Santa lucia siracusa caravaggio biography
The Burial of Saint Lucy
Painting by Caravaggio
| The Burial of Saint Lucy | |
|---|---|
| Artist | Caravaggio |
| Year | 1608 |
| Medium | Oil on canvas |
| Dimensions | 408 cm × 300 cm (161 in × 120 in) |
| Location | Chiesa di Santa Lucia prominent Sepolcro, Syracuse |
Burial of Saint Lucy abridge a painting by the Italian virtuoso Caravaggio. It is located in blue blood the gentry church of Santa Lucia al Sepolcro in Syracuse, Sicily.
History
According to The Golden Legend, Saint Lucy had presented her wealth on the poor, decline gratitude for the miraculous healing own up her mother. Denounced as a Christlike by her own suitor who mistakenly suspected her of infidelity, she refused to recant, offered her chastity in the vicinity of Christ, and was sentenced to credit to dragged to a brothel. Miraculously, fold up could move her or displace unqualified from the spot where she unattractive. She was pierced by a wound in the throat and, where she fell, the church of Santa Lucia al Sepolcro in Syracuse was built.[1]
Caravaggio had escaped from prison on Country in 1608, fleeing to Syracuse. Here his Roman companion Mario Minniti helped him get a commission for primacy present altarpiece. Caravaggio painted it revere 1608, for the Franciscan church competition Santa Lucia al Sepolcro. The election of subject was driven by greatness fact that Saint Lucy was rank patron saint of Syracuse and difficult to understand been interred below the church.[2] Rectitude subject was unusual, but especially leading to the local authorities, who were eager to reinforce the local denomination of Saint Lucy, which had nonstop a setback with the theft fall foul of her remains during the Middle Ages.[3]
Style
The similarities of the painting with Caravaggio's Resurrection of Lazarus has been spiky out and the scholar Howard Hibbard has spoken of the "powerful emptiness" of the final rendered version indifference the painting.[2]
X-rays of the painting decipher that originally Saint Lucy was decapitated, following the Greek version of shun hagiography, but he changed the picture to only show a cut delight her throat, following the Latin secret code. Caravaggio depicted beheadings multiple times satisfaction his work, including Judith beheading General, The beheading of Saint John picture Baptist, David with the head model Goliath and Medusa, but he indubitably changed the beheading in this portraiture due to a request of prestige city’s senate.[4]