Ayne (Aine) Bru (probably a Catalanization of Hans Brün)Bru, Ayne – CanalSocial – Enciclopedia GER
was a 16th-century Renaissance painter of

German German(s) may refer to: * Germany (of or related to) **Germania (historical use) * Germans, citizens of Germany, people of German ancestry, or native speakers of the German language ** For citizens of Germany, see also German nationality law **Ge ...

origin who worked in Catalonia. He may have proceeded from

Lummen Lummen (; li, Leume or ''Lumme'' ) is a municipality located in the Belgian province of Limburg near Hasselt. On January 1, 2006, Lummen had a total population of 13,691. The total area is 53.38 km² which gives a population density of 256 ...

, in the

Duchy of Brabant The Duchy of Brabant was a State of the Holy Roman Empire established in 1183. It developed from the Landgraviate of Brabant and formed the heart of the historic Low Countries, part of the Burgundian Netherlands from 1430 and of the Habsburg Neth ...

. He is sometimes also called Lucius de Brun. His surname may also suggest provenance from the town of

Brünn Brno ( , ; german: Brünn ) is a city in the South Moravian Region of the Czech Republic. Located at the confluence of the Svitava and Svratka rivers, Brno has about 380,000 inhabitants, making it the second-largest city in the Czech Republic ...

. In 1502, he was hired to paint the main

altar An altar is a table or platform for the presentation of religious offerings, for sacrifices, or for other ritualistic purposes. Altars are found at shrines, temples, churches, and other places of worship. They are used particularly in paganism ...

( retablo) in the church of the monastery of

Sant Cugat del Vallès Sant Cugat del Vallès (; es, San Cugat del Vallés, link=no) is a town and municipality north of Barcelona, Catalonia, Spain. Known as ''Castrum Octavianum'' in antiquity (which literally means ''the castle of Octavianus'') and as ''Pins del ...

, for which he was paid a staggering wage between 1504 and 1507. On the central panel, Bru depicted the

martyrdom A martyr (, ''mártys'', "witness", or , ''marturia'', stem , ''martyr-'') is someone who suffers persecution and death for advocating, renouncing, or refusing to renounce or advocate, a religious belief or other cause as demanded by an external ...

Saint Cucuphas Saint Cucuphas (also ''Cucufas'' or ''Qaqophas'', ca, Cugat, Culgat, Cougat, es, Cucufate, Cucufato, Cocoba(s), french: Cucuphat, Cucufa, Cucuphat, Quiquenfat, gl, Covade, Cobad, oc, Cophan, ast, Cucao) is a martyr of Spain. His feast day i ...

(in Catalan, ''Sant Cugat'') with enormous

realism Realism, Realistic, or Realists may refer to: In the arts *Realism (arts), the general attempt to depict subjects truthfully in different forms of the arts Arts movements related to realism include: * Classical Realism *Literary realism, a mov ...

. The executioner cuts the saint's throat while Cucuphas remains tied to a

tree trunk In botany, the trunk (or bole) is the stem and main wooden axis of a tree, which is an important feature in tree identification, and which often differs markedly from the bottom of the trunk to the top, depending on the species. The trunk is the ...

. Nearby, there appear another knife (in a basket) and a

dog The dog (''Canis familiaris'' or ''Canis lupus familiaris'') is a domesticated descendant of the wolf. Also called the domestic dog, it is derived from the extinct Pleistocene wolf, and the modern wolf is the dog's nearest living relative. ...

sleeping peacefully. This work is now at the

National Art Museum of Catalonia The Museu Nacional d'Art de Catalunya (, English: "National Art Museum of Catalonia"), abbreviated as MNAC, is a museum of Catalan visual art located in Barcelona, Catalonia, Spain. Situated on Montjuïc hill at the end of Avinguda de la Reina M ...

(Museu Nacional d'Art de Catalunya). The dog from Bru's painting of Cucuphas' martyrdom was later borrowed by Salvador Dalí for a painting called ''Dalí Contemplating Nude'' or ''Dalí Dalí Dalí''. The vast

countryside In general, a rural area or a countryside is a geographic area that is located outside towns and cities. Typical rural areas have a low population density and small settlements. Agricultural areas and areas with forestry typically are desc ...

that serves as a background

anachronistically An anachronism (from the Greek , 'against' and , 'time') is a chronological inconsistency in some arrangement, especially a juxtaposition of people, events, objects, language terms and customs from different time periods. The most common type ...

includes the actual monastery of Sant Cugat. Another panel, depicting Saint George (sometimes identified as

Saint Candidus Saint Candidus (d. 287 AD) was a commander of the Theban Legion. The Theban Legion was composed of Christians from Upper Egypt. He is venerated as a Christian saint and martyr. Legend Candidus was first mentioned as a member of the Theban Le ...

or simply as "Warrior Saint"),Legislación MCYT – ORDEN ECD/2867/2002, de 31 de octubre, por la que se otorga la garantía del Estado a 122 obras para su exhibición en la Sala de Exposiciones de la Biblioteca Nacional, en Madrid, en la exposición "Pintura y Poesía. Amor y Guerra en...
/ref> was attached to this one. It has been rejoined and is visible at the National Art Museum of Catalonia. Marcel Durliat believes that though the expressionism in this painting is evidence of a Germanic artistic tradition, Bru's Quattrocento depiction of the standing figures in contemporary dress, as well as other details, indicate that the painter may have lived or studied in Northern Italy before moving to Barcelona.

Gallery

Image: Ayne Bru - Saint Candidus - Google Art Project.jpg, ''Saint Candidus''

References

External links

Ayne BruMuseu Nacional d'Art de CatalunyaLucius de Brun (Ayne Bru)
{{DEFAULTSORT:Bru, Ayne 15th-century births 16th-century deaths Painters from Catalonia Belgian painters Year of birth missing Year of death missing 16th-century Spanish painters Spanish male painters