''Saint Ambrose barring Theodosius from Milan Cathedral'' is a painting of by
Anthony van Dyck
Sir Anthony van Dyck (, many variant spellings; 22 March 1599 – 9 December 1641) was a Brabantian Flemish Baroque artist who became the leading court painter in England after success in the Southern Netherlands and Italy.
The seventh c ...
in the
National Gallery
The National Gallery is an art museum in Trafalgar Square in the City of Westminster, in Central London, England. Founded in 1824, it houses a collection of over 2,300 paintings dating from the mid-13th century to 1900. The current Director o ...
, in
London
London is the capital and largest city of England and the United Kingdom, with a population of just under 9 million. It stands on the River Thames in south-east England at the head of a estuary down to the North Sea, and has been a majo ...
.
It draws heavily on
a 1618 treatment of the same subject by
Peter Paul Rubens
Sir Peter Paul Rubens (; ; 28 June 1577 – 30 May 1640) was a Flemish artist and diplomat from the Duchy of Brabant in the Southern Netherlands (modern-day Belgium). He is considered the most influential artist of the Flemish Baroque traditio ...
, on which van Dyck had worked as a studio assistant. In van Dyck's version, Theodosius is beardless, the architectural background is more defined, a spear and a halberd are added on the left-hand side and a dog in the bottom-left.
The painting depicts the Roman emperor
Theodosius I
Theodosius I ( grc-gre, Θεοδόσιος ; 11 January 347 – 17 January 395), also called Theodosius the Great, was Roman emperor from 379 to 395. During his reign, he succeeded in a crucial war against the Goths, as well as in two ...
and his entourage being barred from
Milan Cathedral
Milan Cathedral ( it, Duomo di Milano ; lmo, Domm de Milan ), or Metropolitan Cathedral-Basilica of the Nativity of Saint Mary ( it, Basilica cattedrale metropolitana di Santa Maria Nascente, links=no), is the cathedral church of Milan, Lombard ...
by its archbishop
Saint Ambrose
Ambrose of Milan ( la, Aurelius Ambrosius; ), venerated as Saint Ambrose, ; lmo, Sant Ambroeus . was a theologian and statesman who served as Bishop of Milan from 374 to 397. He expressed himself prominently as a public figure, fiercely promo ...
, as punishment for the
Massacre of Thessalonica
The Massacre of Thessaloniki, Thessalonica in Macedonia (ancient kingdom), Macedonia, Greece was a massacre of local civilians by Roman troops. The best estimate of the date is 390. The most probable cause was the murder of a Roman official in a ...
.
See also
*
List of paintings by Anthony van Dyck
The following is an incomplete list of works by the Flemish painter Anthony van Dyck (1599–1641).
Portraits (1613–1632)
Between 1613 and 1632, van Dyck travelled all over Europe – from his native Antwerp (where he began working as a painte ...
Sources
*National Gallery
''St Ambrose barring Theodosius from Milan Cathedral''
Bibliography
*Gian Pietro Bellori, ''Vite de' pittori, scultori e architecti moderni'', Torino, Einaudi, 1976.
*Didier Bodart, ''Van Dyck'', Prato, Giunti, 1997.
*Christopher Brown, ''Van Dyck 1599–1641'', Milano, RCS Libri, 1999.
*Justus Müller Hofstede, ''Van Dyck'', Milano, Rizzoli/Skira, 2004.
*Stefano Zuffi, ''Il Barocco'', Verona, Mondadori, 2004.
{{DEFAULTSORT:Saint Ambrose barring Theodosius from Milan Cathedral
1620 paintings
Paintings by Anthony van Dyck
Paintings in the National Gallery, London
Paintings of Ambrose
Theodosius I
Churches in art