Description
Saint Benedict of Palermo in carved, polychromed and gilded wood, glass eyes. Spain, 17th century H. 90 cm (small accidents and missing parts, especially the hands) Benedict the Moor or Benedict the African was born near Messina in Sicily in 1526, the result of the love affair between Diane Manasseri and a slave of Yoruba origin. After a hard life as a farm worker, he became a hermit and then a monk in the Franciscan order in Palermo. In 1611 his incorrupt remains were exposed to the devotion of all, he was beatified in 1743 and canonized in 1807. A similar statue attributed to Alonso Cano (Granada 1601-1667) is kept in the Museum of Fine Arts in Agen.
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Saint Benedict of Palermo in carved, polychromed and gilded wood, glass eyes. Spain, 17th century H. 90 cm (small accidents and missing parts, especially the hands) Benedict the Moor or Benedict the African was born near Messina in Sicily in 1526, the result of the love affair between Diane Manasseri and a slave of Yoruba origin. After a hard life as a farm worker, he became a hermit and then a monk in the Franciscan order in Palermo. In 1611 his incorrupt remains were exposed to the devotion of all, he was beatified in 1743 and canonized in 1807. A similar statue attributed to Alonso Cano (Granada 1601-1667) is kept in the Museum of Fine Arts in Agen.
