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Saint Denis Holding His Head

Creator

French Illuminator · 1420–1450

The Master of Sir John Fastolf was an anonymous illuminator active in France and England in the second quarter of the 1400s, during the period of French-English strife known as the Hundred Years War. The Master's name comes from a manuscript he illuminated for Sir John Fastolf in England around 1450. The Master of Sir John Fastolf first worked in Paris with the Boucicaut Master before 1420 and the

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Date: about 1430–1440
Medium: Tempera colors, gold leaf, and ink
Culture: French or English
Department: Manuscripts
Institution: Getty Museum

Saint Denis, the first bishop of Paris, was beheaded in that city in the year 250. According to legend, angels accompanied him as he carried his own head from the place of execution to his chosen burial site, where later the church of Saint Denis was built just outside of Paris. Dressed in his bishop's garments, the saint is depicted with two haloes--one behind his decapitated head and a second behind the stump of his neck. This feature reflects medieval notions about the incorruptibility of saintly remains--the body does not decompose after death. By including two haloes, the artist emphasizes Saint Denis's presence in each part of his body and the sanctity of his physical remains.

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