Saint Philomena of Rome,
oil on canvas, 61.5 x 98 cm, framed, (Rei)

Provenance:
Private Collection, Germany.

The life of Saint Philomena of Rome, protector of children, infants and expectant mothers, as well as of prisoners and torture victims, came about during an archaeological dig in the Catacombs of Priscilla in 1802. A tomb slab with the inscription “Peace be to you, Filomena,” belonging to a tomb containing, alongside a female skeleton, a glass phial with a dried up liquid, led its discoverers to the assumption that they had found the tomb of a martyr. The miraculous healings attributed to Saint Philomena inspired great devotion, particularly in Italy.
Philomena’s life was revealed to a nun in dreams in which she was beheaded as a maiden under the rule of Diocletian, because she refused marriage with the ruler and turned to the life of Christ. The emperor sentenced her to death. Many attempts to drown her failed: each time she was saved. Only her decapitation could stamp the seal of her fate. Pictures of three arrows, lilies, an anchor and a whip, which were found on her tombstone, became the attributes of the saint. Veneration of her was criticised, however, because her life was known only in the form of a legend. Her holy day was consequently erased from the liturgical calendar.