# The Sermon of St. Stephen (Carpaccio)

The Sermon of Saint Stephen is an oil-on-canvas painting by Italian artist Vittore Carpaccio, done in 1514. The painting is from the Venetian Renaissance and depicts the first Christian martyr, St. Stephen, giving a sermon. The painting involves its audience as active witnesses to St. Stephen's actions and influence. Set within a spacious landscape, an event of religious significance unfolds. The painting now resides in the Louvre in Paris.

## Description

The Sermon of Saint Stephen depicts the moment of St. Stephen delivering his powerful sermon to an audience. His composed and confident posture alongside the mixed expressions on the crowd's faces capture the value and intensity of his message; Some of the figures are engaged and others are skeptical. The scene overall emphasizes many of the cultural and religious praises and tensions St. Stephen may have faced during his service. In the foreground, St. Stephen passionately stands on a pedestal, overlooking a diverse crowd as he delivers his speech. His presence highlights themes of faith, devotion, and martyrdom.St. Stephen was best recognized as a man with special gifts as an evangelist. He participated in several religious debates and converted many to Christianity. The setting appears to be on a barren land with an ideal city view, reminiscent to Jerusalem. The buildings create a spacious illusion as they recede into the distance. The convoluted cityscape also features unique architectural elements. It is suggested that the artist, Carpaccio, may have been in Jerusalem for this scene as many of the elements are reminiscent of life in Jerusalem, and of the Haram-ash-Sharif with the Mosque of Omar in Jerusalem. The Middle Eastern atmosphere was a Venetian characteristic in paintings during the 16th and early 17th centuries. The rich colors and intricate details typical of Carpaccio's style bring a liveliness to the painting. This painting also appears to be set during mid-day, emphasizing the energy of daily life at the time. Overall, there is a dynamic interplay of the figures in the way they are seen interacting with one another; A key part of The Sermon of Saint Stephen.
* Jerusalem Architecture

## Subject

Carpaccio's iconography for his St. Stephen paintings was based on the Acts of Apostles from the Bible as well as St. Stephen's history and role as a patron saint. The painting includes a variety of ethnic groups, reflecting on the passage in Acts 6:9 which describes the types of people present for St. Stephen's series of events. Acts 6:9 describes a situation where "some men from what was called the Synagogue of the Freedmen, including both Cyrenians and Alexandrians and some from Cilicia and Asia, rose up and argued with Stephen".

### Identity of figures

St. Stephen, the central figure of the painting, was best known to be a deacon early in the apostolic age of the Church. The preaching of his faith to the combative audience of Jews ultimately led to his martyrdom by stoning, a powerful moment in Christian history.
Beyond the figure of St. Stephen, an intriguing aspect of the painting is the diversity present in the crowd. By around the sixteenth century, the Turkish had become a commonly depicted theme in Italian art, reflecting the growing awareness of and interactions with different cultures. Many figures in the painting can be seen wearing turbans, indicative of people from Eastern regions (Turkish, Syrians, Arabians, and Nubians) resonating with the cultural context of the later Mameluke Empire. While many of the figures appear attentive, suggesting that his message resonated deeply, others seem to question or challenge it, creating a dynamic atmosphere in the painting. The mix of turbans, colorful garments, conservative-clothed women, and hatted Greeks, alongside their perplexed faces, harmonize the setting, illustrating the rich tapestry of cultural identities present at the time. The blend of these figures in the foreground of this multicultural architectural landscape enhances the idea of a society grappling with new ideas and beliefs.

## History

This painting was one of five scenes representing the life of Saint Stephen, painted between 1511 and 1514 for the Scuola dei Lanieri, Santo Stefano (Venice). The series was broken up in 1806, when the religious houses were suppressed. Two panels went to the Brera Gallery, Milan; in 1812, Vivant Denon exchanged some of the northern paintings in the Louvre for Italian works in the Brera, and one of these panels was transferred under this arrangement. Another is in Berlin; one has disappeared, and the fifth is in Stuttgart.
The Sermon of Saint Stephen the deacon, represented in this Louvre painting, took place in Jerusalem. This gave Carpaccio an excuse for filling his canvas with picturesque oriental costumes and architecture. Jerusalem in the early days of Christianity is here identified as Constantinople (actually Yoros Castle on the opposite side of the Bosphorus ) – an imaginative Constantinople full of Turkish, antique, Byzantine and Italian elements. Carpaccio refers with pride, in a letter to the Marquis of Mantua, to a view of Jerusalem which he had painted.

## Patronage and provenance

From 1511 to 1520, Carpaccio was working for the Scuola di S. Stefano. The Scuola di Stefano, or Scuola di San Stefano, was a confraternity, or religious brotherhood in Venice. Found in the late 14th century, It was dedicated to St. Stephen, serving as a spiritual and social organization for wool merchants and craftsmen. The Scuola functioned as a place of worship and especially artistic patronage, housing various artworks, specifically by the artist Vittore Carpaccio. Carpaccio was called upon to commission five canvases, illustrating episodes from the life of St Stephen. This series of paintings is known as the Stories from the Life of St Stephen (1511–1520), which includes St. Stephen being Consecrated Deacon, The Sermon of St. Stephen, The Disputation of St. Stephen, The Stoning of St. Stephen, and The Trial of St. Stephen. In the 19th century, the series was broken up and scattered between various museums. The Sermon of St Stephen became a part of the art collection at the Musee du Louvre in Paris, where it still resides today. Today, this painting suggests evidence of how religious values and influences affected people at the time.
* Scuola di Santo Stefano in Venice, Italy