Saint Benedict and Saint Scholastica and Two Companions in a Landscape
Jean-Baptiste de Champaigne (Brussels 1631 - Paris 1681)
Category
Art / Oil paintings
Date
1651 - 1681
Materials
Oil on canvas
Measurements
735 x 990 mm
Place of origin
France
Order this imageCollection
Calke Abbey, Derbyshire
NT 290251
Caption
St Benedict has been painted with a book in his lap, pointing to the sky, with a kneeling monk to his left and his twin sister, St. Scholastica, and her companion to his right. All the figures are dressed in the habit of the Benedictine Order. St. Benedict founded the famous monastery at Monte Cassino, where he developed the Rule of his Order (from which he reads here). This, in time, became the basis of western monastic law, requiring poverty, chastity and obedience. Monte Cassino was said to have been the site of a temple of Apollo, whose worshippers pulled it to the ground after being converted to Christianity. St. Scholastica was head of a nearby community of nuns, and was visited regularly by her brother.
Summary
Oil painting on canvas, Saint Benedict, and Saint Scholastica and Two Companions in a Landscape by Jean-Baptiste de Champaigne (Brussels 1631 – Paris 1681). Saint Benedict with a book in his lap points to the sky, a kneeling monk to his left and Saint Scholastica and companion to his right. All the figures dressed in the habit of the Benedictine Order. Behind is a landscape with occasional buildings. (Inventory card) St Benedict and his twin sister Saint Scholastica. Benedict was a hermit, who founded the Benedictine Order, made annual visits to his twin sister, the first Benedictine nun, near Monte Cassino in Italy.
Provenance
Acquired with Calke Abbey's contents, with the aid of a grant provided by the National Heritage Memorial Fund, thanks to a special allocation of money from the Government and transferred in lieu of tax on the estate of Charles Jenney Harpur-Crewe (1917 - 1981) to the National Trust with the house that was given by Henry Jenney Harpur-Crewe (1921- 1991), in 1984
Credit line
Calke Abbey, The Harpur Crewe Collection (acquired by the National Trust with the help of the help of the National Heritage Memorial Fund in 1984)
Makers and roles
Jean-Baptiste de Champaigne (Brussels 1631 - Paris 1681) , artist