ST. CECILIA PLAYING THE ORGAN

Description:

18th century
13 x 9 cm
Gouache painting on paper. Slightly worn. Wooden frame.
Southern German private collection
Saint Cecilia of Rome is the patron saint of church music, musicians and singers, and her feast day is celebrated on 22 November. Her depiction with an organ as an attribute stems from a mistranslation of her hagiography (“cantatibus organis”), yet this has established her as the patron saint of organ music since the Middle Ages