Saint Andrew (1740–43): Artwork and History

Saint Andrew (1740–43) is in the Art Institute of Chicago collection. The museum lists its creator attribution as Pompeo Girolamo Batoni (Italian, 1708–1787).

The work and its context

The Art Institute of Chicago describes the work:

One of a series of religious paintings commissioned by Pompeo Batoni’s most dedicated patron, Count Cesare Merenda of Forlì, this painting depicts Andrew the Apostle carrying his distinctive X-shaped cross. As the story goes, Saint Andrew welcomed death by crucifixion because it brought him closer to Christ, calling out in his final moments, “Oh Cross, I have desired to embrace you.” Capturing the emotional drama of this moment, Batoni painted the saint with a somber expression, tenderly and affectionately clutching his instrument of torture.

Object facts

• Title: Saint Andrew
• Date: 1740–43
• Artist attribution: Pompeo Girolamo Batoni (Italian, 1708–1787)
• Place of origin: Italy
• Medium: Oil on canvas
• Dimensions: 74 × 61 cm (29 1/8 × 24 in.); Framed: 94 × 82 cm (37 × 32 1/4 in.)
• Type: Painting
• Department: Painting and Sculpture of Europe
• Reference number: 1960.50

Collection credit

Gift of Mrs. Joseph Regenstein through the Joseph and Helen Regenstein Foundation

View the original

Explore the artwork in the Art Institute's collection, including its image and the museum's current catalogue details.

The description above is credited to the Art Institute of Chicago and reused under Creative Commons Attribution 4.0; HTML formatting has been converted to plain text. Other catalogue metadata and the public-domain image are provided under CC0 1.0.