01 Work, Interpretation of the bible, Francesco Cairo's The Martyrdom of Saint Euphemia, with Footnotes #200

Francesco Cairo, Milan 1607 - 1665

The Martyrdom of Saint Euphemia

Oil on canvas

223.5 x 193 cm.; 88 x 76 in.

Private collection

Estimated for 15,000 - 20,000 GBP on July 2023

Euphemia, known as the All-praised in the Eastern Orthodox Church, is a Christian saint, who was martyred for her faith in 303 AD. According to Christian tradition, this occurred at Chalcedon.

According to tradition, Euphemia was arrested for refusing to offer sacrifices to Ares. She was thrown 'into a pit where there were three wild beasts so ferocious that they would swallow any man', but she was unharmed. An executioner was then sent to kill the maiden and to reward the headsman for his service, the judge draped him in a silk garment and girded him with a gold belt, but as the man went out, he was snatched by a lion and devoured. 

After suffering various tortures, she died in the arena at Chalcedon from a wound sustained from a bear. Her tomb became a site of pilgrimages. She is commemorated on September 16. More on Euphemia

Chalcedon was an ancient maritime town of Bithynia, in Asia Minor.

Francesco Cairo (26 September 1607 – 27 July 1665) was an Italian Baroque painter active in Lombardy and Piedmont. He was born and died in Milan. It is not known where he obtained his early training though he is strongly influenced by the circle of il Morazzone, in works such as the Saint Teresa altarpiece in the Certosa di Pavia.

 

In 1633, Cairo moved to Turin to work as a court painter. Between 1637–1638, Cairo travelled to Rome, where he encounters the works of Pietro da Cortona, Guido Reni and of the Caravaggisti. He returns to Lombardy to complete altarpieces for the Certosa of Pavia and a church at Casalpusterlengo. Between 1646–1649, he returns to Turin, and paints an altarpiece for Savigliano and the church of San Salvario. He is also known as Il Cavalière del Cairo, because in Turin, he received the Order of Saints Maurice and Lazarus in recognition of his merit.

 

Many of his works are eccentric depictions of religious ecstasies; the saints appear liquefied and contorted by piety. He often caps them with exuberant, oriental turbans. More on Francesco Cairo

Because she was asked for help during the eruption of Mount Etna she is considered a protector against the outbreak of fire. She is also considered the patroness of bellmakers for an unknown reason -- though some speculate it may have something to do with the fact that bells were used as fire alarms. More on Francesco Cairo

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