  About the Artwork
  
  
  Saint Benedict of Palermo (1526-1589) was the first Christian saint of sub-Saharan African descent to be recognized in modern times. In this nearly life-size depiction, the sculptor Juan Pascual de Mena used Benedict's expansive gesture and intense expression, his gaze fixed on the crucifix in his hand, to imbue the work with presence and solemnity, evoking the sain't role as an intercessor for an increasingly global community of faithful.

Born Benedetto Manasseri in Sicily to enslaved Christian converts, Benedict jointed the Franciscan monastic order as a young man. He earned a reputation for his humility, wise leadership, and miraculous healing abilities. Although not officially elevated to sainthood until 1807, Benedict achieved international popularity in the seventeenth and eighteenth centuries as Catholicism spread to Africa and the Americas. Many converts, both enslaved and free, found comfort in his story and image. Benedict's African heritage and dark skin offered an alternative role model to the Church's predominantly white, European saints.
  
  
  Title
  Saint Benedict of Palermo
  
  
  Artwork Date
  between 1770 and 1780
  
  Artist
  Attributed to Juan Pascual de Mena
  
  
  
  Life Dates
  1707-1784
  
  
  
  
  Nationality
  
  
  
  Please note:
  Definitions for nationality may vary significantly, depending on chronology and world events.
  Some definitions include:
  Belonging to a people having a common origin based on a geography and/or descent and/or tradition and/or culture and/or religion and/or language, or sharing membership in a legally defined nation.
  
  
  
  Spanish
  
  
  
  Culture
  
  
  
  Please note:
  Cultures may be defined by the language, customs, religious beliefs, social norms, and material traits of a group.
  
  
  
  
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  Medium
  Coniferous wood, oil, gold, glass, cord
  
  
  Dimensions
  Overall: 68 7/8 × 39 3/8 × 19 11/16 inches (175 × 100 × 50 cm)
  
  
  Classification
  Sculpture
  
  
  Department
  European Sculpture and Dec Arts
  
  
  Credit
  Museum Purchase, Jill Ford Murray Fund
  
  
  
  Accession Number
  
  
  
  This unique number is assigned to an individual artwork as part of the cataloguing process at the time of entry into the permanent collection.
  Most frequently, accession numbers begin with the year in which the artwork entered the museum’s holdings.
  For example, 2008.3 refers to the year of acquisition and notes that it was the 3rd of that year. The DIA has a few additional systems—no longer assigned—that identify specific donors or museum patronage groups.
  
  
  
  2017.21
  
  
  Copyright
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