St. Lawrence, Deacon and Martyr

Mosaic of Saint Lawrence

Byzantine, First half of 5th Century

Ravenna, Mausoleum of Galla Placidia

(Here Lawrence is shown as a triumphant martyr, clothed and carrying the cross and a book.  The grid iron and fire occupy the center of the composition.)

August 10 is the memorial of Saint Lawrence, a deacon in Rome in the mid-third century. From the time of his martyrdom in 258, during the persecution of the Emperor Valerian, he has been in constant remembrance. 

Lawrence was already well known as a martyr at Rome by the mid-third century and he is still one of the saints mentioned in the list of Roman martyrs in the Roman Canon, the most traditional (in the sense of having been in use over a long time period) of the four Eucharistic Prayers of the Mass. This list includes some of the early Popes (Linus, Cletus, Clement) as well as other male martyr saints (additional male and female saints are also mentioned in a separate prayer within the Roman Canon). He is also one of the patron saints of the city of Rome and patron of cooks, comedians, libraries and librarians.

Workshop of Jean Pichore, Saint Lawrence
From a Book of Hours
French (Paris), 15th Century
Paris, Bibliotheque nationale de France
MS Latin 923, fol. 92v

By the Middle Ages there were approximately twenty churches and chapels in Rome dedicated to Saint Lawrence and many of these buildings still survive, including: from the 4th century San Lorenzo in Damaso; from the 5th century San Lorenzo in Lucina; from the 6th century San Lorenzo fuori le mura; from the 7th century San Lorenzo in Miranda; from the 9th century San Lorenzo in Panisperna. Many of these churches were built in the places associated with Lawrence’s arrest, martyrdom and burial. In the remains of the ancient papal palace at the Lateran the chapel, commonly known at the “Sanctum Sanctorum”, is dedicated to Saint Lawrence.

School of Lorenzo Monaco, Saint Lawrence Triptych

Italian, 1407

Paris, Musée du Louvre

Clearly, something about Lawrence or about his death caused him to be remembered in a special way in the centuries following his martyrdom. According to tradition, Lawrence died in a particularly gruesome way. He was bound to an iron grid (probably a bedstead or window grill) and roasted over hot coals. He is reported to have said to his tormentors “assum est… versa et manduca”, which is usually translated into English as “I’m done on this side, turn me over and eat”. Such a humorous response to cruelty may encapsulate some memories of Lawrence himself. 1

For this reason, the majority of images of Lawrence have presented either his martyrdom, depicted either realistically or symbolically, or have been images of him, dressed in a dalmatic (the vestment unique to deacons) and holding either a book (the Gospels, which it is the deacon’s mission to proclaim) or the gird iron of his martyrdom, or both. These images have been popular throughout the Middle Ages, the Renaissance and into the Baroque and later. They come from as far apart as Rome, Spain, England and Sweden, demonstrating that the popularity of Lawrence was not just confined to the region of Rome. Examples of both types follow below.

Scenes from the Martyrdom of Saint Lawrence

These are by far the most popular images of Saint Lawrence in the Middle Ages and later.

Martyrdom of Saint Lawrence

Detail from a Psalter

Flemish, 13th Century

London, British Library,

MS Burney 345, fol. 69r

(Note that the little figures of the demon and the torturer with the bellows add a touch of humor.)

Martyrdom of Saint Lawrence
From the Images de la vie du Christ et des saints
Flemish (Hainaut), c. 1250-1300
Paris, Bibliotheque nationale de France
MS NAF 16251, fol. 77v

Richard de Montbaston, Saint Lawrence Before the Emperor and Martyrdom of Saint Lawrence
From a Vies des saints
French (Paris), c. 1325-13350
Paris, Bibliotheque nationale de France
MS Francais 185, fol. 98r

Jean Pucelle, Martyrdom of Saint Lawrence
From the Breviary of Charles V
French (Paris), c. 1364-1370
Paris, Bibliotheque nationale de France
MS Latin 1052, fol. 448r

In this picture the artist's imagination has made the already horrible torture even worse, as well as provided some interesting psychology for the torturers.  The man on the left appears to be shielding his eyes from the horrible scene in which he is participating, while the other two torturers seem to relish their activities as one increases the heat by means of the bellows and the other makes cuts in the saint's legs using what appears to be pruning shears.  Meanwhile, the saint is shown praying, with his attention fixated on the hand of God which appears at the top.

Giovanni di Benedetto and Workshop, Martyrdom of Saint Lawrence
From a Book of Hours
Italian, c. 1385-1390
Paris, Bibliotheque nationale de France
MS Latin 757, fol. 347r

As in the French illumination above, this Italian painter shows the activities of the torturers while Saint Lawrence prays to an apparition of Christ.

Jacobello del Fiore, Martyrdom of Saint Lawrence with Two Benedictine Nuns
Italian, c. 1425
Amsterdam, Rijksmuseum

Once again Saint Lawrence is seen praying to an apparition of God the Father while his torturers stoke the coals.  One of them is shown shielding his face from the heat.  At the left, two nuns, presumably the patrons of this painting, are shown praying to Saint Lawrence.  The first half of their prayer is clearly visible, while the second line is not as clear.  Allowing for the missing material the prayer reads (in translation) "Martyr Lawrence, your devotee, asks you to give me grace...and faithful to God".  Lawrence himself prays quite clearly "The strength of my soul comes from you Jesus Christ, I am devoted servant."

Master of Marguerite d'Orleans, Martyrdom of Saint Lawrence
From Hours of Marguerite d'Orleans
French (Rennes), c. 1430
Paris, Bibliotheque nationale de France
MS Latin 1156B, fol. 171r

Here the scene of the torturers stoking the fire is being watched by the Emperor Valerian and two of his councilors.

Master Francois and Workshop, Martyrdom of Saint Lawrence
From Speculum historiale by Vincent of Beauvais
French, 1453
Paris, Bibliotheque nationale de France
MS Francais 51, fol. 31

Again, Valerian is shown overseeing the torture.  Meanwhile, this image presents some of the preliminary incidents in Lawrence's martyrdom as background.  He is shown being scourged at a post by two men in the center back, while at the right he is shown in prison, baptizing a fellow inmate. 

Jacques de Besancon, Martyrdom of Saint Lawrence
From Legenda aurea by Jacobus de Voragine
French (Paris), c. 1480-1490
Paris, Bibliotheque nationale de France
MS Francais 245, fol. 34r

Here also, we see the work of the torturers overseen by the Emperor, but here identified as Decian, not Valerian.

Michael Pacher, Martyrdom of Saint Lawrence

From the Saint Lawrence Altarpiece

German, c. 1462-1463

Munich, Bayerische Staatsgemäldesammlungen, Alte Pinakothek

Juan Correa de Vivar, Martyrdom of Saint Lawrence
Spanish, c. 1530-1560
Madrid, Museo Nacional del Prado

Adam Elsheimer, Saint Lawrence Being Prepared for Martyrdom
German, c. 1600-1601
London, National Gallery

This unusual interpretation of the Martyrdom of Saint Lawrence depicts the moments shortly before he was laid on the gridiron.  As his clothing is being removed an old man tries to make him acknowledge the statue of the pagan god at the right.  The man in the turban, who dominates the center of the composition, is presumable the Emperor.  One can see the radical change of aesthetic from the medieval to world of late Mannerism/very early Baroque in the amount of detail, the increased number of figures, some of them shadowy, and the complexity of the composition.

Peter Paul Rubens, Martrydom of Saint Lawrence
Flemish, c. 1613-1614
Munich, Bayeresches Staatsgemäldesammlungen, Alte Pinakothek

Gian Lorenzo Bernini, Saint Lawrence
Italian, 1617
Florence, Gallerie degli'Uffizi

Valentin de Boulogne, Martyrdom of Saint Lawrence
French, c. 1622-1624
Madrid, Museo Nacional del Prado

Alejo Vera y Estaca, Burial of Saint Lawrence in the Catacombs of Rome
Spanish, 1862
Madrid, Museo Nacional del Prado

Saint Lawrence shown holding the attributes of book, gridiron and/or palm frond, alone or with other saints

There is also a strong tradition of these more idealized images from the Middle Ages and later.

Saint Lawrence

From Gradual from the Abbey of Prüm

German (Prüm), c. 986-1001

Paris, Bibliotheque nationale de France

MS Latin 9448, fol. 68r

Stained Glass

English, Kent (Canterbury), ca. 1175-1180

New York, Metropolitan Museum of Art

(Here Lawrence is seated. The fire is beneath him.)

Saint Nicolas and Saint Lawrence, Wall Painting

Swedish, c, 1300-1500

Hajdeby, Sweden, Parish Church

(Here Lawrence carries both the grid iron and a martyr's palm)

Richard de Montbaston, Saint Vincent of Saragossa and Saint Lawrence of Rome

From Legenda aurea by Jacobus de Voragine

French (Paris), 1348

Paris, Bibliotheque nationale de France

MS Francais 241, fol. 197v

Both saints were deacons, so both are shown wearing the dalmatic of the deacon.  Both were martyred on the gridiron.  Saint Lawrence was martyred about fifty years before Saint Vincent, so it looks as though the artist has depicted Lawrence, as the senior martyr, showing Vincent the means by which their lives were ended. 

Andrea Mantegna, Saints Benedict, Lawrence, Gregory and John the Baptist
The San Zeno Altarpiece (right wing)
Italian, c. 1457-1460
Verona, San Zeno

Barolomeo Vivarini, Saint Lawrence_
Italian, c. 1470s
Venice, Church of Santo Stefano

Saint Lawrence
From a Book of Hours
French (Burgundy), c. 1495-1500
New York, Pierpoint Morgan Library
MS M 271, fol.121v

Annibale Carracci, Saint Lawrence
Italian, c. 1604-1605
Madrid, Museo Nacional del Prado

Luis Fernandez, Saint Lawrence
Spanish, 1632
Madrid, Museo Nacional del Prado

Francisco de Zurbaran, Saint Lawrence

Spanish, 1636

St. Petersburg, State Hermitage Museum

*Johann Paul Tschiderer, Saint Lawrence
German, 1708
Kaisheim, Church of the Assumption

The Charity of Saint Lawrence

Saint Lawrence was the principal deacon of the church of Rome at the time of his martyrdom.  This position meant that one of his primary duties was to distribute alms to the poor.  This lead to the attempt of the Roman authorities to obtain the supposed extreme wealth of the church (the donations of the Roman faithful) by trading it for his life.  Lawrence is reported to have asked for three days grace to collect the wealth of the Church, which was allowed.  During that time he gave everything that was available to the poor and, when the time came to present the wealth of the Church to the authorities, he brought the poor and infirm and said that this was the wealth of the church.  The chagrin caused by this response resulted in his particularly cruel torture.

His charitable work has also been depicted in art, though much less frequently than his martyrdom.  Often it has been depicted as a sort of preliminary to the martyrdom.

Saint Lawrence Distributing Bread to the Poor and the Martyrdom of Saint Lawrence
From the Drogo Sacramentary
French (Metz), c. 850
Paris, Bibliotheque nationale de France
MS Latin 9428, fol. 89r

 

Master Mahiet and Workshop, Saint Lawrence Distributing Bread and the Martyrdom of Saint Lawrence

From Speculum historiale by Vincentius Bellovacensis

French, c. 1335

Paris, Bibliotheque nationale francais

MS Ms-5080 réserve, fol.194r

On the left, Lawrence distributes bread to the poor. On the right he suffers martyrdom.

Michael Pacher, Saint Lawrence Distributing Alms

From the Saint Lawrence Altarpiece

German, c. 1462-1463

Munich, Bayerische Staatsgemäldesammlungen, Alte Pinakothek

Bernardo Strozzi, Saint Lawrence Giving Alms to the Poor

Italian, c. 1615-1620

Rome, Galleria Nazionale d'Arte, Palazzo Barberini

Chapel of Nicholas V

However, there is one place where the image of Lawrence is not limited to either his charity or his martyrdom or a static image of sanctity. This is in a small chapel in the Vatican, created at the request of Pope Nicholas V at the time in which he moved the papal residence from the Lateran Palace to the Vatican. Although the dedication of the chapel is to Saint Lawrence himself (possibly in homage to the Sanctum Sanctorum of the Lateran palace), the chapel is known as the Chapel of Nicholas V (Cappella Niccolina). 2

Fra Angelico and Assistants, Chapel of Nicholas V, Overall view
Italian, 1448-1449
Vatican City State, Vatican Museums

The chapel was created by adding a connecting room between two towers in the Vatican palace in early 1447 by order of the newly elected Pope Nicholas. Nicholas then commissioned the famous Florentine painter, Fra Angelico, to decorate the chapel in preparation for the Jubilee Year (Holy Year) of 1450. Fra Angelico (born Guido di Pietro and known in his life time as Fra Giovanni da Fiesole) and his assistants were already in Rome, having been commissioned by Nicholas’ predecessor, Eugenius IV, to decorate another chapel (destroyed in the early 16th century to make way for an extension of the Vatican offices known as the Stanze, which were decorated by Raphael and his assistants).

On the walls of the new chapel Angelico planned a cycle of frescoes celebrating the lives and martyrdom of two deacon saints, Stephen and Lawrence. The cycle is divided into two zones, an upper and lower. The scenes from the life of Saint Stephen, the Protomartyr (first martyr) occupy the upper zone, while the scenes from the life of Saint Lawrence occupy the lower zone.

In the vaults are portraits of the four evangelists.  Images of doctors of the church and prophets of the Old Testament decorate the areas surrounding the windows and doors.

Fra Angelico and Assistants, Vault
Italian, c. 1448-1449
Vatican City State, Vatican Museums, Chapel of Nicholas V

The scenes from the lives of the two martyred deacons are shown in parallel. They are paired in so far as pairing is possible. For instance, the scenes of their ordination to the diaconate (by Saint Peter for Stephen and by Saint Sixtus II for Lawrence) are placed in the upper and lower zones respectively. In this article I will only describe the scenes from the life of Saint Lawrence.



The Ordination of Lawrence to the Diaconate by Pope Sixtus II

The seated Pope, anachronistically shown wearing the Papal tiara and a cope and with the features of Nicholas V, places into the hands of the kneeling Lawrence the paten and chalice which it is the deacons function to present during the Mass. These are key symbols of the office of service which is particular to the deacon.

Ordination of Saint Lawrence

Pope Sixtus Presenting Lawrence with the Treasures of the Church 

According to the legendary biography of Saint Lawrence, 3  Sixtus presented Lawrence with the valuables of the Church of Rome on August 6, 258, just prior to his own arrest by the officers of the Emperor Valerian.   The Pope was martyred himself.  According to the legend, as he was taken away he told the distraught Lawrence, that he (Lawrence) would suffer even more horribly within three days.

Pope Sixtus II Presenting Lawrence with the Treasures of the Church

And, in the painting we are presented with a combination interior and exterior view of the building in which the event is taking place. We can see that the Roman soldiers are already knocking on the door (left side of the painting) as one of the assisting clergy turns and looks anxiously in that direction.




Saint Lawrence Distributing the Goods of the Church to the Poor

Here Saint Lawrence is seen in the portico of a basilican building distributing alms to an assortment of the poor of Rome. There are men, women and children represented in the group, a cross section of the Roman poor.

Detail of Saint Lawrence Distributing the Goods of the Church 

 Saint Lawrence Before the Emperor Valerian

According to the legend of Saint Lawrence he was captured by Roman soldiers and brought before the Emperor who asked him to surrender the valuables that had been confided to him by the Pope. Lawrence asked for three days in which to collect it and this was granted. During those days he sought out the poor of the city and at the end of his time of reprieve he presented them to the Emperor as the true valuables of the Church. This enraged the Emperor who ordered a particularly nasty execution for Lawrence.

 Saint Lawrence in Prison and Martyrdom of Saint Lawrence

In prison, while awaiting his execution, Lawrence continued his mission of charity and love. He cured a blind fellow prisoner. This scene is displayed to the left side of the picture of his martyrdom as a view through the window of the prison. And, as previously noted, his martyrdom by slow roasting is depicted at the right side of the painting. This area of the fresco was seriously damaged early in its existence and was repainted in the 16th century.

Saint Lawrence Healing the Blind Prisoner and Martyrdom of Saint Lawrence

Throughout the cycle Lawrence is highly prominent due to his clothing (the dalmatic) and its characteristic pinkish color. Fra Angelico’s treatment of this vestment is unusually beautiful, as the surface of the garment is covered by tiny depictions of gold flames, as if the whole garment was covered in gold embroidery.

Detail of Saint Lawrence Distributing the Goods of the Church

The flames remind us both of Lawrence’s terrible ordeal and of the fire of the Holy Spirit with which he was filled. In recent times this embroidery seems to have been copied for the Papal Liturgical Office in a red chasuble (the vestment proper to a priest) worn, appropriately, on Pentecost 2006 by Pope Benedict XVI.

This chapel is the sole reminding evidence of the work done by Fra Angelico and his team of assistants, which included the painters Benozzo Gozzoli and Zenobi Strozzi, in Rome and it is a precious survivor of the 15th century in a building that was the object of embellishment by subsequent Popes, particularly during the 16th century. In the 1990s the chapel was restored and the paintings were cleaned. In addition to minimizing the effects of some cracking that has occurred over the centuries, the restoration has brightened and clarified the images as the image below suggests. 4  Unfortunately, the images that are readily available on the internet are of far worse quality and are obviously based on old photos.

Partial view of the Ordination of Saint Lawrence after restoration

_____________________________________________
1. Much of the background information for this article may be found in the following book and websites:

• Innocenzo Venchi, Renate L. Colella, Arnold Nesselrath, Carlo Giantomassi and Donatella Zari, Fra Angelico and the Chapel of Nicholas V, Recent Restorations of the Vatican Museums, Vol. III, Vatican City State, Edizioni Musei Vaticani, 1999.

• Commentary on St. Lwrence from a professor of Moral Theology. http://www.vatican.va/roman_curia/congregations/cclergy/documents/rc_con_cclergy_doc_19022000_slaw_en.html

• Information on some of the still extant churches named in honor of St. Lawrence on the website of the Pontifical College of North America http://www.pnac.org/station-churches

2. Innocenzo Venchi, Renate L. Colella, Arnold Nesselrath, Carlo Giantomassi and Donatella Zari, Fra Angelico and the Chapel of Nicholas V, Recent Restorations of the Vatican Museums, Vol. III, Vatican City State, Edizioni Musei Vaticani, 1999, p. 28.

3. The life of St. Lawrence best known in the Middle Ages was the mixture of fact and legend found in The Golden Legend (Legenda Aurea), Compiled by Jacobus de Voragine, 1275, Englished by William Caxton, 1483, Vol IV, pp.98-107.  The text can be accessed at http://www.fordham.edu/halsall/basis/goldenlegend/GoldenLegend-Volume4.asp#Laurence


4. A small amount of information and photographs of the restored frescoes can be found on the website of the Vatican Museums at
http://www.museivaticani.va/content/museivaticani/en/collezioni/musei/cappella-niccolina.html

A virtual tour is available at
http://www.museivaticani.va/content/museivaticani/en/collezioni/musei/cappella-niccolina/tour-virtuale.html

© M. Duffy, 2011, updated 2019, revised with additional material and pictures 2022.  Additional images added 2024.

+ Indicates updated image

* Indicated new image