Gaspare Diziani Assumption of the Virgin ca. 1734-40 oil on canvas Los Angeles County Museum of Art |
Sebastiano Conca Holy Family with St Anne, St John the Baptist, Zacharias 1723 oil on canvas Dulwich Picture Gallery, London |
Carlo Innocenzo Carlone Glorification of St Felix and St Adauctus ca. 1759 oil on canvas National Museum of Western Art, Tokyo |
St. Felix and St. Adauctus – Martyrs at Rome, 303, under Diocletian and Maximian. The Acts, first published in Ado's Martyrology, relate as follows: Felix, a Roman priest, and brother of another priest, also named Felix, being ordered to offer sacrifice to the gods, was brought by the prefect Dracus to the temples of Serapis, Mercury and Diana. But at the prayer of the saint the idols fell shattered to the ground. He was then led to execution. On the way an unknown person joined him, professed himself a Christian, and also received the crown of martyrdom. The Christians gave him the name Adauctus ("added"). These Acts are considered a legendary embellishment of a misunderstood inscription by Pope Damasus. A Dracus cannot be found among the prefects of Rome; the other Felix of the legend is St. Felix of Nola; and Felix of Monte Pincio is the same Felix honored on the Garden Hill. The brother is imaginary. Their veneration, however, is very old; they are commemorated in the Sacramentary of Gregory the Great and in the ancient martyrologies.
– from the Catholic Encyclopedia (1914)
François Boucher Rest on the Flight into Egypt 1757 oil on canvas Hermitage, Saint Petersburg |
Marcantonio Franceschini Christ and the Woman of Samaria ca. 1700 oil on canvas Museum of Fine Arts, Houston |
Marcantonio Franceschini Noli mi tangere ca. 1700 oil on canvas Museum of Fine Arts, Houston |
Benjamin West Isaac's servant tying the bracelet on Rebecca's arm 1775 oil on canvas Yale Center for British Art |
John Linnell The Prophet Balaam and the Angel 1859 oil on paper, mounted on canvas Museum of Fine Arts Houston |
"And Balaam rose up in the morning, and saddled his ass, and went with the princes of Moab. And God's anger was kindled because he went: and the angel of the Lord stood in the way for an adversary against him. Now he was riding upon his ass, and his two servants were with him. And the ass saw the angel of the Lord standing in the way, and his sword drawn in his hand: and the ass turned aside out of the way, and went into the field: and Balaam smote the ass, to turn her into the way. But the angel of the Lord stood in a path of the vineyards, a wall being on this side, and a wall on that side. And when the ass saw the angel of the Lord, she thrust herself unto the wall, and crushed Balaam's foot against the wall: and he smote her again. And the angel of the Lord went further, and stood in a narrow place, where was no way to turn either to the right hand or the left. And when the ass saw the angel of the Lord, she feel down under Balaam: and Balaam's anger was kindled, and he smote the ass with a staff. And the Lord opened the mouth of the ass, and she said unto Balaam, What have I done unto thee, that thous hast smitten me these three times? And Balaam said unto the ass, Because thou hast mocked me: I would there were a sword in mine hand, for now would I kill thee. And the ass said unto Balaam, Am not I thine ass, upon which thou hast ridden ever since I was thine unto this day? was I ever wont to do so unto thee? And he said, Nay. Then the Lord opened the eyes of Balaam, and he saw the angel of the Lord standing in the way, and sword drawn in his hand: and he bowed down his head, and fell flat on his face. And the angel of the Lord said unto him, Wherefore hast thou smitten thine ass these three times? behold, I went out to withstand thee, because thy way is perverse before me: and the ass saw me, and turned from me these three times: unless she had turned from me, surely now also I had slain thee, and saved her alive. And Balaam said unto the angel of the Lord, I have sinned; for I knew not that thou stoodest in the way against me: now therefore, if it displease thee, I will get me back again."
– from the book of Numbers, chapter 22, as printed in the Authorized or King James Version of the Bible (1611)
Eugène Delacroix St Mary Magdalene at the foot of the Cross 1829 oil on canvas Museum of Fine Arts, Houston |
Solomon Joseph Solomon Samson ca. 1887 oil on canvas Walker Art Gallery, Liverpool |
Gustave Moreau Jacob and the Angel ca. 1874-78 oil on canvas Harvard Art Museums |
Gustave Moreau The Infant Moses ca. 1876-79 oil on canvas Harvard Art Museums |
Edward Burne-Jones Star of Bethlehem ca. 1885-90 watercolor, body-color Birmingham Museum and Art Gallery |
Joaquín Sorolla Kissing the Relic 1893 oil on canvas Museo de Bellas Artes de Bilbao |