06 works, Today, December 26th, is Saint Eugenia's day, her story, illustrated #358

Attributed to the Master of Dinteville/Bartholomeus Pons

The Legend of Sainte-Eugénie, c. 1535

Saint-Pierre de Varzy church, Nièvre, Burgundy-Franche-Comté

Bartholomeus Pons (known from 1518 to 1541 ), formerly referred to as "  Félix Chrétien", "  Pseudo Félix Chrétien  ", or more neutrally, " Master of Dinteville", is a painter from Harlem active in Burgundy and Champagne in the first half of the 16th  century.

Originally from Haarlem, Bartholomeus Pons is documented in 1518 in the workshop of Grégoire Guérard in Tourn. He is now identified as the Master of Dinteville (author of the altarpiece of the Legend of Saint Eugenie in Varzy).

Pseudo Félix Chrétien, c.1510 - 1579,

The Legend of Sainte-Eugénie, c. 1535

Central panel: The Martyrdom of St Eugenia.

140 x 215 cm.

Church of Saint-Pierre-ès-ties, Varzy, Dép. Nièvre, France

Pseudo Félix Chrétien, c.1510 - 1579,

The Legend of Sainte-Eugénie, c. 1535

Left panel: St Eugenia, being accused of adultery by Melanthia, is exposing her breasts

140 x 108 cm

Church of Saint-Pierre-ès-ties, Varzy, Dép. Nièvre, France

Pseudo Félix Chrétien, c.1510 - 1579,

The Legend of Sainte-Eugénie, c. 1535

Right panel: St Eugenia appears to her mother.

140 x 108 cm

Church of Saint-Pierre-ès-ties, Varzy, Dép. Nièvre, France

Saint Eugenia (died c AD 258) was an early Christian Roman martyr who was converted by and martyred with Protus and Hyacinth, her Chamberlains during the persecution of Valerian. 

Maarten van Heemskerck, (1498–1574)

Pharos of Alexandria, c. 1572

I have no further description, at this time

Maerten van Heemskerck or Marten Jacobsz Heemskerk van Veen (1 June 1498 – 1 October 1574) was a Dutch portrait and religious painter, who spent most of his career in Haarlem. He was a pupil of Jan van Scorel, and adopted his teacher's Italian-influenced style. He spent the years 1532–6 in Italy. He produced many designs for engravers, and is especially known for his depictions of the Wonders of the World.

According to his biography, he began his artistic training with the painter Cornelius Willemsz in Haarlem. He then left for Delft, where he studied under Jan Lucasz, before moving on to Haarlem, where he became a pupil of Jan van Scorel

Heemskerck then went to lodge at the home of the wealthy curate of the Sint-Bavokerk, Pieter Jan Foppesz. The artist painted him in a now famous family portrait. 

Before setting off for Italy on a Grand Tour in 1532, Heemskerck painted a scene of St. Luke painting the Virgin for the altar of St. Luke in the Bavokerk. 

He travelled around the whole of northern and central Italy, stopping at Rome, where he had letters of introduction from van Scorel to the influential Dutch cardinal[4] William of Enckenvoirt.

While in Rome where he made numerous drawings of classical sculpture and architecture. He was to use them as source material throughout the rest of his career.

On his return to the Netherlands in 1536, he settled back at Haarlem, where he became president of the Haarlem Guild of Saint Luke (in 1540),

The alteration in his style, brought about by his experience of Italy was not universally admired. 

He painted large altarpieces. In 1553 he became curate of the Sint-Bavokerk, where he served for 22 years. More on Maarten van Heemskerck

She was born into the family of a noble Rome. Her father Philip Commodus (180-192) was appointed governor of Egypt and moved to Alexandria with his family. Eugenia studied philosophy, spoke in Latin and Greek. Noble youths wooed her, but she did not want to marry. After Eugenia read the Epistles of St. Paul, she believed in Christ, but, fearing the wrath of her parents, she hid her faith. Under the pretext of a walk, she ran away from home and disguised herself as a man. She came to the monastery together with her servants/eunuchs Prot and Iakinf. Helenus, bishop of Heliopolis was in this monastery. It was revealed to him in a dream that Eugenia was a girl. He baptized them and tonsured them as monks.

Eugenia led an ascetic lifestyle for several years and was honored with the gift of miracles. After the death of the hegumen, the brethren unanimously elected Eugenia to replace him. 

After Abraham Bloemaert

The Discovery of Saint Eugenia, c  1807 

Engraving

 Illustration
I have no further description, at this time

Abraham Bloemaert (1564-1651) was a Dutch painter and son of sculptor and architect Cornelis Bloemaert received his education in Utrecht and Paris. In 1597 he registered as a citizen in Amsterdam and was active in Utrecht from 1611 onwards. Bloemaert was a representative of the Flemish school and refined history painting, portrait painting, genre and landscape painting. He greatly influenced Dutch painting, one of his students was Gerrit van Honthorst. Bloemaert's works can be admired at the Fine Arts Museums of San Francisco, at the Louvre in Paris and at the galleries of Berlin. More on Abraham Bloemaert

A certain woman named Melanthia, healed by Eugenia was inflamed with passion for the young abbot and, failing to achieve reciprocity, slandered him before the ruler of Egypt in an attempt at violence. During the trial, her father, the ruler, recognizing his daughter, and set her free together with the brethren and was baptized himself. 

Unknown artist

Septimius Severus and his family, circa 200

Septimius Severus, Julia Domna, Geta Caracalla

Tempera on panel 

Height: 30.5 cm (12 in)

Altes Museum,  Berlin 

Emperors Septimius Sever (193-211) and Antoninus Pius (138-161), in response to Philip's request, allowed Christians to build temples. Eugenia gathered the virgins around her, and together they served God, her mother Claudia built a hospitable home.

Upon learning that Philip converted to Christianity, the emperors appointed a new ruler in his place. Philip was elected bishop of Alexandria. Soon, by order of the new ruler, he was killed. Her mother Claudia moved with her children to Rome, her sons received high positions, and Eugenia continued to instruct the virgins in Christ.

A photorealistic reconstruction of what the Roman emperor Valerian (r. 253-260 CE) may have looked like. Based on contemporary and near contemporary descriptions, as well as archaeological evidence. Pictured alongside the reconstruction is a bust of Valerian from the Ny Carlsberg Glyptotek. Made using Photoshop and Artbreeder, a neural net tool. More on this work

A photorealistic reconstruction of what the Roman emperor Gallienus (r. 253-268 CE) may have looked like. Based on contemporary and near contemporary descriptions, as well as archaeological evidence. Pictured alongside the reconstruction is a bust of Gallienus from the Ny Carlsberg Glyptotek. Made using Photoshop and Artbreeder, a neural net tool. More on this work

Under the emperors Valerian (253-260) and Gallien (260-268) the persecution of Christians resumed. Vasilla, one of the virgins who believed in Christ and were baptized thanks to Eugenia, as well as Protus and Iacinthus were executed by order of Emp. Gallienus for refusing to marry. 2 eunuchs were also beheaded. 

Elana Brownfield

The maiden walked on the water

You Call Me Out Upon the Waters
Digital art

I have no further description, at this time

I did not find any meaningful information on Elana Brownfield

Eugenia was seized and taken to the temple of Artemis (Diana) to offer a sacrifice, but the temple collapsed even before she entered it. Then she was tied with a stone around her neck and thrown into the Tiber, but the stone fell into the water, and the maiden walked on the water as if on dry land. 

Unknown artist

Martyrdom of Evgenia and the victims with her

Miniature from Minology of Vasily II

She was put in an oven, but its edges suddenly cooled and Eugenia emerged unharmed. After that, the martyr was thrown into a ditch for several. days so that they starved; but food was sent to her from heaven. The Savior appeared to Eugenia on the day of her martyrdom. She was executed on the feast of the Nativity of Christ. The saint was buried on the Latin road near Rome. After the death  Eugenia appeared to her mother and predicted her imminent death. More on Saint Eugenia

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

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09 works, Today, December 13th, is Saint Lucia of Syracuse's day, her story, illustrated #346

Master of the Legend of Saint Lucy  (circa 1435 –1506/1509)

Legend of St Lucy, c. 1480

Oil on oak wood

Height: 79 cm (31.1 in); Width: 183 cm (72 in)

St. James Church, Bruges, Belgium

Master of the Legend of Saint Lucy (fl. 1480-1510) was an unidentified Early Netherlandish painter who worked in Bruges, a city in today's Belgium. His name comes from for an altarpiece in the church of Saint James in Bruges, which is dated 1480 and depicts three scenes from the life of Saint Lucy. Since then, twenty-five to thirty-five paintings have been attributed to the same hand. He may have trained Spanish students at his studio in Bruges. Many of his paintings are characterized by views of the city of Bruges in the background, and can be dated according to the level of construction of its belfry. He may have trained with Dieric Bouts, and was certainly influenced by Bruges' greatest artist at the time, Hans Memling. More on the Master of the Legend of Saint Lucy

Lucia of Syracuse (283–304), also called Saint Lucia, or Saint Lucy, was a Christian martyr who died during the Diocletianic Persecution.

Lucy was born of rich and noble parents about the year 283. Her father was of Roman origin, but died when she was five years old,leaving Lucy and her mother without a protective guardian. Her mother's name Eutychia seems to indicate that she came from a Greek background.

Giovanni di Bartolommeo Cristiani

Saint Lucy and Her Mother at the Shrine of Saint Agatha

Tempera on wood, gold ground

9 3/4 x 15 1/8 in. (24.8 x 38.4 cm)

The Met Fifth Avenue

Giovanni di Bartolomeo Cristiani was an Italian painter active in Pistoia and Pisa in the second half of the 14th century.

Originally from Pistoia, Cristiani is documented in Florence in 1366. His career is mainly situated in Pistoia and Pisa. His style points to a training in Pistoia. His work also shows the influence of the Florentine master Niccolò di Tommaso, who had himself worked in Pistoia. Nardo di Cione also seems to have left a mark on Cristiani's style.

He is thought by Ciampi to have been employed at the Campo Santo of Pisa in 1382. His last work, which is now lost, was the decoration of a church in Pistoia, which was begun in 1396 and finished in 1398.

Very little remains of this artist's productions, and no exact date is known of his death. In the Sacristy of San Giovanni Evangelista at Pistoia there is a painting by him of 'St. John the Baptist enthroned with Angels' (1370). A fragmentary panel by the artist is in the church of San Michele at Crespina, near Pisa. More on Giovanni di Bartolomeo Cristiani

Like many of the early martyrs, Lucy had consecrated her virginity to God, and she hoped to distribute her dowry to the poor. However, Eutychia, not knowing of Lucy's promise, and suffering from a bleeding disorder, feared for Lucy's future. She arranged Lucy's marriage to a young man of a wealthy pagan family.

Jacobello del Fiore, (1370–1439) Blue pencil.svg wikidata:Q2634352

Saint Lucia at the tomb of Saint Agatha, c. 1410

Civic Museum, Fermo

Jacobello del Fiore (c. 1370 – 1439) was a Venetian artist in the late fourteenth century and early fifteenth century. His early work is in the Late Gothic style popularized by Altichiero da Verona and Jacopo Avanzi, two of his contemporaries, while his mature work displays a local Venetian style established by the school of Paolo Veneziano, an artist and workshop proprietor with notable Byzantine inspiration in his work. This stylistic return to his roots sets him apart from Venetian contemporaries he is often associated with. During his lifetime, he received commissions primarily on the Adriatic coast and in Venice. More on Jacobello del Fiore

Saint Agatha had been martyred 52 years before during the Decian persecution. Her shrine at Catania, less than 50 miles from Syracuse, attracted a number of pilgrims; many miracles were reported to have happened through her intercession. Eutychia was persuaded to make a pilgrimage to Catania, in hopes of a cure. While there, St. Agatha came to Lucy in a dream and told her that because of her faith her mother would be cured and that Lucy would be the glory of Syracuse, as she was of Catania. 

Giovanni di Bartolomeo Cristiani  (1340–1398)

Saint Lucy Giving Alms, c. between 1366 and 1396 

Tempera on wood, gold ground

10 x 15 in. (25.4 x 38.1 cm)

Metropolitan Museum of Art

For Giovanni di Bartolommeo Cristiani, see above

With her mother cured, Lucy took the opportunity to persuade her mother to allow her to distribute a great part of her riches among the poor.

Eutychia suggested that the sums would make a good bequest, but Lucy countered, "...whatever you give away at death for the Lord's sake you give because you cannot take it with you. Give now to the true Savior, while you are healthy, whatever you intended to give away at your death."

Lorenzo Lotto, (1480–)

Saint Lucy Before the Judge, c. 1532

Oil on panel

243 × 237 cm (95.6 × 93.3 in)

Jesi Municipal Art Gallery, Palazzo Pianetti, Jesi, Italy

The picture shows the central panel of the St Lucy Altarpiece. The altarpiece was commissioned in 1523, however, the execution started only in 1528 and ended in 1532. 

Lucy's fiancé, enraged by losing her dowry, complained to the Roman consul Paschasius, who now questions Lucy about her religious beliefs and demands that she worship idols. After an angry altercation, Paschasius orders her to be removed to a brothel. More on this work

Lorenzo Lotto (c. 1480 – 1556/57) was an Italian painter, draughtsman and illustrator, traditionally placed in the Venetian school, though much of his career was spent in other North Italian cities. He painted mainly altarpieces, religious subjects and portraits. While he was active during the High Renaissance, his nervous and eccentric posings and distortions represent a transitional stage to the first Florentine and Roman Mannerists of the 16th century. More on Lorenzo Lotto

Giovanni di Bartolomeo Cristiani  (1340–1398)

Saint Lucy Resisting Efforts to Move Her , c. between 1366 and 1396 

Tempera on wood, gold ground

9 3/4 x 15 1/8 in. 

Metropolitan Museum of Art

For Giovanni di Bartolommeo Cristiani, see above

News that the patrimony and jewels were being distributed came to Lucy's betrothed, who denounced her to Paschasius, the Governor of Syracuse. Paschasius ordered her to burn a sacrifice to the emperor's image. When she refused, Paschasius sentenced her to be defiled in a brothel, but his minions were unable to move her from the place where she stood, even when they tied her with ropes and attempted to drag her with oxen. 

The Governor asked what witchcraft she used, to which she answered 'I do not use witchcraft — it is the power of God that is with me. Bring ten thousand of your men if you wish; they will not be able to move me unless God wills it.' 

Van de Kruisafneming Van Figdor 1505-1510

The Martyrdom of Saint Lucy, Circa 1505-1510

Oil on oak wood

Height: 132.4 cm (52.1 in); Width: 101.7 cm (40 in)

Rijksmuseum, Amsterdam

Saint Lucia standing on a pyre is stabbed through the neck by an executioner with a sword. Other executioners fanning the flames with bellows, left, look to authority figures. In the background scenes from the life of the saint. Rear left is Lucia for a brothel, on the right a couple making love, they also try one Lucia with a wing to drag oxen Lucia gets a priest last rites are allotted, the right, the governor Paschasius beheaded.

Van de Kruisafneming Van Figdor (1480–1500), was an Early Netherlandish painter.

He was named by Max J. Friedlander after the Austrian banker and art collector Albert Figdor for an altarpiece painting he owned and which was displayed in the Gemäldegalerie, Berlin, but which was destroyed in 1945 during World War II. This artist is sometimes also called the Master of the Martyrdom of St. Lucy after the backside of the destroyed altarpiece, which is in the collection of the Rijksmuseum Amsterdam. On stylistic grounds the painter has been called "Pseudo-Geertgen" or the pupil of Geertgen tot Sint Jans and was probably active in Haarlem.

For the similarity of the alternate name, this artist is sometimes confused with the Flemish Master of the Legend of Saint Lucy. More on Van de Kruisafneming Van Figdor

Bundles of wood were then heaped about her and set on fire, but would not burn. Finally, she met her death by the sword thrust into her throat.

Francesco del Cossa, (1436–1477)

Saint Lucy, c. 1472

Tempera, gold and wood

Height: 77.2 cm (30.3 in); Width: 56 cm (22 in)

National Gallery of Art, Washington, D.C.

Francesco del Cossa (c. 1430 – c. 1477) was an Italian Renaissance painter of the School of Ferrara. The son of a stonemason in Ferrara, little is known about his early works, although it is known that he travelled outside of Ferrara in his late twenties or early thirties.

Cossa is best known for his frescoes. One of the first records we have of him is in 1456 when he was an assistant to his father, Cristofano del Cossa, at that time employed in painting the carvings and statues on the high altar in the chapel of the bishop's palace at Ferrara. More Francesco del Cossa

Absent in the early narratives and traditions, at least until the fifteenth century, is the story of Lucia tortured by eye-gouging. According to later accounts, before she died she foretold the punishment of Paschasius and the speedy end of the persecution, adding that Diocletian would reign no more, and Maximian would meet his end. This so angered Paschasius that he ordered the guards to remove her eyes. 

Paolo Veronese, (1528–1588) 

The Martyrdom and Last Communion of Saint Lucy, circa 1582

Oil on canvas

Height: 140 cm (55.1 in); Width: 173 cm (68.1 in)

National Gallery of Art, Washington, D.C

Paolo Caliari, known as Paolo Veronese (1528–1588), was an Italian Renaissance painter, based in Venice, known for large-format history paintings of religion and mythology, such as The Wedding at Cana (1563) and The Feast in the House of Levi (1573). Included with Titian, a generation older, and Tintoretto, a decade senior, Veronese is one of the “great trio that dominated Venetian painting of the cinquecento” and the Late Renaissance in the 16th century. Known as a supreme colorist, and after an early period with Mannerism, Paolo Veronese developed a naturalist style of painting, influenced by Titian.

His most famous works are elaborate narrative cycles, executed in a dramatic and colorful style, full of majestic architectural settings and glittering pageantry. His large paintings of biblical feasts, crowded with figures, painted for the refectories of monasteries in Venice and Verona are especially famous, and he was also the leading Venetian painter of ceilings. Most of these works remain in situ, or at least in Venice, and his representation in most museums is mainly composed of smaller works such as portraits that do not always show him at his best or most typical.

He has always been appreciated for "the chromatic brilliance of his palette, the splendor and sensibility of his brushwork, the aristocratic elegance of his figures, and the magnificence of his spectacle", but his work has been felt "not to permit expression of the profound, the human, or the sublime", and of the "great trio" he has often been the least appreciated by modern criticism. Nonetheless, "many of the greatest artists ... may be counted among his admirers, including Rubens, Watteau, Tiepolo, Delacroix and Renoir." More on Paolo Caliari, known as Paolo Veronese

Another version has Lucy taking her own eyes out in order to discourage a persistent suitor who admired them. This is one of the reasons that Lucy is the patron saint of those with eye illnesses. When her body was prepared for burial in the family mausoleum it was discovered that her eyes had been miraculously restored. More on Saint Lucia

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.

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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.

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05 works, Today, November 23rd, is Felicitas of Rome's day, her story, illustrated #326

Neri di Bicci, (1419–1491) 

Enthroned Saint Felicita and her seven children, c. 1464

Santa Felicita Church, Florence

Neri di Bicci (1419–1491) was an Italian painter active mainly in Florence. A prolific painter of mainly religious themes. He studied under his father, Bicci di Lorenzo, who in turn had studied under his father, Lorenzo di Bicci. All three were part of a lineage of great painters beginning with Neri's grandfather Lorenzo who was a pupil of Spinello Aretino.

Neri di Bicci's main works include a St. John Gualbert Enthroned, with Ten Saints for the church of Santa Trinita, an Annunciation (1464) in the Florentine Academy, two altarpieces in the Diocesan Museum of San Miniato, a Madonna with Child Enthroned in the Pinacoteca Nazionale of Siena, and a Coronation of the Virgin (1472) in the abbey church at San Pietro a Ruoti (Bucine).

The Ricordanze are a series of journals Neri kept from the years 1453–1475. They include the rates of remuneration for his work, his pupils, and lists of their works. They are the most extensive 15th century document we have relating to a 15th-century painter and are still preserved in the library of the Uffizi Gallery. More on Neri di Bicci

Felicitas of Rome (c. 101 – 165), also anglicized as Felicity, is a saint numbered among the Christian martyrs. 

 Jeanne and Richard de Montbaston

The Seven Brothers (seven sons of Felicitas of Rome), c. 14th century

Vies de saints, France, Paris, XIVe siècle

Richard Montbaston was a copyist in Paris in the late 14th  century. From his workshop came out in particular the Roman of the rose , illuminated by his wife, Jeanne.

Having sworn in the booksellers' oath in 1338, Richard de Montbaston is mentioned as a "bookseller" in the colophon in the Life of the Saints . On the other hand, his wife, Jeanne, took the oath of the booksellers in 1353 as illuminatrix and libraria , which gave rise to speculations according to which if Richard had the title of copyist and was indeed the owner of the workshop, he it would be impossible to attribute to him the illuminations of his manuscripts and that they should be due to his wife, Jeanne, although her work is not documented in any surviving manuscript. More on Richard Montbaston

Saint Felicitas is said to have been a rich and pious Christian widow who had seven sons. She devoted herself to charitable work and converted many to the Christian faith by her example. This aroused the wrath of pagan priests who lodged a complaint against her with Emperor Marcus Aurelius. These priests asserted the ire of the gods and demanded sacrifice from Felicitas and her children. The Emperor acquiesced to their demand and Felicitas was brought before Publius, the Prefect of Rome. Taking Felicitas aside, he used various pleas and threats in an unsuccessful attempt to get her to worship the pagan gods. He was equally unsuccessful with her seven sons who followed their mother's example.

Francesco Trevisani

The Martyrdom of the Seven Sons of Saint Felicity, c. 1709

Oil on canvas

h 75cm × w 62.6cm

Rijksstudio, Amsterdam

The most prominent cardinal in Rome ordered this painting as a gift for a French minister and his wife, whose name, Catherine Félicité, inspired the choice of subject. The Christian martyr Saint Felicity – here in a yellow gown – was forced to witness the martyrdom of her seven sons before herself being beheaded. Trevisani included two self-portraits: as the standing man at left, and as the man looking out at us from behind the statue at right. More on this painting

Francesco Trevisani (April 9, 1656 – July 30, 1746) was an Italian painter, active in the early Rococo or late Baroque period.

Born in Capodistria, he was the son of an architect, by whom he was instructed in the first rudiments of design. He then studied in Venice. He moved to Rome, where he remained until his death, in 1746. His brother, Angelo Trevisani remained a prominent painter in Venice.

In Rome, he was supported by Cardinal Pietro Ottoboni. He was also favored with the patronage of Cardinal Chigi. Chigi employed him in several considerable works, and recommended him to the protection of Pope Clement XI, who not only commissioned him to paint one of the prophets in San Giovanni Laterano, but engaged him to decorate the cupola of the cathedral in Urbino. He was employed by the Duke of Modena, in copying the works of Correggio and Parmigianino, and also painted in Brunswick, Madrid, Munich, Stockholm, and Vienna.

He became a member of the Academy of Arcadia in 1712. Trevisani died in Rome in 1746. More on Francesco Trevisani

Before the Prefect Publius they adhered firmly to their religion, and were delivered over to four judges, who condemned them to various modes of death. The division of the martyrs among four judges corresponds to the four places of their burial. She implored God only that she not to be killed before her sons, so that she might be able to encourage them during their torture and death in order that they would not deny Christ. 

Antonio Ciseri, (1821–1891)

The murder of a courageous woman and her seven sons

The Martyrdom of the Seven Maccabees, c. 1863

Oil on canvas

Height: 450 cm (14.7 ft); Width: 260 cm (102.3 in)

Florence

Antonio Ciseri (25 October 1821 – 8 March 1891) was a Swiss-Italian painter of religious subjects.

He was born in Ronco sopra Ascona, Switzerland. He went to Florence in 1833 to study drawing with Ernesto Bonaiuti. Within a year, by 1834 he was a pupil of Niccola and Pietro Benvenuti at the Accademia di Belle Arti in Florence; he was later taught by Giuseppe Bezzuoli, who greatly influenced the early part of his career. In 1849, he began offering instruction to young painters, and eventually ran a private art school. Among his earliest students was Silvestro Lega.

Ciseri's religious paintings are Raphaelesque in their compositional outlines and their polished surfaces, but are nearly photographic in effect. He fulfilled many important commissions from churches in Italy and Switzerland. Ciseri also painted a significant number of portraits. He died in Florence on 8 March 1891. Among his other pupils were the painters Oreste Costa, Giuseppe Guzzardi, Alcide Segoni, Andrea Landini, Raffaello Sorbi, Niccolò Cannicci, Emanuele Trionfi, Girolamo Nerli, and Egisto Sarri. More on Antonio Ciseri

With joy, she accompanied her sons one by one until she had witnessed the death of all seven. It is said that Januarius, the eldest, was scourged to death; Felix and Philip were beaten with clubs until they expired; Silvanus was thrown headlong down a precipice; and the three youngest, Alexander, Vitalis and Martialis were beheaded. After each execution she was given the chance to denounce her faith. She refused to act against her conscience.

Paris Nogari, (c.1536-1601)

Martyrdom of St Felicity and her Seven Sons

Fresco

Church of Santa Susanna, Rome

Paris Nogari, (c.1536-1601), was a painter of the "Po-Venetian culture" of the Renaissance period; he was mainly active in Rome. A pupil of Cesare Nebbia, Paris Nogari painted the Crucifixion in Santo Spirito in Sassia in the Vatican Library in the manner of Raffaellino da Reggio, and was among the painters who frescoed the church of Chiesa di Santa Susanna at the Baths of Diocletian in Rome. More on Paris Nogari

After four months, on November 23, 165, Felicity was beheaded. She was buried in Maximus Cemetery, Via Salaria. Her relics are in the Capuchin Church at Montefiascone, Tuscany and Santa Susana in Rome. More on Felicitas

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.

10 works, Today, November 6th, is Christina von Stommeln's day, her story illustrated #308

Unknown artist

Christina von Stommeln, c. 1909

High altar of the Propsteikirche Mariä Himmelfahrt Jülich

Museum Zitadelle Jülich

Unknown artist

Detail: Christina von Stommeln, c. 1909

High altar of the Propsteikirche Mariä Himmelfahrt Jülich

Museum Zitadelle Jülich)

Christina von Stommeln was a Beguine who was ascribed mystical experiences, so that she gained the reputation of holiness and was worshiped in the area of ​​the Duchy of Jülich and in the Archdiocese of Cologne.

Stommeln, called in the fourteenth century Stumbeln, is situated about nine miles northwest of Cologne and about six miles west of the Rhine. 

Christ hands Christina a ring

The embroidered figures on the silk gloves from the shrine of Blessed Christina von Stommeln are the oldest representations of Christina

Museum Zitadelle Jülich

Christine's father was a well-to-do peasant. When five years old Christine had visions of the Christ Child to whom she was mystically married in her tenth year. When eleven years old she learned to read the Psalter, but could not write. 

Unknown Author

Vespasian Psalter

On the right is the beginning of Psalm 27

On the left in an image David with Jonathan,, c. between 725 and 750

London, British Library, Cotton Vespasian

A psalter is a volume containing the Book of Psalms, often with other devotional material bound in as well, such as a liturgical calendar and litany of the Saints. Until the emergence of the book of hours in the Late Middle Ages, psalters were the books most widely owned by wealthy lay persons.

Anthony Van Dyck

“Portrait of a Lady, Possibly a beguine”

Oil on canvas

17 ¼” x 12 ¾”, (43.8 x 32.4 cm)

Private collection

Sir Anthony van Dyck, ( 22 March 1599 – 9 December 1641) was a Flemish Baroque artist who became the leading court painter in England, after enjoying great success in Italy and Flanders. He is most famous for his portraits of Charles I of England and his family and court, painted with a relaxed elegance that was to be the dominant influence on English portrait-painting for the next 150 years. He also painted biblical and mythological subjects, displayed outstanding facility as a draughtsman, and was an important innovator in watercolour and etching. The Van Dyke beard is named after him. More Sir Anthony van Dyck

When twelve her parents wished to give her in marriage, but she went to the convent of the Beguines at Cologne, where she led a life of severe penance, spent much time in prayer, and often fell into convulsions. 

Sister Plautilla Nelli

Receiving the Stigmata

Saint Catherine Receives the Stigmata

Last Supper Museum of Andrea del Sarto

Sister Plautilla Nelli (1524 – 1588) was a self-taught nun-artist and the first-known female Renaissance painter of Florence. She was a nun of the Dominican convent of St. Catherine of Siena located in Piazza San Marco, Florence, and was heavily influenced by the teachings of Savonarola and by the artwork of Fra Bartolomeo

Pulisena was born into a wealthy family in the San Felice area of Florence. There is a modern-day street in Florence, Via del Canto de’ Nelli, in the San Lorenzo district, named for her family.

She became a nun at the age of fourteen, taking on the name Suor Plautilla, at the convent of Santa Caterina di Cafaggio; she would later be prioress on three occasions. The facility was managed by the Dominican friars of San Marco. About half of all educated girls in that era were placed into convents to avoid the cost of raising a dowry. Savonarola's preachings promoted devotional painting and drawing by religious women to avoid sloth, thus the convent became a center for nun-artists. 

Though she was self-taught, she copied works of the mannerist painter Agnolo Bronzino and high Renaissance painter Andrea del Sarto. Her primary source of inspiration came from copying works of Fra Bartolomeo. Nelli signed her paintings as "Pray for the Paintress" after her name, confirming her role in spite of her gender.

Her work is distinguished from that of her influencers by the heightened sentiment she added to each of her characters' expressions. Most of Nelli's works are large-scale, which was most uncommon for a woman to paint, in her era.

Her work is characterized by religious themes, with vivid portrayals of emotion on her characters' faces. Nelli lacked any formal training and her male figures are said to have “feminine characteristics”, as her religious vocation prohibited study of the nude male. More on Sister Plautilla Nelli

In her fifteenth year she received the stigmata on her hands and feet and the marks of the Crown of Thorns on the head. The wounds reappeared throughout her life each Easter Sunday.

Unknown artist

Christina of Stommeln defeating the devil

I have no further description, at this time

She suffered many assaults of the devil, had many trials of her faith and was tempted to suicide. The Beguines thought her crazy and treated her with contempt, so she went back home. 

Unknown artist

Peter of Dacia, a Dominican from Gotland

I have no further description, at this time

As early as 1267 the parish priest, Johannes, took Christine into his house, where she made the acquaintance of Peter of Dacia, a Dominican from Gotland who was at Cologne as a pupil of St. Albert the Great. 

A mystical bond of devotion, the object of which was God, was formed between the two. Peter visited Christine in 1270 on his way back from Paris to Gotland, and again in 1279; in his account of her he mentions altogether fifteen visits. 

Unknown artist

Christina von Stommeln

I have no further description, at this time

Christine's brother followed Peter to Gotland and entered the Dominican Order. Peter became lector and in 1283 was prior in Gotland, where he died in 1288. In the same year the torments which Christine suffered through the devil ceased, and she lived a peaceful life, wearing always the dress of the Beguines, until her death. 

Unknown artist

Christina

Church of St. Mary of the Assumption in Jülich

Her body was first buried in the churchyard at Stommeln and then in the church itself; in 1342 her remains were carried to Niedeggen in the Eifel; a couple of centuries later, 22 June, 1569, they were transferred to Jülich, where a monument to her still exists. At Jülich are also to be seen the notes made by Peter of Dacia and the collection of her letters which the Bollandists have published under the date of 22 June (IV, 271-430). 

Unknown artist

Christina von Stommeln

I have no further description, at this time

It is difficult to decide just how much literal truth exists in Christine's visions and apparitions from Purgatory. But even Renan did not doubt the purity of her life (Hist. litt. de la France, XXVII, 1-26). The veneration of the Church has not been granted to Christine; however, the anniversary of her death, 6 November, is observed in Jülich. More on Christina von Stommeln

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