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A Lady Of Rank As Saint Bibiana - Bartholommeo Montagna( Originally Published Early 1900's ) ABOUT 1450-1523 It was the fashion in the Renaissance for persons of quality to have themselves painted with the attributes of their patron saints. This young lady holds a palm leaf in the right hand and an ugly short dagger pierces her left breast through the jeweled strip of ornament that edges her green bodice. The palm and dagger are the symbols of Saint Bibiana, a young Roman lady who suffered martyrdom in the reign of Julian the Apostate, first scourged and then pierced with a dagger. The name of the person who posed for our picture must then have been Bibiana and that is all we know of her except what the portrait tells us about her good looks and her fondness for jewels, pearls particularly. She wears a long string of them about her shoulders, a necklace, and others in the little cap that holds her hair in place and in clasps for her braid. The picture is from the Hainauer Collection. The frame is worthy of remark. |
Benjamin Altman Collection: A Lady Of Rank As Saint Bibiana - Bartholommeo Montagna The Holy Family - Andrea Mantegna Portrait Of A Young Man (called The Artist) - Antonello Da Messina The Crucifixion - Fra Angelico Madonna And Child - Andrea Del Verrocchio The Last Communion Of Saint Jerome - Botticelli Virgin And Child With Angels - Sebastiano Mainardi Borso D'este - Cosimo Tura The Virgin And Child With Saint Joseph And A Child Angel - Filippino Lippi Portrait Of A Man - Dirk Bouts Read More Articles About: Benjamin Altman Collection |