Legend of Sts Cecilia and Valerian, Scene 8

1504 · Oratory of St Cecilia, San Giacomo Maggiore, Bologna

religious

Scene 8 of the Cecilia cycle in the Oratory of St Cecilia, painted by an unidentified collaborator of Francesco Francia, depicts the martyrdom of St Cecilia. We see Cecilia standing naked in the cauldron of boiling water from which she emerged unscathed. One young man kneels down to poke the fire; another, seen in a provocative pose from the back, leans still more split logs against the furnace.

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Legend of Sts Cecilia and Valerian, Scene 8

About the Artist

Francesco Francia

1450 – 1517

Francia (Francesco Raibolini), the outstanding Bolognese painter of his period, originally a goldsmith. He entered into a partnership with Lorenzo Costa after the latter came to Bologna c.1483 and was later influenced also by Perugino. . His most characteristic works are sweet, softly rounded Madonnas, which his large workshop produced in some numbers. He was also an accomplished portraitist. There are several examples of his work in the National Gallery, London. Before their fall, the Bentivoglio, rulers of Bologna, helped to fund frescoes for the oratory of St Cecilia, next to their parish church, San Giacomo Maggiore. The most prominent local artists of the period were involved, notably Francesco Francia, Lorenzo Costa and Tiziano Aspetti, and each appears to have contributed two frescoes.

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