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…
Zaidan Gallery 