The Meeting of Saint Nilus and the Emperor Otto III

The Meeting of Saint Nilus and Emperor Otto III at Christ Church, Oxford, painted around 1611, depicts an episode from the life of the tenth-century Greek monk who founded the monastery of Grottaferrata near Rome. The subject held particular significance for the Basilian monks of that abbey, who likely commissioned the work. Characteristic of the artist's mature approach, the work displays clear, rational compositions, restrained emotional expression, classical landscape integration, Raphaelesque grace in figure types.

The encounter between the humble monk and the imperial ruler is composed with narrative clarity, Domenichino contrasting the simplicity of Nilus's monastic habit with the rich trappings of imperial power.