Collection: St. Bruno of Cologne

ARTIST: Museum Religious Art Classics

ARTWORK NARRATIVE:

Artist: Girolamo Marchesi – c. 1525

St. Bruno of Cologne (ca. 1035-1101) was the founder of the Carthusian monastic order. He was canonized, or sainted, by Pope Leo X in 1514. Although the artist did not know what St. Bruno actually looked like, he created an individualized portrait with hollow cheeks and large eyes. These features, along with the landscape, make the saint seem quite real to the viewer.

St. Bruno personally founded the order's first two communities. He was a celebrated teacher at Reims, and a close advisor of his former pupil, Pope Urban II.

His feast day is October 6.