Francisco de Herrera the Younger: The Triumph of Saint Hermenegild (1654)

(Museo del Prado, Madrid, Spain)

A painting by the Spanish artist Francisco de Herrera the Younger (1622 - 1685). Saint Hermenegild or Ermengild (died A.D. 585) was the son of the Visigoth king Liuvigild. Persuaded by his Frankish wife Ingunthis and Leander, bishop of Seville, Hermenegild converted from Arianism (the religion of his farther) to Chalcedonian Christianity. His father considered this conversion treason. His family demanded that he return to Arianism, but he refused. Hermenegild started a rebellion against his father but he was soon defeated in 584 and executed on 13 April 585 after refusing to take communion from an Arian Bishop. Pope Gregory I celebrated the death of Hermenegild as a "Catholic martyr rebelling against the tyranny of an Arian father". This view is portrayed here. The two figured in the lower left corner are king Liuvigild and an Arian Bishop with the chalice of the Eucharist. Saint Hermenegild rises up to heaven surrounded by angels carrying the symbols of his origin and martyrdom: the crown and scepter of a Visigothic king. This work was painted for the main altarpiece of the Church of Santa Teresa y San José in Madrid. Painting from 1654.

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