The Blood of the Martyrs
Two sisters, Praxedes and Pudentiana, gathering martyrs' bodies, blood, and bones.
The Blood of the Martyrs
Artist: Giovanni Paolo Rosetti
Year: 1621
VM number: 0017
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Description: Praxedes and Pudenziana gathering martyr bodies and bones, collecting blood with sponges.
Century: 17th century
Photographer: Shala Graham
Date Taken: December 31, 2022
Location: Basilica di Santa Pudenziana (Basilica of S. Pudenziana)
Art Commentary: In the Caetani Chapel, within the Basilica di Santa Pudenziana, a late sixteenth–early seventeenth century oil painting by Rossetti depicts the sisters cleaning up a martyr’s body and severed head, with the jar into which they would squeeze the blood from their sponges. The painting illustrates the saintly task they took upon themselves, the story of their lives of service to Christ.
