Image
Andrea Delitio
King Totila Blessed by Saint Benedict, ca.1451
Description
Maker
- Andrea Delitio, 15th century, Italian
Title
King Totila Blessed by Saint Benedict
Year
ca.1451
Medium
Tempera and gold on panel
About
This painting was part of a narrative sequence set into the lower section of a painted altarpiece. It shows Saint Benedict (ca. 480–547), the founder of western monasticism, blessing a repentant Totila, the king of the Ostrogoths in Italy. Totila’s courtiers wear sumptuous 15th-century Florentine costume, in stark contrast to the austere monastic robes of Saint Benedict and his sister, Saint Scholastica, who stands behind him. The landscape, dotted with neighboring hill towns, recalls the region around Monte Cassino, the Benedictine monastery southeast of Rome. The altarpiece, now lost, was commissioned for the church of Saint Benedict in Norcia (Umbria), the saint’s birthplace.
Unsigned
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Exhibition History
Exhibition History
Use
The images on this website can enable discovery and collaboration and support new scholarship, and we encourage their use. This object is in the public domain (CC0 1.0). This object is King Totila Blessed by Saint Benedict with the accession number of 22.101. To request high-resolution files or new photography, please send an email to imagerequest@risd.edu and include your name and the object's accession number.
Feedback
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