The Martyrdom of the Blessed Signoretto Alliata, Giuseppe Cades
Signoretto Alliata was a nobleman of Pisa who spent his life on Sicily, working in hospitals. Late in life, he became a hermit and lived in seclusion in a deserted place on the shore. According to legend, he received his martyrdom near his dwelling at the hands of a band of North African pirates. In the painting, the pirates can be recognized as Muslims by their turbans. To a Christian audience, the scene conveyed the death of a blessed man at the hands of infidels. His luminous pale body and drapery symbolize his purity. Angels hand him the crown of martyrdom. This loosely painted scene was a preparatory version for a large painting commissioned for the cathedral of Pisa by Count Tommaso Alliata Campiglia, who wanted to honor his holy ancestor.
between circa 1794 and circa 1796 (Baroque)
oil on canvas
Painted surface Height: 50.6 cm (19.9 in). Width: 50.6 cm (19.9 in).
Walters Art Museum
Accession number 37.1831
Place of creation Rome, Italy
Object history
Galleria des Monte di Pietà , Rome [date and mode of acquisition unknown] [no. 1602]
Cassa dei Depositi e Prestiti, Rome [date and mode of acquistion unknown]
Cassa dei Depositi e Prestiti Sale, Rome, November 30, 1875, no. 65 [as Cades]
Don Marcello Massarenti Collection, Rome [date and mode of acquistion unknown] [1897 catalogue: no. 431, as a study of a painting in Venice representing St. Luke by Tiepolo]
1902: purchased by Henry Walters, Baltimore
1931: bequeathed to Walters Art Museum by Henry Walters
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