Lecture and discussion: Saint Peter Martyr and other saints

The painting Saint Peter Martyr (c. 1650–1655) on display at Villa Gyllenberg Art Museum has been confirmed to be a work by the Spanish Baroque master Antonio del Castillo y Saavedra (1616–1668). Research and international cooperation have revealed that the work is part of a series of paintings depicting saints that originally belonged to the Dominican monastery of San Pablo in Córdoba, Spain.

While on holiday in Andalusia in spring 2024, Lotta Nylund, Chief Curator of Villa Gyllenberg Art Museum, also visited the Fine Arts Museum of Córdoba. There she noticed a plaque that presented Castillo’s series of ten Franciscan and Dominican saints. The series had blank spaces for the missing works, the first of which read “San Pedro Mártir – paradero desconocido” or “Saint Peter Martyr – location unknown.” Nylund immediately realised that the painting that had been thought to be lost was very likely on the wall of her workplace back in Finland.

This event consists of two short lectures and a discussion, with Lotta Nylund and Tuomas Heikkilä. Nylund tells about her discovery, and how the painting has ended up in the Gyllenberg collection. Professor Tuomas Heikkilä gives a context to Saint Peter Martyr. Who were these medieval saints and Dominicans? Who was Saint Peter Martyr and what became of him? Why was he recognized all the way up in Finland during Medieval times?

Tuomas Heikkilä is a Professor of Church History at the University of Helsinki and his research includes saint cults and medieval written culture. He has previously worked as Director of Villa Lante, the Finnish research institute in Rome.

Language: Finnish.
Duration c. 60 min.
Included in the museum ticket (12/10 €, Museum Card).
C. 70 seats available.
No pre-bookings.

Antonio del Castillo y Saavedra (1616–1668), Saint Peter Martyr, 1650–1655, oil on canvas, 173 x 80 cm, Villa Gyllenberg / Signe and Ane Gyllenberg Foundation. Photo: Matias Uusikylä / Signe and Ane Gyllenberg Foundation.