Please help identify two saint portraits

  • Thread starter Thread starter chilarlu
  • Start date Start date
Status
Not open for further replies.
C

chilarlu

Guest
I found this pair of lifesize (68" tall) paintings yesterday in an antique store. The seller said they were from a convent estate sale, but she didn’t know who the saints were. I am interested in not only who they are, but also why they are portrayed holding the objects that they are. Thanks so much for any help or insight anyone can give! It’s very appreciated 🙂

(Please Note: This uploaded content is no longer available.)
 
St. Clare and St. Francis. Crown and crucifix. The dots on St. Francis’s hands and feet are the Stigmata.
 
Thank you so much! If you could, do you know the significance of the crown and the book that St. Clare is holding? Why these objects?
 
May I just say these are beautiful paintings? Wow, thank you for sharing!
 
Thank you so much! I’m very glad you like them… I think they are truly lovely, also! They are oil on canvas that is wrapped or glued over a sort of masonite. In excellent condition with just some faint crackling in places.

The seller sold them to me as a pair at a very low price because they had been there for a long time and the seller wanted to get rid of them. This surprised me because I find them so interesting that I would have thought others before me would have thought so, also.

Perhaps everyone else found them too large and imposing. I can well understand that. They ARE very big. But that is part of their charm, for me.

They were also not displayed well…leaning in a corner partially hidden by shelves with the St. Clare hidden behind the St. Francis. Not obvious there was two. So that may have been part of why they hadn’t ever sold in all that time. I don’t know.

But, regardless, I’m happy nobody else wanted them 🙂 I will give them a good home.
 
chilarlu said:
Thank you so much! I’m very glad you like them… I think they are truly lovely, also! They are oil on canvas that is wrapped or glued over a sort of masonite. In excellent condition with just some faint crackling in places.

The seller sold them to me as a pair at a very low price because they had been there for a long time and the seller wanted to get rid of them. This surprised me because I find them so interesting that I would have thought others before me would have thought so, also.

Perhaps everyone else found them too large and imposing. I can well understand that. They ARE very big. But that is part of their charm, for me.

They were also not displayed well…leaning in a corner partially hidden by shelves with the St. Clare hidden behind the St. Francis. Not obvious there was two. So that may have been part of why they hadn’t ever sold in all that time. I don’t know.

But, regardless, I’m happy nobody else wanted them 🙂 I will give them a good home.
Click to expand...
They will bless you for that!
 
Wow, they are large! At least 15 bags of cat litter high! 😉

They are very nice!
 
chilarlu said:
Thank you so much! If you could, do you know the significance of the crown and the book that St. Clare is holding? Why these objects?
Click to expand...
Thank you for sharing these beautiful paintings. This is my take on the symbolism:

The book: The mystical writings of St. Clare, especially her four famous letters.

books.google.com/books?id=sznaF957ieQC&pg=PA191&lpg=PA191&dq=Divine+Office:+Feast+of+St,+Agnes&source=bl&ots=m7O3aN0_rM&sig=8qPAtHuKSxL6v3gqN7dJGDwTnWY&hl=fr&sa=X&ei=ETDzUOTgLePB0AH5q4DoCw&sqi=2&ved=0CFUQ6AEwBQ#v=onepage&q&f=false

The golden crown: “the [golden] crown of holiness”, in the first letter to Bl. Agnes of Prague:

…and placed on your head
*a golden crown as a sign [to all] of Your holiness. * 5

(As the editor indicates in footnote 5 of the letter, this line is taken from the Divine Office for the Feast of St. Agnes.)

Also see: The Golden Legend of St. Clare of Assisi on Catholic Forums:

catholic-forum.com/saints/golden307.htm
 
Thank you so much for the symbolism deconstruction. Wow. I’m very impressed!

The kitty litter comment was hilarious! Although technically the bags are salt crystals for ice melting, kitty litter just sounds so much more interesting as a scale of measurement 😃
 
You might try to reach out to Brother JR. He is a Franciscan and could probably tell you more about that than anyone else on this forum. He could also give you a lot and I mean a lot of interesting information on the two of them and Franciscan spirituality. Good luck:thumbsup:
 
I am not certain that is Mother Clare. I do not recall her ever being pictured with a crown.

I suspect this might be St. Elizabeth of Portugal (Elizabeth of Aragon).
 
Status
Not open for further replies.
Back
Top