Art Institute of Chicago
Theodosius Repulsed from the Church by Saint Ambrose
Alessandro Magnasco (Italian, 1667–1749)LinkedCulture matchlcp-0408de3c05dc
- Date
- c. 1705
- Medium
- Oil on canvas
- Culture
- Italy
- Department
- Painting and Sculpture of Europe
- Institution
- Art Institute of Chicago
- Object ID
- 12891
From the Art Institute of Chicago record
This painting depicts a historical event from the year 390 when Ambrose, the archbishop of Milan, refused to give communion to Emperor Theodosius I until he made public penance for the massacre of thousands of innocents after an insurrection. Theodosius, the last emperor to command the entire Roman Empire, eventually submitted to the archbishop’s moral authority. The brushwork and arrangement of figures in this composition showcase Alessandro Magnasco’s fluid, energetic style. However, for the elaborate background edifice, an imaginary interpretation of the atrium of an early Christian church, he most likely employed an unidentified specialist in architectural painting.
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Provenance & credit
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- Credit line
- Clyde M. Carr Fund
- Provenance
- Julius H. Weitzner, New York, by 1958 [in his possession when published by Longhi 1958]; sold to the Art Institute, 1961.
Linked open data
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- Object type
- AAT300033618
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