09 works, Today, September 23nd, is Saint Thecla's day, her story illustrated #265

Giovanni Battista Tiepolo, (1696–1770) 

Saint Thecla Praying for the Plague-Stricken, c. 1758 until 1759

Oil on board

Height: 80 cm (31.4 in); Width: 45 cm (17.7 in)

Metropolitan Museum of Art, New York City

Giovanni Battista Tiepolo, 1696 - 1770. Born into a wealthy and noble family in Venice, Giambattista Tiepolo was recognized by contemporaries throughout Europe as the greatest painter of large-scale decorative frescoes in the 1700s. He was admired for having brought fresco painting to new heights of technical virtuosity, illumination, and dramatic effect. Tiepolo possessed an imagination characterized by one of his contemporaries as "all spirit and fire." 

 

A gifted storyteller, Tiepolo painted walls and ceilings with large, expansive scenes of intoxicating enchantment. In breath-taking visions of mythology and religion, the gods and saints inhabit light-filled skies. His ability to assimilate his predecessor and compatriot Paolo Veronese's use of color was so profound that his contemporaries named him Veronese redivio (a new Veronese). 

 

Tiepolo's commissions came from the old established families of Italy, religious orders, and the royal houses of Spain, Germany, Sweden, and Russia. His frescoes adorn palaces, churches, and villas, and his artistic legacy consists of some eight hundred paintings, 2,400 drawings, two sets of etchings, and acres of fresco. When Tiepolo died at the age of seventy-four, a Venetian diarist noted the "bitter loss" of "the most famous Venetian painter, truly the most renowned...well known in Europe and the most highly praised in his native land." More on Giovanni Battista Tiepolo

Thecla or Tecla was a saint of the early Christian Church, and a reported follower of Paul the Apostle. The earliest record of her life comes from the ancient apocryphal Acts of Paul and Thecla.

First-Century Asia Minor

Thecla was born to a rich family in Iconium, a town in Asia Minor. She was expected to marry, and marry well. In fact, her mother had a young man picked out for her. He had an excellent position and could offer Thecla a secure life. This was important in Thecla's day because an unmarried woman could find herself with no support and no money. Marriage assured a stable place in society, with children to carry on the family name.

PYNAS, Jacob Symonsz. (b. ca. 1592, Amsterdam, d. after 1650, Delft)

Paul and Barbabas at Lystra, c. 1627-29

Saint Thecla seated on the right?

Iconium, Lystra and Derbe. Three cities in Asia Minor

Oil on wood

48 x 73 cm

Metropolitan Museum of Art, New York

Jacob Symonsz. Pynas (1592, Haarlem – 1650, Delft), was a Dutch Golden Age painter.

Rembrandt studied with him in his workshop a few months after his six-month apprenticeship with Pieter Lastman, before he opened his own workshop in Leiden.

He was the brother of Jan Pynas who travelled to Italy. Though Jacob is known for scenes of Italy, these paintings could have been based on sketches brought back by his brother Jan and it is not certain that Jacob travelled to Italy. He influenced Rembrandt and became a member of the Delft Guild of St. Luke in the years 1632-1639. He became the teacher of Bartholomeus Breenberg.

The Pynas brothers were grouped within Dutch artists called the Pre-Rembrandtists. Their work is close in style to the painter Adam Elsheimer, and there has been a history of mis-attribution between the three, where the Pynas brothers are known to have signed their works "J. Pynas."

Jan died in Amsterdam; Jacob survived him by many years and is thought to have died in Delft. More on Jacob Symonsz. Pynas 

But something happened to Thecla that made her turn away forever from her mother's dream. The apostle Paul, who had been in Antioch, traveled to Iconium and began teaching at a house near Thecla's. She sat in her open window for three days and nights, listening as Paul spoke about the blessings of giving everything to God. Thecla decided not to marry and to devote her life to Jesus Christ.

Rembrandt, (1606–1669)

Saint Paul in prison, c. 1627

Oil on canvas

Collection

Staatsgalerie Stuttgart, Germany

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

Her fiancé Thamyris was furious and complained to the local governor that Paul was a bad influence. Because Thamyris was so prominent, Paul was arrested and imprisoned.

Late at night Thecla secretly went to the prison, bribed the guards, and stayed to hear Paul's teaching. When her family found her, they turned her and Paul over to the authorities. Paul was driven from the city and Thecla was sentenced to death. Her mother was so angry at her daughter's disobedient "madness" that she wouldn't intervene.

Unknown artist

Thecla rejoined Paul at Myra in Lycia, dressed as a boy

Icon

I have no further description, at this time

Thecla was tortured, but God delivered her from death. She found her way to Antioch and soon met Paul there. She rejoined Paul dressed as a boy, and was commissioned by him to preach the Gospel/

She helped him preach, and together they did good work for the Lord.

Antoni Szulczyński

St. Tekla, the wild beasts wouldn't harm her

Church of St. Tekla in Wilczyn

I have no further description, at this time

Antoni Szulczyński (born May 6, 1877 in Wilczogóra, died December 11, 1922 in Wilczyn ) - Polish painter, author of polychromes, portraits and landscapes.

Szulczyński was born in Wilczogóra in 1877. He studied at the Academy of Fine Arts in Krakow , from which he graduated in 1901, and continued his studies traveling all over Europe. He perfected his workshop at universities in Vienna , Rome , Munich and Vilnius .

At the age of 22 he began working on the polychromes in the church of Saint Catherine in Miednia, from which he graduated in 1907. In his oeuvre, the artist also has polychromes and paintings in the churches of Our Lady of Sorrows in Skulsk , St. Stanislaus the Bishop in Kramsk , St. Urszula in Wilczyn , of the Assumption of the Blessed Virgin Mary in Łubnice and in Broniszewo and Złotków . Antoni Szulczyński, known for his sacred works, was also a valued portraitist and author of landscapes that decorated and adorn the walls of many houses in the country.

Antoni Szulczyński died on the night of December 10-11, 1922 in his home in Wilczyn [1] . His early death was linked to his illness and paralysis. More on Antoni Szulczyński

But once again a powerful person, this time the city governor, tried to turn Thecla toward marriage. When she hurt his pride by refusing he denounced her to the authorities. She was arrested and sentenced to die in the arena. But the wild beasts wouldn't harm her, and when their attempt to drown her also failed, the officials were so frightened that they let her go. 

Unknown artist 

Saint Thecla, c. 17th / 18th century

Oil, double canvas

105x73 cm

Private collection

I have no further description, at this time

She retreated to a rocky desert cave in the mountains near the town of Ma'aloula, Syria. Through her prayer she converted many and gathered other women monastics around her. She counseled people and healed the sick, never asking for money.

Unknown artist

St. Thekla fleeing into the cleft of the rock

Fresco

Decani Monastery, Deçan, Kosovo

I have no further description, at this time

Even there, though, she was pursued. Jealous pagan doctors sent young men to harm the saint, now an old woman. But God heard her prayers and opened up a fissure in the rock of the cave. Thecla rushed into the space, which immediately closed up again. More on Saint Thecla

Unknown artist

St. Thekla with scenes from her life

Icon

I have no further description, at this time

Please visit my other blogs: Art Collector, Mythology, Marine Art, Portrait of a Lady, The Orientalist, Art of the Nude and The Canals of Venice, Middle East Artists, and 365 Saints, also visit my Boards on Pinterest

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.

I do not sell art, art prints, framed posters or reproductions. Ads are shown only to compensate the hosting expenses.

If you enjoyed this post, please share with friends and family.

Thank you for visiting my blog and also for liking its posts and pages.

Please note that the content of this post primarily consists of articles available from Wikipedia or other free sources online.