Painting "Saint Cecilia", Raphael Santi: description

A simple Christian Cecilia, who lived in Rome about 200-230 years, suffered for her faith, died a martyr's death and was ranked as a saint. Its attributes are the rose and musical (keyboard or strings) instruments.

Life Story

Saint Cecilia was born into a noble Roman family. From a young age she became attached to the holy mysteries of Christianity. She fervently wished to serve the poor and gave a vow to keep cleanliness and chastity until death. Under fluffy attire she wore a rough hair shirt.

Her parents found her fiancé named Valerian. He was a pagan, like his brother Tivurtii. At the wedding, Cecilia heard heavenly music and told Valerian that she was being watched by an angel to punish someone who decided to break her virginity. Valerian wished to see the angel. For this he had to be baptized. After the baptism, Valerian saw an angel crowning Cecilia with a wreath of roses and lilies. They began to live together as a sister and brother and help the poor. Later came to Christianity and the brother of Valerian Tivurty. Young people actively helped the poor, and this did not please the prefect of Rome, Turkey Alcimay. He demanded that they bring sacrifices to the pagan gods, and when he was refused, he sent Valerian and Tyvurtia to martyrdom under lashes outside the city. Their faith was so strong that they did not think about death, but they introduced the chief of his guard Maxim to Christianity. After their execution, Maxim told how he saw their ascent to heaven, for which he was executed. During this time, Saint Cecilia distributed all the property and converted four hundred Romans to Christianity.

Martyrdom

A young woman was also sent to the prefect, and she was to die from suffocation in the bathhouse. Three days and three nights she remained in it, but when the bath was opened, the holy Cecilia was alive. Then she was sent to the block, but the executioner inflicted three wounds on her and could not cut off her head. After these tortures, he escaped. To the still living, bleeding holy three days went people to imbue sponges and tissues with her blood (article Saint Cecilia) and believe in Christ.

Saint relics

The body and head of the saint were buried in the catacombs. The Christians prayed before them. In the ninth century, the imperishable relics of Saint Cecilia were transferred to the temple in Trastevere, and her head to the monastery of Santi Quattro Coronati. But when in 1599 a sarcophagus was opened with a body, it miraculously recovered its head. This shocked many, including the sculptor Stefano Maderno. He sculpted the sculpture of a saint lying on his side. She is in the basilica in Rome, and her copy is in the catacombs.

Patron of music and musicians

Cecilia Roman from the XV century is considered the patroness of music: she, going to the crown, praying and singing spiritual hymns. The first mention of the music festival, which was made in her honor, is 1570, the Eure, Normandy. Pope Sixtus V issued a special bull, according to which Saint Cecilia is considered the patroness of music. It symbolizes the central part of the liturgy. Giovanni Palestrina organized a society of sacred music dedicated to her in Rome, later transformed into the Academy, which exists to this day and is called the National Academy of Santa Cecilia. Henry Purcell and Georg Handel first laid down "Ode to the day of St. Cecilia. " It falls on November 22. This tradition will be continued by musicians of all ages (Charpentier, Gounod, Britten, Mahler), including our time. So, in 1966 MacLeod Herden wrote the composition "Hymn of Saint Cecilia".

The classic work of Raphael

In 1513, Rafael Santi received from Cardinal Lorenzo Pucci an order in honor of Saint Cecilia for the Augustinian Chapel in Bologna. The patron of the chapel and the actual customer was Elena Duglioli Dalio. She was known for ecstatic seizures, which she caused music. Therefore, she asked for herself the image of St. Cecilia, which was playing ecstasy on the organ (based on the article "Rafale Santi", translated from English). Rafael portrayed this very moment. The organ is omitted, the saint sees the singing heavenly angels (detail). Her face is full of quiet passion and delight. Her dark, expressive eyes look at her alone, her chestnut hair reveals a clean face. From it emanates a warm and radiant light of life, for she listens to the music of heaven.

Iconography

This is not a picture, but an icon, and in it every detail carries a specific load. Five figures on it are not accidental. Five in Christianity means the four apostles and Christ. In the center stands the central face - holy Cecilia. Raphael from both sides symmetrically arranged her companions. We define them by attributes. The apostle Paul, the creator of the Christian doctrine, stands leaning on the sword and holding the papers. He looks down at the scattered broken musical instruments, and is immersed in deep thought. The Evangelist John, leaning his head to the right shoulder, looks at St. Augustine. A dark eagle is peeking out from beneath his robes. Further on, on the right, holding a staff, St. Augustine looks at St. John the Evangelist . Mary Magdalene, passing through the atonement of sins and now pure, with a brilliant dark vessel of alabaster, in her hands looks directly at the viewer who looks at her. Thus, part of the views overlap. St. Paul, in addition to the broken instruments, sees in them the rejection of earthly pleasures and, in addition, a simple strap that lies among them and is a traditional symbol of chastity for the Renaissance. John the Theologian was the patron of virginity, and Paul praised for celibacy. The strap itself is a reminder of abstinence from carnal pleasures.

Angels on the open sky

Only Saint Cecilia sees them. Rafael painted six singing angels, whose vocals and cappella surpass the most harmonious sounds that people can make. Three (sacred number) of an angel sing according to their book. They join their voice and their fourth hand. The other two are on their own. We get a series of numbers: 1, 3, 2, and in the sum of 6. 1 + 3 give a quart, 3 + 2 - a fifth. Harmony is derived, if there is still an octave. And it exists, only it is deeply hidden in the musical theory of Pythagoras, to which we will not go deeper.

Harmonious world

The whole picture of Raphael "Saint Cecilia" is a skillfully woven undulating lines that harmoniously and unobtrusively intertwine. Streams of lines are folds of clothes, contours of figures of monumental bodies, characteristic for works of this period of the painter. They all keep the viewer's eye on the image. Rafael Santi chose a general golden brown color, on which stands only black-haired in green robes and a red cloak Paul. His powerful figure and brightness of clothes emphasize what a tremendous work for Christianity he produced, creating a holistic teaching. The main idea of the picture is the glorification of the purity and ideal beauty that Cecilia expresses.