Thursday, March 8, 2012

Latest Icon - St. Gertrude




This is St. Gertrude of Nivelles (626 – March 17, 659) - a Benedictine Abbess. She is patron of:


against fear of mice
against fear of rats
against fever
against insanity
against mental disorders
against mental illness
against mice
against rats
against suriphobia
for accomodations
gardeners
cats
mentally ill people
Nivelles, Belgium
pilgrims
poor people
recently dead people
sick people
suriphobics
to obtain lodging while travelling
travellers
widows


Yes, she is patron saint of cats - not St. Gertrude the Great.

St. Gertrude the Great (6 January 1256 - 17 November 1302) on the other hand, also a Benedictine, is the patron of:

Naples, Italy
nuns
West Indies

12 comments:

Belfry Bat said...

Well, then I should implore (and be grateful for) her intercession, for to be sure I've had mice around here, whereas cats make me terribly ill, so that I can't keep one.

Thanks for the break, btw; while I love truth, I've not much stomach for polemic these days.

Terry Nelson said...

Magnificent Paul! The leaf is so well done. I'm very impressed. May God continue to give success to the work of your hands.

jvc said...

Wait a minute (you can tell I'm new to the blog), you actually produce these? Wow, they are amazing. I sincerely thought you were just posting them because you found them in a museum and liked them or something.

Paul Stilwell said...

Thanks Bat (I like how she's also patron against insanity), Terry, and jvc for the kind words.

Notice how she is averting her eyes?

Enbrethiliel said...

+JMJ+

I daresay St. Gertrude is very happy with this icon, Stilwell. =)

Paul Stilwell said...

Then I'm happy. Thank you, :)

cyurkanin said...

Paul, I've never seen the gold leaf written that way in a halo(in an icon), sort of exploding from a center point rather than flat. Is this part of a tradition that I'm not aware of or is this an innovation? Is there a significance to the way that this halo is done?

Paul Stilwell said...

Christopher, as to it being a tradition, I have no idea. But there is a significance in that it is to signify just what you get at - a radiating "burst" from the center - like the sun. While I don't want the radiating to be too dramatic, I'm not a fan of the pristine mirror shine that many iconographers do.

christopher said...

Interesting, thanks Paul, GREAT work!

christopher said...

41 years old and I just found out today that HB pencils are the same as #2's. Embarrassing. And right in front of all my art friends...

Paul Stilwell said...

I think I might be the second who just found that out today. Are #2's the ones typically sold as school supply - the ones with the eraser on the end?

cyurkanin said...

LOL! That would be them. I was buying a few supplies, including a handful of HB pencils, and I realized I'd forgotten to pick up some pencils for Cezanne's homework.

"Oh, I need to get a box of #2 pencils, too."

"Um... you want more of these?"

"What?"

"The pencils... you can grab as many as you want."

"No, I need the #2's. You know, the kind kids use for school."

"Yeah, those ARE #2's..."

"Um, yeah, I knew that..."