Roman martyr and patroness of music · Saint Cecilia

Raphael, Rubens, Orazio Gentileschi and the Master of Saint Cecilia associate Roman martyrdom with the organ, the virginal, the angels and celestial music.

Saint Cecilia is a Roman martyr whose medieval legend tells of fidelity to Christ despite the imposed marriage, the conversion of her husband Valérien and a courageous death. His link with music gradually asserts itself from then on from a tradition according to which she sang internally for God during the wedding. From the end of the Middle Ages and especially during the Renaissance, portable organ, virginal, scores and musical angels became its most important attributes familiar. Raphaël places Cécile at the center of an ecstasy where abandoned earthly instruments respond to celestial song. Rubens develops the play of the virginal in a brilliant and sensual material. Orazio Gentileschi favors exchange silent between the saint and an angel. The Master of Saint Cecilia unfolds several episodes of his life in an ancient narrative. The palm and the sword, however, remind us that the patroness of musicians is first represented as a virgin and martyr. The "Saint Cecilia" selection notably compares Saint Cecilia and scenes from her life - Master of Saint Cecilia and Saint Cecilia playing the virginal - Peter Paul Rubens. Its reading favors light.

Around Cécile, the instruments not only decorate the stage: they make visible the transition from earthly music to celestial harmony.