Right wing of a triptych with St Cecilia
Historical Context
The Master of the Brunswick Diptych's Right Wing of a Triptych with Saint Cecilia, painted around 1490 and now in the Rijksmuseum, depicts the early Christian martyr Cecilia of Rome — one of the most beloved female saints of the medieval tradition who became the patron saint of musicians, having according to hagiographic legend sung to God while the wedding music played at her forced marriage to the pagan Valerian. Cecilia's story of converting her husband to Christianity, then refusing to sacrifice to Roman gods, and surviving an attempted beheading before finally dying of her wounds, made her a powerful model of Christian fortitude and marital virtue.
Technical Analysis
Oil on panel with the refined Flemish technique of the late fifteenth century. Saint Cecilia is shown with her musical attribute — an organ or other instrument — identifying her as patron of music. The three-quarter or half-length presentation is characteristic of wing panels in triptych format.
