Christian martyrs in the Coliseum

The artist is Flavic

Sudden contrasts of light and shadows transfer us to a gloomy dungeon, where the first followers of Christianity await the inevitable death. The stream of light, breaking up under the stone arches, snatches out of the twilight defeated and bent figures of the elderly and women, the figure of a man with a cross is drawn with a clear silhouette, in a fit of faith that captivates a little boy into the arena – where lions are visible. Before us is a scene from the era of Roman persecution of Christians, which became the plot of the picture. According to legend, in the arena of the Coliseum, which accommodated 87.000 spectators, the first Christians were given to the dilapidation of wild animals. Flavitsky conceived a work that glorifying heroism in the name of faith. This is the first independent work of the artist, performed by him in Italy at the end of the St. Petersburg Academy of Arts. For this picture in 1863, Flavitsky received the title of Honorary Free Commercial Academy of Arts.