Saint Gregory the Great1630
This painting is from a series depicting famous theologians (scholars who studied and wrote about the nature of God) for the ceiling of the library in the Dominican convent of Santa Maria Novella in Florence. St. Gregory the Great (AD 540-604) was one of the four Latin Church Fathers (along with Sts. Jerome, Augustine, and Ambrose). As pope, he instituted many reforms of the church service. An angel holds his papal tiara. He is shown here as if seen from below, with the dove, a symbol of the Holy Spirit, suggesting the divine inspiration of his religious writings. In the library, the image would have provided a model of scholarship and piety for the studious Dominican friars.
- 50 1/2 x 41 3/4 in. (128.27 x 106.05 cm)
- oil on canvas
- Courtesy of the Walters Art Museum
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