51 Paintings, Interpretation of the bible by Artists of 16th and 17th Centuries, with footnotes

Antonio del Castillo
Saint Acisclus holding a sword and a martyr’s palm, crowned by a putti;
Saint Victoria, holding an arrow and a martyr’s palm, crowned by a putti
Oil on canvas
Private collection

Saint Acisclus was a martyr of Córdoba, in Hispania (the Iberian Peninsula. His life is mentioned by Eulogius of Cordoba. He suffered martyrdom during the Diocletianic Persecution along with his sister Victoria. Their feast day is 17 November. There is doubt about the historical veracity of Victoria’s existence, but both martyrs were honored in Mozarabic liturgical rites.

After they were arrested, Acisclus and Victoria were tortured. According to tradition, Victoria was killed by arrows and Acisclus was beheaded.

One tenth century passio relates that the Roman prefect of Córdoba, Dion, an “iniquitous persecutor of Christians,” had Acisclus and Victoria cast into a fiery furnace. However, when he heard Acisclus and Victoria sing songs of joy from within the furnace, Dion had them bound to stones and cast into the Guadalquivir. They were soon floating unharmed on the river’s surface. He then suspended them over a fire. The fire, however, raged out of control and killed hundreds of pagans. The two saints then submitted to martyrdom, having proved their point and demonstrated their faith.

Their home was turned into a church. During the ninth century, some of the Martyrs of Córdoba were associated with this church, including Perfectus, a priest. More on Saints Acisclus and Victoria

Antonio Cánovas del Castillo de Rey (13 December 1908–13 May 1984), known professionally as Antonio Castillo, was a Spanish fashion and costume designer who won an Academy Award for the film Nicholas and Alexandra in the category Academy Award for Best Costume Design during the 1971 Academy Awards, that he won along with Yvonne Blake.

Antonio Castillo was born in 1908 in Madrid. He was educated in his home city at the Colegio del Pilar and the University of Madrid before studying in Granada at the El Sacro Monte…

Please follow link for full post

1 Religious Icon, Bartolo di Fredi’s Saint Anthony Abbot, with footnotes #14

Bartolo di Fredi
Saint Anthony Abbot
Tempera on panel, gold ground, a fragment, unframed
38.5 by 33 cm.; 15 1/8 by 13 in.
Private collection

Saint Anthony or Antony (251–356) was a Christian monk from Egypt, revered since his death as a saint. He is distinguished from other saints named Anthony by various epithets: Anthony the Great, Anthony of Egypt, Anthony the Abbot, Anthony of the Desert, Anthony the Anchorite, and Anthony of Thebes. For his importance among the Desert Fathers and to all later Christian monasticism, he is also known as the Father of All Monks. His feast day is celebrated on January 17 among the Orthodox and Catholic churches and on Tobi 22 in the Egyptian calendar used by the Coptic Church.

The biography of Anthony’s life by Athanasius of Alexandria helped to spread the concept of Christian monasticism, particularly in Western Europe via its Latin translations. He is often erroneously considered the first Christian monk, but as his biography and other sources make clear, there were many ascetics before him. Anthony was, however, the first to go into the wilderness, a geographical move that seems to have contributed to his renown. Accounts of Anthony enduring supernatural temptation during his sojourn in the Eastern Desert of Egypt inspired the often-repeated subject of the temptation of St. Anthony in Western art and literature. More Saint AnthonyBartolo di Fredi (c. 1330 – January 26, 1410) was an Italian painter, born in Siena, classified as a member of the Sienese School. Bartolo di Fredi was one of the most popular masters in Siena in the second half of the fourteenth century.

He registered in the Guild of that city in 1355. He helped decorate the Hall of Council at Siena, in 1361. In 1362 he went to San Gimignano, where, by 1356, he had painted the entire side of the left aisle of the Pieve with scenes drawn from the Old Testament. In 1366 the Council of the city of Gimignano ordered a painting, representing Two Monks of the Augustine Order to be placed in the Palazzo Pubblico In the early part of 1367 he returned to Siena, and was employed with Giacomo di Mino in the decorations of the cathedral. In 1372. In 1381 he was made a member of the Council. In 1389, Bartolo, assisted by Luca Thome to paint the altar-piece for the Shoemakers’ Company, in the Cathedral, and continued from that year until his death to furnish altar-pieces for the cathedral and other churches of Siena, which have now all disappeared.His style is marked by the rejection of the concrete figures. Instead he favor flatter decorative otherworldly compositions. He combined a spirit of fantasy with anecdotal details. More on Bartolo di Fredi

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, 365 Saints and 365 Days, 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.

06 Works, Today, May 31st is Saint Aurelia Petronilla’s day, her story in Paintings #151

Saint Petronilla (Petronille)
Oil on canvas
Musée Contes

Saint Aurelia Petronilla is an early Christian saint. She was venerated as a virgin martyr by the Catholic Church. She died in Rome at the end of 1st century, or possibly in the 3rd century.

Petronilla, her name is the feminine and diminutive of Peter, and is traditionally identified as the daughter of Saint Peter, though this may stem simply from the similarity of names. It is believed she may have been a convert of the saint (and thus a “spiritual daughter”), or a follower or servant. It is said that Saint Peter cured her of palsy…

Please follow link for full post