Burial of St. Lucy (Caravaggio)

Burial of Saint Lucy
Italian: Seppellimento di Santa Lucia

Artist	Caravaggio
Year	1608
Medium	Oil on canvas
Dimensions	408 cm × 300 cm (161 in × 120 in)
Location	Chiesa di Santa Maria alla Badia, Syracuse

Burial of Saint Lucy is a painting by the Italian artist Caravaggio. It is located in the church of Santa Lucia alla Badia located on the Piazza Duomo in Syracuse, Sicily.

History

According to The Golden Legend, Saint Lucy had bestowed her wealth on the poor, in gratitude for the miraculous healing of her mother. Denounced as a Christian, she refused to recant, offered her chastity to Christ, and was sentenced to be dragged to a brothel. Miraculously, nothing could move her from the spot where she stood. She was pierced by a knife in the throat and, where she fell, the church of Santa Lucia al Sepolcro in Syracuse was built.^[1]

Caravaggio had escaped from prison on Malta in 1608, fleeing to Syracuse. There his Roman companion Mario Minniti helped him get a commission for the present altarpiece. Caravaggio painted it in 1608, for the Franciscan church of Santa Lucia al Sepolcro. The choice of subject was driven by the fact that St. Lucy was the patron saint of Syracuse and had been interred below the church.^[2] The subject was unusual, but especially important to the local authorities, who were eager to reinforce the local cult of St. Lucy, which had sustained a setback with the theft of her remains during the Middle Ages.^[3]

Santa Lucia Alla Badia Church in Syracuse

References

↑ Langdon, Helen (2000). Caravaggio: A Life. Westview Press. ISBN 9780813337944.
↑ Hibbard, Howard (1985). Caravaggio. Oxford: Westview Press. p. 236. ISBN 9780064301282.
↑ Graham-Dixon, Andrew (2011). Caravaggio: A Life Sacred and Profane. Penguin Books Limited. ISBN 9780241954645.

Works by Caravaggio

1593–1594	Boy Peeling Fruit (c. 1592) Young Sick Bacchus (c. 1593) Boy with a Basket of Fruit The Fortune Teller (Buona ventura) (c. 1594) Cardsharps (I bari) (c. 1594)

1595–1599 Del Monte paintings	The Musicians (c. 1595) Saint Francis of Assisi in Ecstasy (c. 1595) Boy Bitten by a Lizard (c. 1596) The Lute Player (c. 1596) Bacchus (c. 1596) Penitent Magdalene (c. 1597) Rest on the Flight into Egypt (c. 1597) Medusa (c. 1597) Portrait of a Courtesan (Fillide Melandroni) (c. 1597) Jupiter, Neptune and Pluto (c. 1597) Saint Catherine of Alexandria (c. 1598) The Sacrifice of Isaac (Princeton version) (c. 1598) John the Baptist (c. 1598) Martha and Mary Magdalene (c. 1598) Portrait of Maffeo Barberini (1598) Basket of Fruit (c. 1599) Judith Beheading Holofernes (c. 1599) David and Goliath (c. 1599) Narcissus (c. 1599)

1600–1606 Most famous painter in Rome	The Calling of Saint Matthew (1599–1600) The Martyrdom of Saint Matthew (1599–1600) The Conversion of Saint Paul (1600) The Crucifixion of Saint Peter (1601) The Conversion of Saint Paul on the Road to Damascus (1601) Supper at Emmaus (London) (1601) The Calling of Saints Peter and Andrew Amor Victorious (1602) Saint Matthew and the Angel (1602) The Inspiration of Saint Matthew (1602) The Incredulity of Saint Thomas (c. 1602) The Taking of Christ (1602) The Entombment of Christ (c. 1603) Madonna of Loreto (Madonna dei Pellegrini, Pilgrims' Madonna) (c. 1604) The Crowning with Thorns (Prato) (1604) The Death of the Virgin (1604) Saint Francis in Meditation (c. 1603) Christ on the Mount of Olives (1605) Ecce Homo (c. 1605) Saint Jerome in Meditation (c. 1605) Saint Jerome Writing (Borghese) (c. 1605) Portrait of Pope Paul V (1605) Still Life with Fruit (1605) Madonna and Child with St. Anne (Madonna de Palafrenieri, Grooms' Madonna) (1606)

1606–1608 Naples and Malta	Mary Magdalen in Ecstasy (1606) Saint Francis in Prayer (Cremona) (1606) Supper at Emmaus (Milan) (1606) The Seven Works of Mercy (1606) The Crucifixion of Saint Andrew (1607) David with the Head of Goliath (Vienna) (1607) Madonna of the Rosary (1607) The Crowning with Thorns (Vienna) (1607) The Flagellation of Christ (c. 1607) Christ at the Column (c. 1607) Salome with the Head of John the Baptist (London) (c. 1607) Saint Jerome Writing (Valletta) (1607) Portrait of Alof de Wignacourt and his Page (1607–1608) Portrait of Fra Antionio Martelli (1608) The Beheading of Saint John the Baptist (1608) Sleeping Cupid (1608)

1608–1610 Sicily and Naples	The Annunciation (1608) Burial of St. Lucy (1608) The Raising of Lazarus (1609) Adoration of the Shepherds (1609) Nativity with St. Francis and St. Lawrence (1609) Salome with the Head of John the Baptist (Madrid) (1609) Denial of Saint Peter (1610) The Martyrdom of Saint Ursula (1610) David with the Head of Goliath (1610)

Paintings attributed to Caravaggio

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