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Original fileHeiligen van Beieren I
About This Work
The central figure of Saint Florian kneels at the water's edge, his hands tied behind his back while Roman soldiers with pikes push him forward. A celestial light breaks through the clouds in the upper left, casting divine rays upon the martyr. In the background, a massive fortress sits atop a cliff, emphasizing the military context of his life and death.
Aegidius Sadeler was the principal imperial engraver at the court of Rudolf II in Prague, a hub for Mannerist art and Western esotericism. This print is part of the 'Bavaria Sancta' series, a major Counter-Reformation project that combined high-art engraving with hagiography to reassert the spiritual lineage of the Bavarian state.
Inscriptions(Latin)
S. FLORIANVS TRIBVNVS MIL. MARTYR. Salue dux generose FLORIANE, Ingens gloria FLORIANE Martis, Sed CHRISTI generosior tribunus, Princeps purpurei decus senatus, Qui testes Domini Deiq. nostri. Signarunt tabulas, fidemq. coeli Largo Sanguinis imbre purpurarunt. Ex hoc coelituur rubente flore. Flos es non moriture FLORIANE.
Translation
ST. FLORIAN, MILITARY TRIBUNE, MARTYR. Hail, noble leader FLORIAN, Great glory of Mars, FLORIAN, But more noble tribune of CHRIST, Prince, ornament of the purple senate, Who, as witnesses of our Lord and God, Signed the tablets, and the faith of heaven Drenched in a wide rain of blood. From this reddening flower of the heavens, You are an undying flower, FLORIAN.
Connected Texts
Matthäus Rader
Sadeler produced these engravings for Rader's 'Bavaria Sancta' (1615), a monumental work documenting the lives of regional saints.
Collections
Provenance & Source
Object
Rijksmuseum, Amsterdam
paper
width 156 mm x height 220 mm
religious
Linked Data
AI AI-cataloged fields generated by gemini-3-flash-preview on April 2, 2026. Getty identifiers are AI-inferred and may require verification.