Flemish school; 17th century.
"Saint Cecilia".
Oil on copper.
It presents repainting.
Measurements: 24,5 x 19,5 cm; 34 x 28 cm (frame).
In this image of religious character, since its protagonist is Saint Cecilia, accompanied by several little angels, the artist manages to move the spectator beyond the sacred content, offering him an image of sensorial character. The scene invites us to reflect allegorically, as the artist proposes in the same scene different actions that allude directly to the senses, such as sight and smell, represented by the vegetation, and hearing through the action of the saint. This interest in this representation is largely reminiscent of the works of the five senses by the painters Rubens and Brueghel, which are now in the Prado Museum and which, as in this particular case, show a composition that is notable for the abundance and precise detail of all the elements that make up the scene.
Saint Cecilia, the most popular of the Roman martyrs along with Saint Agnes. A young patrician from the Caecilian family, she was forced by her parents to marry, although in the bridal chamber she converted her husband to the ideal of Christian chastity. The young husband had himself and his brother baptised, and both were condemned to death. Because Cecilia refused to offer sacrifices to the gods, she was condemned to die by drowning in the steam of an overheated cauldron, but a heavenly dew cooled her. She was then ordered to be beheaded, but her executioner struck three blows without managing to separate her head from her body. As Roman law forbade further beating of the condemned after these three attempts, Cecilia survived for three days. She died in the presence of Pope Urban and was buried in the cemetery of Callixtus. Since the 15th century, Saint Cecilia has been the patron saint of musicians, singers and organists, as well as organ and string instrument makers. Originally, Saint Cecilia, like most martyrs, did not wear any identifying attribute. It was only at the end of the 15th century, when she became the patron saint of musicians, that she received a musical instrument, a portable or fixed organ, as an attribute.