Italian school; XVIII century.

Italian school; XVIII century.
"The apotheosis of St. Jenaro".
Ink and chalk on paper.
Measurements: 51 x 23 cm; 66 x 37 cm (frame).
This work, a sketch for a painting of greater dimensions, as its format reveals, presents us with an apotheosis image, typical of the decorative baroque. It is the apotheosis of Saint Jenaro, who was bishop of Benevento and is a martyr and saint of the Catholic Church and the Eastern Orthodox Church. Although no contemporary sources on his life are preserved, later sources and legends state that he died during the Great Persecution, which ended with the removal of Diocletian in 305. He is the patron saint of Naples. According to several hagiographies, Januarius was born in Benevento into a wealthy patrician family that traced its ancestry to the Caudini tribe of the Samnites. At the age of 15, he became the local parish priest of his Benevento parish, which at the time was relatively pagan. When Januarius was 20, he became bishop of Naples. During the year and a half persecution of Christians by Emperor Diocletian, he hid his fellow Christians and prevented them from being captured. Unfortunately, while visiting Sossius in prison, he too was arrested.