2015.9
Martyrdom of Saints Denis, Rusticus, and Eleutherius
Artist
Avanzino Nucci
(Gualdo Tadino, 1551 - 1629, Rome)
Title
Martyrdom of Saints Denis, Rusticus, and Eleutherius
Creation Date
ca. 1570-1620
Century
16th-17th century
Dimensions
10 13/16 x 7 1/2 in. (27.46 x 19.05 cm)
Object Type
drawing
Creation Place
Europe, Italy
Medium and Support
pen and brown ink with brown wash over black chalk on paper
Credit Line
Funded purchase from George and Elaine Keyes
Copyright
This artwork may be under copyright. For further information, please consult the Museum’s
Copyright Terms and Conditions.
Accession Number
2015.9
The abbreviated articulation of faces and hands and the stretched anatomy of the bodies with disproportionately small heads are typical for the work of Avanzino Nucci, a Roman painter of the era of Sixtus V (r. 1585--1590) best known for his church frescoes. Nucci’s drawing is most likely a preliminary sketch for a print or a painting that would have been part of a “martyrology,” an introduction to various saints that illustrated their commitment to their faith. Saint Denis (or Dionysius) is believed to have been a third-century bishop in Paris who was executed with his companions during the persecution of religious minorities that was ordered by the Roman emperor Decius in 250. The veneration of the saint in Italy was intensified in the period of the Counter-Reformation, during Nucci’s lifetime. Pope Pius V added the feast of Saint Denis to the Roman calendar in 1568.
