Object ID
F2012.9
Object Name
Icon
Medium
wood, canvas, paint
Object Entities
Spyridon, Saint (is related to)
Object Description
A large dark painting of Saint Spyridon. The painting was most likely made in 1925 and then in 1932 it was probably donated or bought. In the top left corner there is a yellow from sunlight and in the top right corner in Greek it says Saint Spyridon. The backgrown and floors are dark colors while Saint Spyridon wears clothing that is teal, red, and gold. Around his head he has a gold ring or halo. The gold cloth that wraps around his shoulders and chest have a cross on both sides and in the middle of the crosses there are pictures of someone. On the bottom teal cloth there is a gold cross and next to it on another piece of cloth that is gold and red there is another cross. He has white hair and facial hair. In one of his hands he is holding up an object that is on fire with residue dripping down. On the right side at the height of his knees there is writting in a dark gold color that says a name and 1925. Under that in white paint it says another name and 1932.
Origin
Spyridon was born in Cyprus where he was a sheperd. He got married and had one daughter. When his wife died he joined a monastery and his daughter joined a convent. Spyridon became the Bishop of Trimythous and took part in the First Ecumenical Council of Nicaea in 325. He supposedly converted a pagan philosipher to Christianity by using a potsherd to show how one entity could be composed of three unique entities (fire, water, clay), a metaphor for the Trinity. When he was finished explaining this to the man the sherd is said to have started on fire, water dripped on the ground, and in his hand was dust or in some stories brick. He is often shown in paintings holding the potsherd or a sprig of basil. He is the patron saint of potters and on the island of Corfu he is called Saint Spyridon, Keeper of the City because of the miracle of expelling the plague.
Rights and Reproduction
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Citation
Icon, National Hellenic Museum, https://collections.nationalhellenicmuseum.org/Detail/objects/8889. Accessed 03/28/24.