St Eligius in the Workshop

religious

Eligius, who was born in Limousin, has become one of the most popular saints of the Christian west. He started life as a goldsmith whose talent led him to the court of the Merovingian king, Clotar II, who prompted him to be his "treasurer". Dagobert, who succeeded Clotar II in 629, took Eligius into service as his chief councilor and entrusted him with many missions, both diplomatic and governmental.

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About the Artist

Niklaus Manuel

1484 – 1530

Swiss painter and poet and statesman; formerly sometimes wrongly called N. M. Deutsch on the basis of his monogram N.M.D.: the "D" is now thought to stand for the surname "Degen". As a member of the Inner Council of Berne, Manuel had an important influence on the debates on religious reform, having already made a name with plays attacking ecclesiastical abuses. As a painter Manuel was obviously affected by the work of Dürer and Baldung Grien; but his richly coloured pictures of biblical and mythological subjects frequently have dramatic effects of lighting and mood of landscape peculiar to him. His paintings include: The Execution of John the Baptist and the Judgement of Paris.

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