 1606 – 4 October 1669) was a Dutch painter and etcher. He is generally considered one of the greatest painters and printmakers in European art and the most important in Dutch history. His contributions to art came in a period of great wealth and cultural achievement that historians call the Dutch Golden Age when Dutch Golden Age painting dominated Europe, was extremely prolific and innovative, and gave rise to important new genres in painting.

Having achieved youthful success as a portrait painter, Rembrandt's later years were marked by personal tragedy and financial hardships. Yet his etchings and paintings were popular throughout his lifetime, his reputation as an artist remained high, and for twenty years he taught many important Dutch painters. His self-portraits form a unique and intimate biography, in which the artist surveyed himself without vanity and with the utmost sincerity.

In his paintings and prints he exhibited knowledge of classical iconography, which he molded to fit the requirements of his own experience; thus, the depiction of a biblical scene was informed by Rembrandt's knowledge of the specific text, his assimilation of classical composition, and his observations of Amsterdam's Jewish population. Because of his empathy for the human condition, he has been called "one of the great prophets of civilization. More on Rembrandt

Simeon was the "just and devout" man of Jerusalem who, according to Luke 2:25–35, met Mary, Joseph, and Jesus as they entered the Temple to fulfill the requirements of the Law of Moses on the 40th day from Jesus' birth at the presentation of Jesus at the Temple.

Unknown artist
When the Jews massacred St. James

St. Epiphanius says that when the Jews massacred St. James the Lesser, his brother Simeon upbraided them for their cruelty. The apostles and disciples afterwards met together to appoint a successor to James as bishop of Jerusalem, and they unanimously chose Simeon, who had probably assisted his brother in the government of that church. 

In the year 66 civil war broke out in Palestine, as a consequence of Jewish opposition to the Romans. The Christians in Jerusalem were warned of the impending destruction of the city and appear to have been divinely ordered to leave it. 

Unknown artist

Vespasian leading his forces against the Jewish revolt, c. 1470

Accordingly that same year, before Vespasian entered Judaea, they retired with St. Simeon at their head to the other side of the Jordan, occupying a small city called Pella. After the capture and burning of Jerusalem, the Christians returned and settled among the ruins until the Emperor Hadrian afterwards entirely razed it. We are told by St. Epiphanius and by Eusebius that the church here flourished greatly, and that many Jews were converted by the miracles wrought by the saints.

Francesco Hayez  (1791–1882)

The destruction of the temple of Jerusalem, c. 1867

Oil on canvas

Height: 183 cm (72 in); Width: 252 cm (99.2 in)

Gallerie dell'Accademia, Venice

Francesco Hayez (10 February 1791 – 21 December 1882) was an Italian painter, the leading artist of Romanticism in mid-19th-century Milan, renowned for his grand historical paintings, political allegories and exceptionally fine portraits.

Hayez came from a relatively poor family from Venice. He was brought up by his mother's sister, who had married a well-off shipowner and collector of art. From childhood he showed a predisposition for drawing, so his uncle apprenticed him to an art restorer. Later he became a student of the painter Francesco Maggiotto with whom he continued his studies for three years. He was admitted to the painting course of the New Academy of Fine Arts in 1806. In 1809 he won a competition from the Academy of Venice for one year of study at the Accademia di San Luca in Rome. He remained in Rome until 1814, then moved to Naples where he was commissioned by Joachim Murat to paint a major work depicting Ulysses at the court of Alcinous. In the mid-1830s he attended the "Salotto Maffei" salon in Milan.

Francesco Hayez lived long and was prolific. His output spanned both historic paintings, and Neoclassic style grand themes, either from biblical or classical literature. He also painted scenes from theatrical presentations of his day.  More Francesco Hayez

When Vespasian and Domitian had ordered the destruction of all who were of the race of David, St. Simeon had escaped their search; but when Trajan gave a similar injunction, he was denounced as being not only one of David's descendants but also a Christian, and he was brought before Atticus, the Roman governor. 

Unknown artist

St. Simeon was crucified

St. Simeon  was condemned to death and, after being tortured, was crucified. Although he was extremely old - tradition reports him to have attained the age of 120 - Simeon endured his sufferings with a degree of fortitude which roused the admiration of Atticus himself. More on Simeon of Jerusalem

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05 Works, Today, April 26th, is Saint Alda Gambara's day, With Footnotes - #116

Altobello Melone

Portrait of Alda Gambara, c. 1515 - 1516

Oil on panel

60 x 50 cm 

Pinacoteca di Brera, Milan

Altobello Melone (c. 1490–1491 – before 3 May 1543) was an Italian painter of the Renaissance. His work merges Lombard and Mannerist styles. He was commissioned in December 1516 to fresco the Cathedral of Cremona, work which continued till 1518. His contract required that his frescoes be more beautiful than his predecessor, Boccaccio Boccaccino. He worked alongside Giovanni Francesco Bembo and Paolo da Drizzona.[

Melone contributed frescoes to the Cathedral of Cremona in 1516. The Lamentation in the Brera comes in all probability from the church of Saint Lorenzo in Brescia and dated 1512. The stylistic convergence with Romanino is particularly obvious, such that the contemporary Venetian Marcantonio Michiel describes the Cremonese painter as a disciple of Armanin.


Moreover, in his masterpiece frescoes, Melone aims to be an interpreter of the anticlassicismo and "expressionist" language emerging in the work of Romanino. The seven scenes realized by Altobello evince a new forcefulness – Massacre of the Innocents is emblematic and manifest in the gestures and in the grotesque transformation of the faces. More on Altobello Melone

Saint Alda, (c. 1249 – c. 1309), was born in Siena, the daughter of the noble Pedro Francisco Ponzi and Inês Bulgarini, whom God had shown in a dream that he had chosen the child for Himself.

After being carefully educated and instructed, she was given as a wife to a man “virtutibus ornatissimus” - decorated with virtues - Bindo Bellanti, with whom, however, she had no children.

Giacomo Fontana

Emblem of the Humiliati order, c. 1605.

The Humiliati were an Italian religious order of men formed probably in the 12th century. It was suppressed by a papal bull in 1571 though an associated order of women continued into the 20th century.

After her husband's premature death, after seven years of marriage, Alda wore the habit of the Third Order of the Humiliati, and devoted herself more than previously to penance on a small property outside Siena and devoted herself to almsgiving and asceticism. 

Medieval Nuns in Procession

The church was ill prepared for newness in the 13th century of the female religious movement, which gave a voice to the desire for penitential inspiration, and deep personal commitment. Women lived together in small communities, by choice, as recluses.

She experienced visions of Jesus performing the deeds recorded in the gospels. Eventually, she gave away all of her possessions and used only a small gourd for a drinking cup.

Religious of the Order of the Humiliati

The Humiliati cult, in Siena and in other cities, was widely disseminated in the Order of the Pope. This Order was one of many spiritual movements that arose in contrast to the relaxed customs and wealth often displayed by the clergy, advocating a return to a more austere, frugal life. It was spontaneous in origin and widespread in northern Italy, in particular Milan and Como. The movement in Siena was close to Santa Catarina de Siena. Initially condemned as heretics, they were reinstated, but about four centuries later the Order was suppressed. 

She gave up her hermitage and went to live and work in a hospital in order to take care of the sick. Members of the staff regarded her as a fraud and wanted to prove her trances and ecstasies false. Therefore, while she was in a mystical ecstasy, they pricked her with sharp pins and put lit candles to her hands and feet. She did not respond in any way to these provocations, only feeling the pain much later, when she came out of the trance. Her patience and forgiveness -- saying merely "may God forgive you", indicating her humility -- in response to such treatment caused her to eventually win over the staff.

The hospital experience in medieval times

While ministering to the sick, she performed several miraculous cures. According to her biographer, on at least three occasions, making the sign of the cross over the patient was sufficient to immediately heal the affliction. More on Saint Alda

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Images are copyright of their respective owners, assignees or others. Some Images may be subject to copyright

I don't own any of these images - credit is always given when due unless it is unknown to me. if I post your images without your permission, please tell me.

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