06 works, Today, October 14th, is Nazarius and Celsus'day, their story illustrated #285

Giovanni Antonio Merli

Saint Nazarius on a horse, c. 1480

Depicted as a man and boy walking on the sea

Fresco

St. Nazarius and Celsus Abbey

Giovanni Antonio Merli ( Galliate documented since 1474 - before 1507 ) was an Italian painter of the High Renaissance , the main representative of a painting workshops, active between the 15 th and 16th  centuries.

His earliest known work, signed and dated 1474, is in the Franciscan church of the abbey of San Nazzaro della Costa in Novara , with many other testimonies of Novara artistic panorama in xv th  century .

It is a fresco representing Saint Anthony of Padua with Blessed Alberto of Sarthiano, venerated at that time by the Friars Minor.

Another painting, signed and dated 1488, represents a Blessed Virgin in breastfeeding majesty, with Saint Grat and Saint Roch . The fresco is probably an ex-voto from the locals as a thank you for having survived the danger of the plague of previous years, as evidenced by the presence of Saint Roch , who had suffered from the same illness.

Also dated 1488, a monochrome fresco in green earth which represents Peter Lombard in the pulpit and which is kept in the chapter house of the Dome of Novara .

There is also a fresco in the abbey church of Saints Nazaire and Celso, in the form of a triptych , with in the center the elegant figure of Saint Nazaire on horseback, on the left Saint Celso. 

Among its attributions, we must also mention a Blessed Virgin of Graces, also preserved in the Dome of Novara. More on Giovanni Antonio Merli

Nazarius was a citizen of Rome whose father was Jewish or pagan. His mother was Saint Perpetua. Nazarius was a student of Saint Peter and was baptized by Saint Linus. 

Jehan Goulain, (1325-1403 )

Nazarius, preaching
I have no further description, at this time

Jehan Goulain or Jean Golein (born c. 1325 in Blacqueville , near Rouen - died in 1403 in Paris ) was a theologian and monk Carmelite French of the 14th  century.

During the persecutions of Nero, Nazarius fled Rome and preached in Lombardy, visiting Piacenza and Milan, where he met the brothers Gervase and Protase, who had been imprisoned and who inspired Nazarius by their example. 

Jean de Vignay, 

Nazarius and Celsus, c. 1335

I have no further description, at this time

In the panel at left, before the emperor Nero (fol. 79r; the panels at center and at right depict Nero's punishment by an onslaught of wild animals)

Vincent of Beauvais (Latin: Vincentius Bellovacensis or Vincentius Burgundus; c. 1184/1194 – c. 1264) was a Dominican friar at the Cistercian monastery of Royaumont Abbey, France. He is known mostly for his Great Mirror (Speculum Maius), a major work of compilation that was widely read in the Middle Ages. Often retroactively described as an encyclopedia or as a florilegium, his text exists as a core example of brief compendiums produced in medieval Europe. More on Vincent of Beauvais

Nazarius was whipped and condemned to exile by the authorities. He traveled to Gaul, where a young boy of nine, Celsus, was entrusted to his care after the boy’s mother asked Nazarius to teach and baptize her son. Nazarius raised him as a Christian. 

Unknown artist

Nazarius and Celsus escorted out of town, c. 1887

Published by Benziger Brothers, New York

I have no further description, at this time

RCL Benziger is a Roman Catholic book-publishing house founded in 1792 by Joseph Charles Benziger in Einsiedeln, Switzerland. It is currently based in Cincinnati, Ohio, and operates as a subsidiary of Kendall Hunt Publishing. More on the RCL Benziger

The two were arrested, tortured, and imprisoned for their faith. They were released on condition they would not preach at this place any longer. They preached in the Alps and built a chapel at Embrun, and then continued on to Geneva, and then Trier. 

Titian, (1490–1576)

Resurrection of Christ (Averoldi-Altarpolyptychon), left panel, scene below: St. Nazzarus and St. Celso and praying donor (Altobello de Averoldi), c. 1520-1522

Oil on panel

Height: 170 cm (66.9 in); Width: 65 cm (25.5 in)

The church of Santi Nazaro e Celso,  in Brescia, Lombardy, Italy

Tiziano Vecelli or Tiziano Vecellio, or Titian (1488/1490 – 27 August 1576), was an Italian painter, the most important member of the 16th-century Venetian school. 

 

Recognized by his contemporaries as "The Sun Amidst Small Stars", Titian was one of the most versatile of Italian painters, equally adept with portraits, landscape backgrounds, and mythological and religious subjects. His painting methods, particularly in the application and use of color, would exercise a profound influence not only on painters of the Italian Renaissance, but on future generations of Western art.

 

During the course of his long life, Titian's artistic manner changed drastically but he retained a lifelong interest in color. Although his mature works may not contain the vivid, luminous tints of his early pieces, their loose brushwork and subtlety of tone are without precedent in the history of Western painting. More on Titian

Altobello de Averoldi (died 1 November 1531) was a Roman Catholic prelate who served as Bishop of Pula (1497–1531).

They preached in Trier, and converted many to Christianity, and they were imprisoned once again there. Celsus was entrusted to the care of a pagan lady, who attempted to make him abjure his faith. Celsus refused, and was eventually returned to Nazarius.

An additional legend that describes their time at Trier states that they were tried by Nero there, who ordered the two saints to be drowned. Nazarius and Celsus were taken in a ship and thrown overboard, but a storm suddenly arose, frightening the sailors. The sailors pulled the two saints back on board.

Unknown artist

Martyrs Nazarius, Gervasius, Protasius and Kelsius, Constantinople. c. 985

Miniature Minology of Vasily II.

Vatican Library. Rome.

The two saints left Trier and reached Genoa, and then returned to Milan, and were arrested again. They refused to sacrifice to the Roman gods, and were beheaded. More on Nazarius and Celsus

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