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The Ecstasy of Saint Cecilia

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The Ecstasis of St. Cecilia
ArtistRaphael
Year1516-1517
TypeOil transferred from panel to canvas
LocationPinacoteca Nazionale, Bologna

The Ecstasy of St. Cecilia is an oil painting by Italian High Renaissance painter Raphael. Completed in his later years, around 1516-1517, the painting depicts Saint Cecilia, the patron saint of musicians and Church music, listening to a choir of angels in the company of St. John, St. Paul, St. Augustine and Mary Magdalene. Commissioned for a church in Bologna, the painting now hangs there in the Pinacoteca Nazionale, or National Art Gallery.

Composition

The subject of the painting, Saint Cecilia, is the patron saint of musicians and Church music. In 1880, English Romantic poet Percy Shelley described the painting as follows:

The central figure, St. Cecilia, seems rapt in such inspiration as produced her image in the painter's mind; her deep, dark, eloquent eyes lifted up; her chestnut hair flung back from her forehead — she holds an organ in her hands — her countenance, as it were, calmed by the depth of its passion and rapture, and penetrated throughout with the warm and radiant light of life. She is listening to the music of heaven, and, as I imagine, has just ceased to sing, for the four figures that surround her evidently point, by their attitudes, towards her; particularly St. John, who, with a tender yet impassioned gesture, bends his countenance towards her, languid with the depth of emotion. At her feet lie various instruments of music, broken and unstrung.[1]

The Saint's companions are identified in part by their accessories. Immediately to her right, John the Apostle has an eagle, one of his symbols,[2] peaking out around his robes. Beside him, Paul of Tarsus leans on the sword with which he had come to be identified in medieval art.[3] Augustine of Hippo holds his crosier. Mary Magdalene holds the alabaster jar by which she is most commonly identified.[4] According to Champlin and Perkins (1913), on authority of 16th century artist and biographer Giorgio Vasari, the musical instruments strewn about Cecilia's feet were not painted by Raphael, but by his student, Giovanni da Udine.[5]

The final painting differed somewhat from the pre-sketch which has evidently been preserved in a burin by Marc Antonio.[6] In it, Raphael depicted the angels with instruments as well — harp, triangle and violin — and the figures are in very different poses. Augustine (wearing his mitre) and Paul look downward; John looks out towards the viewer; the Magdalene looks upward to the angelic host, as Celia does.

History

There has been some disagreement about the origin of the painting. Some sources mirror Vasari, indicating that the painting was commissioned by Cardinal Lorenzo Pucci in 1513.[5][7] However, a number of other sources indicate that the picture was prepared for a chapel built to honor St. Cecilia by a Bolognese lady, Elena Duglioni,[8][9][10] whose body came to rest in the same room wherein the painting hung.[11] Historian Eugène Müntz suggested in his 1882 biography of the artist that both stories hold an element of truth. According to him, Elena Duglioni was inspired to build a chapel by a vision, but conveyed her inspiration to her kinsman Antonio Pucci, who footed the bill for the chapel and convinced his uncle Lorenzo to commission the work.[12]

In any event, Raphael created the painting at around the same time he was accepted into the strict religious society Fraternitas Corpus Christi.[13] According to legend, after its creation Raphael sent the painting to his friend, artist Francesco Francia to ask him to correct any defects he might spot. One 19th century book reports that Francia was said to have "almost wept" when he removed the image from its box;[9] another, more dramatically, repeats the Vasari tale that he "was so overcome with grief at the sight of this picture that he died from excessive grief because he felt that he could never equal it."[10] Müntz, too, mentioned the tale, but suggests that no matter how overcome Francia was by the image, his death was probably due to his age.[12]

The painting hung initially in the church of S. Giovanni in Monte, Balogna, but it was relocated to Paris in 1793.[5] While there, it was transferred to canvas. In 1815, the painting was restored to Italy where, after cleaning, it was hung in the National Art Gallery, where it remains. The painting's condition is poor, as it has been damaged by repainting over the years.

Notes

  1. ^ Letters from Italy; quoted in Singleton (1899), p. 288.
  2. ^ Nici (2008), p. 155.
  3. ^ Lowrie (2007), 148-149.
  4. ^ Gardner (2007), p. 209.
  5. ^ a b c Champlin and Perkins (1913), p. 261.
  6. ^ Müntz (1882), p. 529.
  7. ^ Vasari (1987), p. 303-304.
  8. ^ D'Anvers (1882), p. 58.
  9. ^ a b Scott (1883), p. 273.
  10. ^ a b Bolton (1890), p. 144.
  11. ^ Vasari (1987), p. 304.
  12. ^ a b Müntz (1882), p. 525.
  13. ^ D'Anvers (1882), p. 59.

References

  • Bolton, Sarah Knowles (1890). Famous European artists. T. Y. Crowell & co. Retrieved 4 July 2010.
  • Champlin, John Denison; Charles Callahan Perkins (1913). Cyclopedia of painters and paintings. Scribner's. Retrieved 4 July 2010.
  • D'Anvers, N. (1882). Raphael. Sampson Low, Marston, Searle, & Rivington. Retrieved 4 July 2010.
  • Gardner, Lawrence (31 March 2007). The Magadalene Legacy: The Jesus and Mary Bloodline Conspiracy. Weiser. ISBN 9781578634033. Retrieved 5 July 2010.
  • Lowrie, Walter (March 2007). Art in the Early Church. READ BOOKS. ISBN 9781406752915. Retrieved 5 July 2010.
  • Müntz, Eugène (1882). Raphael; his life, works and times. Chapman and Hall, limited. Retrieved 4 July 2010.
  • Nici, John (1 January 2008). Barron's AP Art History. Barron's Educational Series. ISBN 9780764137372. Retrieved 5 July 2010.
  • Scott, Leader (1883). The renaissance of art in Italy: an illustrated history. Scribner and Welford. Retrieved 4 July 2010.
  • Singleton, Esther (14 November 2008 (originally published 1899)). "St. Cecilia". Great Pictures: As Seen and Described by Famous Writers. Dodo Press. pp. 287–288. ISBN 9781409945703. Retrieved 4 July 2010. {{cite book}}: Check date values in: |date= (help)
  • Vasari, Giorgio; George Bull (1987). Lives of the artists. Vol. 1. Penguin Classics. ISBN 9780140445008. Retrieved 4 July 2010.

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