The ''Martyrdom of Saint Denis of the Nativity'' is the subject of a 1926 painting by Adrien-Gabriel Voisard-Margerie (1867-1954). It hangs in the church of St Catherine in

Honfleur Honfleur () is a commune in the Calvados department in northwestern France. It is located on the southern bank of the estuary of the Seine across from le Havre and very close to the exit of the Pont de Normandie. The people that inhabit Honf ...

Normandy Normandy (; french: link=no, Normandie ; nrf, Normaundie, Nouormandie ; from Old French , plural of ''Normant'', originally from the word for "northman" in several Scandinavian languages) is a geographical and cultural region in Northwestern ...

. It is not known whether the painting was commissioned by the church or offered as a gift by the painter.

Subject

The subject of the painting is the martyrdom of Pierre Berthelot, canonised as

Denis of the Nativity Pierre Berthelot, OCD (known in religion as Denis of the Nativity, or Dionysius; 12 December 1600, in Honfleur – 27 November 1638, in Sumatra) was a French sailor and cartographer in the service of the king of Portugal, and later Discalced Carme ...

in 1900 by

Pope Leo XIII Pope Leo XIII ( it, Leone XIII; born Vincenzo Gioacchino Raffaele Luigi Pecci; 2 March 1810 – 20 July 1903) was the head of the Catholic Church from 20 February 1878 to his death in July 1903. Living until the age of 93, he was the second-old ...

. Born in Honfleur, he sailed to the Far East at the age of nineteen. In

Malacca Malacca ( ms, Melaka) is a state in Malaysia located in the southern region of the Malay Peninsula, next to the Strait of Malacca. Its capital is Malacca City, dubbed the Historic City, which has been listed as a UNESCO World Heritage Site si ...

, he offered his services to the Portuguese as a pilot. In 1634, he took orders and became

Carmelite , image = , caption = Coat of arms of the Carmelites , abbreviation = OCarm , formation = Late 12th century , founder = Early hermits of Mount Carmel , founding_location = Mount Car ...

, and was ordained a priest in 1638. Together with other missionaries, he was sent on a diplomatic mission to the

Aceh Sultanate The Sultanate of Aceh, officially the Kingdom of Aceh Darussalam ( ace, Keurajeuën Acèh Darussalam; Jawoë: كاورجاون اچيه دارالسلام), was a sultanate centered in the modern-day Indonesian province of Aceh. It was a major ...

, where the local Muslims demanded that they renounce their faith. When they refused, they were executed one by one, with Brother Denis last. The executioners hesitated and were reluctant to shoot their arrows at him, so elephants were brought to trample him.

Description

The painting, oil on canvas, measures 142.5 by 120.5 cm. On the bottom left, we can read: "Achem de Sumatra, November 29, 1638" and "Honfleur, July 18, 1926"; on the right, the painter's signature. The scene is dominated by three elephants looming in the background. In the centre, wearing his Carmelite robes, Pierre Berthelot stands impassively, with his fellow martyrs, already dead, lying around him. On the right, an executioner stands with his

scimitar A scimitar ( or ) is a single-edged sword with a convex curved blade associated with Middle Eastern, South Asian, or North African cultures. A European term, ''scimitar'' does not refer to one specific sword type, but an assortment of different ...

lowered, while on the left, an angry crowd clamours. Many characteristics of the painting do not appear to be particularly authentic - the clothing is perhaps reminiscent of the

Maghreb The Maghreb (; ar, الْمَغْرِب, al-Maghrib, lit=the west), also known as the Arab Maghreb ( ar, المغرب العربي) and Northwest Africa, is the western part of North Africa and the Arab world. The region includes Algeria, ...

while the near-nudity of some figures and the facial features of others suggest that the details were inspired by ideas of Africa rather than Asia. The work has been described as “ a rather fanciful painting… mixing Asian and European motifs.”

Artist

The artist, like his subject, was a native of Honfleur. He was a member of the

Société des Artistes Français The Société des Artistes Français (, meaning "Society of French Artists") is the association of French painters and sculptors established in 1881. Its annual exhibition is called the "Salon des artistes français" (not to be confused with the ...

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Martyrdom of Saint Denis of the Nativity 1926 paintings Catholic paintings French paintings Paintings in Normandy