Three female saints, each holding a martyr’s palm frond: Joan of Arc (Ste Jeanne or Jeanne d’Arc); Saint Catherine of Alexandria who holds a sword, symbol of her beheading; and Saint Margaret of Antioch (Ste Marguerite) with a dragon at her feet. Both Joan of Arc and Margaret of Antioch wear martyr’s crowns. Mid-1800s paintings on wood-panelled ceiling vault of Church of Saint Nonne, Dirinon, Finistère, Brittany, France.
Church of Saint Nonne, Dirinon, Finistère, Brittany, France: three female saints, Joan of Arc, Catherine of Alexandria and Margaret of Antioch. Among paintings executed between 1856 and 1858 by the painter Jean-Louis Nicolas (1816 - 1899) on the church’s wood-panelled ceiling. These 19th century paintings are distinct from ceiling paintings above the church’s choir. The latter depict the Last Judgement, were painted in 1715 and were restored by Jean-Louis Nicolas in 1757. Joan of Arc (c. 1412 - 1431) a pious peasant in medieval France who believed that God had chosen her to lead France to victory in its long-running war with England. With no military training, Joan convinced crown prince Charles of Valois to allow her to lead a French army to the besieged city of Orléans, where they achieved a stunning victory. After seeing the prince crowned King Charles VII, Joan was captured by enemy forces, tried for witchcraft and burned at the stake at the age of 19. According to legend, St Catherine (or Katherine) died in the early 4th century in Alexandria, Egypt. She became a Christian at the age of 14 and converted many hundreds of people to Christianity. Roman Emperor Maxentius condemned her to death on a spiked wheel, but it shattered when she touched it. Finally, he ordered her beheading. St Margaret of Antioch (c. 289 - 384), also known as St. Marina, was tortured for refusing to renounce her Christian faith in order to marry a Roman Governor, but miraculous events then included Margaret being swallowed whole by Satan disguised as a dragon - which regurgitated her alive when her cross irritated the monster’s innards. The Church of St Nonne was built of Logonna sandstone between the late 1500s and early 1700s. It blends Gothic and Renaissance architectural styles.
Size: 5880px × 3920px
Location: Church of Saint Nonne, l’église Sainte-Nonne, Dirinon, Finistère, Brittany, France
Photo credit: © Terence Kerr / Alamy / Afripics
License: Royalty Free
Model Released: No
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