St. Martin of Tours in History and Art

     St. Martin of Tours is one of the most important saints in the history of the Early Church. Born around the year 315 in the Roman province of Pannonia (which included present-day Hungary), Martin was destined for a life in the Roman military following the traditional profession of his family. However, the conversion of the Roman world to Christianity in the early 4th century would play a far more decisive role in determining Martin's course in life.

Even while a soldier, Martin sincerely pursued the lifestyle of a Christian. The most famous of his acts of charity took place on a winter's day at the gates of the Roman city of Amiens in what is now northern France. Martin saw a beggar freezing by the roadside and proceeded to cut his own cloak in half in order to give a piece to the beggar. That night, Christ appeared to Martin in a dream, wearing the beggar's half-cloak, and announced that the beggar had been He.

(For an interesting and sensitive account of Martin's life and works, please
have a look at his biography at Catholic Online Saints.)

12th century carving of St. Martin cutting his cloak on a column capital in the cloister of St. Pierre in Moissac, France.
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     By the 12th century, St. Martin of Tours' reputation for charity had become symbolically associated with the rise of the mendicant orders, particularly the Franciscans in Italy. The story of his cloak became so famous that the Capetian line of French kings held his cloak to be one of the most sacred of all the holy relics housed in the royal chapel "La Sainte Chapelle" in Paris.

     In the picture at right, we see one of the many depictions of Martin's famous act of charity in the history of art. This capital carving is an example from an extraordinary complex of statuary adorning the abbey church of St. Pierre in Moissac, in the Languedoc region of southern France. A large portion of the sculpture carving in the cloister of the abbey deals with the life of St. Martin. His popularity in the late middle ages was fuelled by representations like this, as well as by the fact that his biography had been written by two very famous writers: Sulpitius Severus and Gregory of Tours. The description of Martin's activities in these two written sources provides the basis for many other examples of visual story-telling.


Simone Martini, "The Knighting of St. Martin", fresco, 1317. Lower Church, San Francesco, Assisi.
     One of the most interesting sources of iconography is a series of frescoes in the Lower Church in Assisi (the same church that houses the famous frescoes of St. Francis by Giotto). In these images, we may see how St. Martin's life was translated into images that spoke to the political and spiritual concerns of the day. The St. Martin chapel was built and decorated at the expense of a certain Gentile Partino da Montefiore, a Franciscan friar who had been made Cardinal. He had been a powerful prelate, always very active in Church affairs and closely connected to one of the great royal families of the period, the House of Anjou. Louis of Anjou (later to become Saint Louis of Toulouse) had given up his throne in order to take his vows in the Franciscan Order, and was a very strict observer of the original Franciscan Rule of absolute poverty. The St. Martin series of frescoes (of which 3 may be found within this web-site) underline and sustain the message of charity and self-sacrifice that was the core of the Franciscan movement.

     The artist, Simone Martini, (who jumped at the chance to illustrate the life of his name-saint) used this scene of Martin's "investiture" to focus attention on courtly and aristocratic customs. Musicians, singers, equerries with weapons and falconers all witness the scene taking place inside a palace with loggias and wooden ceilings. Nothing could be more secular than the figure of the Roman Emperor fastening the sword, the symbol of his newly acquired dignity, around the knight's waist. The Emperor's profile, with his half-open mouth and fixed gaze, is reminiscent of the portraits carved on ancient Roman coins, which Simone probably used as a model. Historically, it must be Julian the Apostate, but it has been argued by scholars that the features are actually those of Constantine the Great. Although Martin is here receiving worldly honours, it's clear his attention is directed heavenward. Martin had already converted to Christianity as an unbaptised catechumen before joining the army at the age of 15.


Simone Martini, "The Dream of St. Martin", fresco, 1317. Lower Church, San Francesco, Assisi.
     This next fresco is another in the same series. The spirit in which the stories from St. Martin's life are recounted by Simone is totally new for this period in the extent to which they are personal and interpretive. The Saint's life unfolds in a secular atmosphere, with courtly emblems, knights, grooms and musicians clearly recreating the setting of 14th-century aristocratic courts, in particular the Anjou royal palace in Naples. The story of St Martin was quite well suited to this iconographic interpretation. Before he had devoted himself to religious matters, Martin had been an officer in the Roman army.

     This image recounts how Christ appeared to Martin in a dream wearing the cloak Martin had given to the beggar. Jesus here addresses the host of angels accompanying him: some are shown praying, others listen to him with their arms crossed. The secular world of material sumptuousness pervades this image: Martin is sleeping under a blanket of typically Sienese fabric, with an expensive white sheet and pillow. They are decorated with an embroidery called "drawn-thread work", very fashionable at the time. But we may also see in this image the expression of the true piety of both artist and patron. The rigidity of the outstretched body looks a little awkward to our eyes, but was intended to convey an intense spiritual participation in the message of Christ, and the way Martin's hand rests on his throat reveals excitement, as though he really was listening to the voice of the Lord.


Simone Martini, "St. Martin Renouncing the Sword", fresco, 1317. Lower Church, San Francesco, Assisi.
     Here we see Martin face to face with the enemy, announcing his decision: "I am a soldier of Christ and cannot fight." To the left is the Roman camp, with Emperor Julian, a group of soldiers and the treasurer distributing money to the mercenaries. To the right, behind the hill, await the barbarian army. Martin (still a knight, but carrying a cross and shown in the act of blessing) is looking back towards the Emperor but walking towards the enemy. His battle is the struggle against paganism, and his only weapon is the word of Christ.


Lorenzo Lotto, "The Charity of St. Martin", chalk and wash on paper, c. 1530. J. P. Getty Museum, Los Angeles
     The Italian Renaissance artist Lorenzo Lotto possessed a highly individual style that art historians refer to as "Mannerist" because the unconventional pictorial tricks he used. He was a very gifted portrait artist and specialized in representing both secular and religious scenes with keen psychological insight.

     In this drawing, Lotto unconventionally forces us to adopt the beggar's low point of view. As the horse agitatedly paws the ground, Saint Martin leans down with his sword to cut his cape in half. This was the most famous of his acts of charity, recounted in countless paintings of the period. The naked beggar looks up gratefully at the saint as he wraps the edge of the cloak around his body. Lotto depicts the figures of saint and horse with great realism and creates a powerful sense of movement in the sweeping stretch of fabric.


Jacob Jordaens, "St. Martin of Tours Healing the Servant of Tetradius", 1630. National Gallery, Washington.
     Among the healing miracles performed late in St. Martin's life is an exorcism he performed in the ancient city of Treves (or Trier) in modern-day Germany, near the Luxembourgish border. The miracle concerned the servant of a certain Tetradius, which is described by Martin's earliest biographer Sulpitius Severus as follows:
     "...at the same time the servant of one Tetradius, a man of proconsular rank, having been laid hold of by a demon, was tormented with the most miserable results. Martin, therefore, having been asked to lay his hands on him, ordered the servant to be brought to him; but the evil spirit could, in no way, be brought forth from the cell in which he was: he showed himself so fearful, with ferocious teeth, to those who attempted to draw near. Then Tetradius threw himself at the feet of the saintly man, imploring that he himself would go down to the house in which the possessed of the devil was kept. But Martin then declared that he could not visit the house of an unconverted heathen. For Tetradius, at that time, was still involved in the errors of heathenism. He, therefore, pledged his word that if the demon were driven out of the boy, he would become a Christian. Martin, then, laying his hand upon the boy, cast the evil spirit out of him. On seeing this, Tetradius believed in the Lord Jesus, and immediately became a catechumen, while, not long after, he was baptized; and he always regarded Martin with extraordinary affection, as having been the author of his salvation."

     Jacob Jordaens, the only Flemish painter to rival the brilliance of Peter Paul Rubens in the 17th century presents the scene in a way typical of the pictorial formulae of the Counter-Reformation. At the same time, he revels in depicting the late Roman architecture and furnishings, as well as the oriental exoticism of the barbarian proconsul in the throne who is about to be converted by the miracle Martin enacts.



El Greco, "St. Martin of Tours with the Beggar", 1597-99. National Gallery of Art, Washington.
     This painting was the work of Domeniko Theotokopolous (don't worry, the Spanish couldn't pronounce it either, which is why he was known as "El Greco"). He was one of the most prolific painters in Spain during the late 16th century. As his name suggests, El Greco had been born and raised in the Greek Orthodox world, and brought much of the mysticism of that tradition to his artistic work in Spain. This painting of the division of the cloak (see the description of the story below) was painted for the north altar of the Chapel of Saint Joseph in Toledo. As in all his religious works, El Greco emphasizes the relevance of the story to the present. The costumes and landscape are not of Amiens in the Roman period, but modern day (16th century) Spain. El Greco's message is consistent with the Counter-Reformation ideal of the importance of emulating the charitable example of the saints.


Anthony van Dyck, "St. Martin Dividing His Cloak", 1620-21. Royal Collection, Windsor Castle.
     Anthony van Dyck was one of the great Flemish painters of the Baroque period (17th century). He is the most famous follower of Peter Paul Rubens and adopted his huge, dynamic approach to the representation of action. The way that Van Dyck imagines the scene, the poor man is given an incredibly muscular back, suggesting a kind nobility or strength of spirit, while his slovenly companion serves as a reminder of their low status. The cloak is torn from Martin's hand as quickly as he can cut it, lending the scene an air of dramatic urgency. By contrast, the artist revels in his depiction of the aristocratic finesse of Martin's outfit and exquisite horse. Through the contrast of noble clothing and heroic nudity, saint and beggar are given equivalent dignity on Van Dyck's canvas.

(picture essay prepared by David Coman)