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St Cecilia
by Guido Reni
StyleBaroque
Artwork Details
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Guido Reni depicted St. Cecilia, the patron saint of music, with her eyes raised heavenward in divine rapture. She holds a viola da gamba or similar instrument, though her attention is fixed on celestial music only she can hear. Reni's idealized features and silvery palette create an image of spiritual transcendence.
Reni was the leading Bolognese painter of the early 17th century, famous for his devotional images of saints in ecstasy. St. Cecilia was a popular subject, and Reni's version emphasizes her mystical connection to heavenly harmony. Now at the Norton Simon Museum in Pasadena, California.
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About St Cecilia
This work is at the Norton Simon Museum in Pasadena, California. The museum houses an outstanding collection of European Old Masters, Asian art, and Impressionist paintings in a beautiful garden setting.
St. Cecilia is the patron saint of music and musicians. According to legend, she sang to God in her heart during her wedding to a pagan, and was later martyred for her Christian faith. Reni shows her listening to heavenly music.
Reni developed an elegant, idealized style with silvery colors and graceful figures. His religious paintings of saints in ecstasy were enormously popular and widely copied throughout Europe for centuries.
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