Philippe de Champaigne, Saints Gervasius and Protasius Appearing to St. Ambrose
1658
Oil on canvas
Musée du Louvre, Paris
The artist provides a quite literal image of St. Ambrose's vision as described in the Golden Legend, with the young saints in white, St. Paul in his long beard and balding pate, and Ambrose at prayer. One detail the artist suppressed was the boots that Ambrose had seen on the two youths. Perhaps the boots seemed inconsistent with the cloud they stand on and the dreamy quality of the painting as a whole.
The light from the candles behind Ambrose extends hardly beyond their flames, while the saint is illuminated by the powerful light descending on the left as if from Heaven.
Read more about images of SS. Gervasius and Protasius
Read more about images of St. Ambrose
Read more about images of St. Paul.
Source: this page at Wikimedia Commons.
