Saint Julian the Hospitaler Meeting His Wife after Killing His Parents

Gallery 350, European Art 1500-1850, third floor

Main Building

Saint Julian the Hospitaler Meeting His Wife after Killing His Parents

c. 1515

Attributed to Franciabigio (Francesco di Cristofano di Francesco) (Italian (active Florence and environs), 1484–1524)

Upon encountering his wife, Julian realizes that the sleeping couple he has just found and killed in her bed was not her and a lover but his parents, whom he had not seen in many years. Julian later atones for his crime by building a hospital for the poor and by guiding travelers. The cult of Saint Julian was popular in Renaissance Florence because his feast day coincided with the annual celebration of the city's liberation from a despised government.

Gallery 350, European Art 1500-1850, third floor

Object Details

Title:

Saint Julian the Hospitaler Meeting His Wife after Killing His Parents

Date:

c. 1515

Artist:

Attributed to Franciabigio (Francesco di Cristofano di Francesco) (Italian (active Florence and environs), 1484–1524)

Medium:

Oil on panel

Dimensions:

10 5/16 x 7 5/16 inches (26.2 x 18.6 cm)

Classification:

Paintings

Credit Line:

John G. Johnson Collection, 1917

Accession Number:

Inv. 2954

Geography:

Made in Italy, Europe

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Gallery 350, European Art 1500-1850, third floor

Main Building

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