05 works, Today, December 21st, is Saint Severinus of Noricum's day, his story, illustrated #353

Master of San Severino

Detail from the Severin Severin von Noricum Alter

Rudolf Lehr - State Chronicle of Upper Austria 
State Chronicle of Upper Austria . Vienna

I have not found any information on Master of San Severino

Severinus of Noricum (c. 410 – 8 January 482) is a saint, known as the "Apostle to Noricum". It has been speculated that he was born in either Southern Italy or in the Roman province of Africa.

Unknown artist

St. Severinus of Noricum, surrounded by the people of Salzburg

Cathedral of St. Stephen, Passau, Germany

The first two lines of the inscription are in Latin: "An apostolic gift is a mind that sees into the future. What wonderful deeds did Father Severinus perform!" Eugippius relates that Severinus foretold the sack of Salzburg by the barbarian Heruli and counseled its citizens to flee the city while they had the chance. This appears to be the event pictured by the painting. The actual Salzburg fortress is indeed on a sloping hill above the river just as shown.

The next two lines are in German: "With wisdom, erudition, and miracles he showed himself apostolic. Therefore one should highly honor the holy Father Severinus." The emphasis on the word "apostolic" goes with this saint's title, as declared in the Roman Martyrology and on the scroll at the top of this painting: "Apostle to the Norici." The word appears at the beginning of Eugippius's first chapter: "he lived in accordance with the evangelical and apostolic doctrine" .

Severinus is first recorded as travelling along the Danube in Noricum and Bavaria, preaching Christianity, procuring supplies for the starving, redeeming captives and establishing monasteries at Passau and Favianae, and hospices in the chaotic territories that were ravaged by the Great Migrations, sleeping on sackcloth and fasting severely. 

Thomas Cole, (1801–1848)

Destruction from The Course of Empire, c. 1836

Oil on canvas

Height: 100.3 cm (39.5 in); Width: 161.2 cm (63.5 in)

New-York Historical Society 

Thomas Cole (February 1, 1801 – February 11, 1848) was an English-born American painter known for his landscape and history paintings. One of the major 19th-century American painters, he is regarded as the founder of the Hudson River School, an American art movement that flourished in the mid-19th century. Cole's work is known for its romantic portrayal of the American wilderness. More on Thomas Cole

His efforts won him wide respect, including that of the Germanic chieftain Odoacer. 

After a paintin of L.Kupelwieser

Odoaker meets the saint Severin

Engraving

Private collection

Leopold Kupelwieser (17 October 1796, Markt Piesting – 17 November 1862, Vienna) was an Austrian painter, often associated with the Nazarene movement.

His talents were recognized at an early age by the time he was twelve, he was already attending the Academy of Fine Arts, Vienna.

During a stay in Rome in 1824, he came under the influence of Friedrich Overbeck and the Nazarene movement. He returned to Vienna and earned his living primarily as an illustrator and portrait painter.

In 1837, he became Professor of history painting at the Academy and, in 1850, was awarded the Knight's Cross of the Order of Franz Joseph. Virtually all of his later work involved religious altarpieces and frescoes. At the age of sixty he fell ill, apparently due to the rigors of painting on wet lime, and never recovered his health. More on Leopold Kupelwieser

Eugippius credits him with the prediction that Odoacer would become king of Rome. However, Severinus warned that Odoacer would rule not more than fourteen years.

Ludwig Seitz

St. Severinus of Noricum, c. 1879-81

Museo d'Arte Sacra, San Leo, Italy

The inscription means "St. Severinus, Abbot, Apostle of the Norici" – that is, of the people of "Noricum," a Roman province encompassing most of what are now Austria and Slovenia. The crozier in his right hand is the symbol of his authority as an abbot. He established a number of monasteries, which may explain the buildings in the background.

As for the St. Bernard dog at the saint's feet, no such animal is mentioned in Eugippius's definitive Life of St. Severin. More on this work

Ludovico Seitz (June 11, 1844 – January 18, 1908), also known as Ludwig Seitz, was an Italian painter.

Son of the German painter Alexander Maximilian Seitz (1811-1888), Ludovico adhered as his father to the Nazarene movement in painting. He executed the frescoes which decorate the German Chapel of the Basilica of Loreto (1892-1902), in panes with the stories of the Blessed Virgin. This is considered his most important work. He also executed frescoes in Santa Maria dell'Anima and in the Vatican and in the Djakovo cathedral in Croatia. He was director of the Pinacoteca Vaticana (part of the Vatican Museums). Among his students was Rosina Mantovani Gutti. More on Ludovico Seitz

Severinus also prophesied the destruction of Asturis, Austria, by the Huns under Attila. He established refugee centers for people displaced by the invasion, and founded monasteries to re-establish spirituality and preserve learning in the stricken region.

He died in his monastic cell at Favianae while singing Psalm 150. Six years after his death, his monks were driven from their abbey, and his body was taken to Italy, where it was at first kept in the Castel dell'Ovo, Naples, then eventually interred at the Benedictine monastery rededicated to him, the Abbey of San Severino in the city of Naples.

Severinus was the childhood guardian and spiritual father of St. Anthony the Hermit. More on Saint Severinus of Noricum

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