St. Benedict of Nursia

Landscape with Saint Benedict, in the habit of his order. In one hand he holds the staff with the aspergillum (used for the ritual of exorcism), in the other a Bible with a chalice, a reference to an attempt to poison him. At his feet, the broken sieve, which refers to his caretaker Cyrilla who accompanied him on his journey to Rome. When she broke a sieve, Benedict miraculously restored it. On the left sits the raven, which refers to the attempt of an envious priest to poison Benedict with bread. In the background, scenes from his life. On the right, he lies naked in a thorn bush to be freed from his fleshly desires. Further in the background, he is seen sending back the raven that brings him the poisoned bread. On the left in the background, Benedict in the monastery of Monte Cassino. He has a vision of God the Father and of his soul being carried to heaven by angels. In the margin, a two-line biblical quote from Sir. 50 in Latin.