Saint Christina of Bolsena
Artist
Francesco Furini
(Italian, 1603 - 1649)
Date1635–1645
MediumOil on canvas
DimensionsFrame: 33 x 27 3/4 x 3 in. (83.8 x 70.5 x 7.6 cm)
Image: 25 3/16 x 19 7/8 in. (64 x 50.5 cm)
Image: 25 3/16 x 19 7/8 in. (64 x 50.5 cm)
ClassificationsPaintings
Credit LineBequest of John Ringling, 1936
Object numberSN135
Francesco Furini's reputation for painting rapturous images of female nudes is reflected in this depiction of Saint Christina, a 3rd-century martyr from Tuscany. Upon defacing her father's gold and silver pagan idols, the fragments of which she gave to the poor, she was subjected to various tortures before being killed with arrows. Saint Christina is shown bound, with an arrow through her neck suggesting martyrdom, but little else distracts the viewer from this poetic image of ideal beauty. By focusing on the softness of the flesh and hair, Furini secularizes the ostensibly religious image.
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