05 Works, Today, May 12th is Sts Nereus and Achilleus's day, With Footnotes - #133

Sts Nereus and Achilleus

Nereus and Achilleus were Roman soldiers of the Praetorian Guard (the emperor’s bodyguards) who were martyred at the end of the first century, and were said to have been baptized by St. Peter himself.  

Circle of Rembrandt, (1606–1669)

Repentant St. Peter, after 1631

Oil on canvas

Height: 64.3 cm (25.3 in); Width: 50.7 cm (19.9 in)

Royal Castle in Warsaw

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

When they became Christians they gave up their posts which they saw as immoral and were exiled and then killed under the reign of the emperor Trajan.

Unknown artist

 Bust of Trajan (reign 98–117 CE), with the Civic Crown, a sword belt and the aegis (attribut of Jupiter and symbol of divine power)

Height 54 cm

Glyptothek, Munich

Nereus and Achilleus the martyrs joined the army and carried out the cruel orders of the tyrant, obeying his will continually out of fear. Then came a miracle of faith. They suddenly gave up their savagery, they were converted, they fled the camp of their evil leader, throwing away their shields, armor, and bloody spears.

They were then exiled and then killed under the reign of the emperor Trajan. More on Nereus and Achilleus

Peter Paul Rubens  (1577–1640)

Flavia Domitilla from Terracina, Nereus and Achilleus, c. 1608

Santa Maria, in Vallicella, Rome, Italy

Sir Peter Paul Rubens (28 June 1577 – 30 May 1640) was a Flemish Baroque painter. A proponent of an extravagant Baroque style that emphasized movement, colour, and sensuality, Rubens is well known for his Counter-Reformation altarpieces, portraits, landscapes, and history paintings of mythological and allegorical subjects.

In addition to running a large studio in Antwerp that produced paintings popular with nobility and art collectors throughout Europe, Rubens was a classically educated humanist scholar and diplomat who was knighted by both Philip IV of Spain and Charles I of England.  More Sir Peter Paul Rubens

According to another legend, Nereus and Achilleus were eunuchs and chamberlains of Flavia Domitilla, a niece of the Emperor Domitian; with the Christian virgin, they had been banished to the island of Ponza (Pontia), and later on beheaded in Terracina. The graves of these two martyrs were on an estate of the Lady Domitilla.

Unknown artist

Saint Domitilla, c. 15th century

Tempera and gilt on wood

Height: 29 cm (11.4 in); Width: 20 cm (7.8 in)

National Museum in Warsaw

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