Title of Art: Santa Reparata and stories of her life
Date of Composition: 1400-1410
Art Form: Painting
Exhibit Institution: Museo dell'Opera del Duomo (Opera del Duomo Museum)
Exhibit Location: Florence, Italy
VM Image #: 0002
Photographer: Shala Graham
Date of Photograph: January 6, 2023
Subjects: Reparata
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Tempura painting on wood completed between 1400 -1410. The central figure shows St. Reparata dressed in a red mantle, holding Florence’s banner in one hand and a book and palm in the other. Four of the side scenes depict stories from her hagiography. The bottom two scenes show St. John the Baptist on the left and St Zenobius on the right.
Reparata was a 3rd-century virgin martyr from Palestine. As a patron saint of Florence, she is shown holding the banner of Florence in her right hand. Her left hand holds a book and palm, indicating her martyrdom. The top four scenes in the side panels depict scenes from her hagiography. Reading left to right, top to bottom they show; boiling lead being poured over her head, fire being applied to her breasts, her in a furnace, and finally her beheading. According to her hagiography, God was with her during each of these tortures, protecting her life in the first three, and ushing her to Heaven in the fourth. She is an example of strength and commitment to the faith in the face of extreme torture.