Matters of wife and death

Drawing of St Nicholas of Bari, pencil on paper, 19th century, by Gennaro Maldarelli (1795-1858, Italy). Collection of Dunedin Public Art Gallery. Gifted 2017 by E. A. G. and R. D. J. Collins.

He trained under Costanzo Angelini, whose neoclassical style influenced Maldarelli’s own.

Known for painting religious subjects, portraits and mythology, Maldarelli created works within churches, palaces and private homes in Naples and Caserta.

He also worked as an engraver, completing many drawings that were reproduced as engraved illustrations.

This delicate pencil drawing depicts Saint Nicholas of Bari, who is also referred to as Saint Nicholas of Myra.

Saint Nicholas was a fourth-century Christian bishop of Greek descent, who became the Bishop of Myra, in ancient Lycia (now the region of Demre, Turkey).

He was known for his generosity and one of his celebrated acts was his discreet provision of money for the dowries of three sisters, saving them from a future of destitution.

He did so by slipping a pouch of coins through the window of their home under the cover of darkness, returning over three nights to provide for all three of the daughters of the household.

In paintings and drawings, this act is sometimes represented by three purses, gold coins, balls or even oranges — symbols which can be seen in the saint’s hand in Maldarelli’s drawing.

Parallels have been drawn between the charity of Saint Nicholas of Bari and the figure of Saint Nicholas in modern Christmas stories.

The men on the right-hand side of this drawing represent another of Saint Nicholas’s acts of compassion — saving three innocent men from execution.

One kneels in a prayer of thanks, while the hangman’s nooses have been severed, releasing the prisoners from their death sentence.

Saint Nicholas is known as the patron saint of seafarers.

Following his death, it was thought that his body was interred in a church on the island of Gemile, in the Mediterranean. Years later, his remains were moved to the church of Saint Nicholas in Myra.

Later again, in 1087, Italian sailors from Bari removed some of Saint Nicholas’ remains, which were then placed by Pope Urban II beneath the altar of a new church — the Basilica di San Nicola.

This led to the name Saint Nicholas of Bari, which is used here in Maldarelli’s drawing.

This drawing of St Nicholas of Bari was donated to the collection of Dunedin Public Art Gallery in 2017, and is on display in the exhibition "Prayers & Declarations" until May 17.

The exhibition uses the collections of Dunedin Public Art Gallery and Hocken Library to consider how stories, themes and iconography relating to Christianity and faith have appeared in the works of artists across centuries.

Lucy Hammonds is curator at Dunedin Public Art Gallery.