My last post concerned the Immaculate Conception whose feast day is celebrated on my twin's birthday. I've often complained that my sister gets to be associated with the Virgin Mary while I, having been born on December 7, am forever linked to "a day that will live in infamy"--Pearl Harbor Day.December 7 is also the feast of St. Ambrose, someone I've mocked for having been named, well, Ambrose. My friend Cory insisted that, in spite of his delicate name, Ambrose was in fact a "Bad- A" and bought me a print of a copy of the picture shown here to prove it.
This painting is called "St. Ambrose and the Emperor Theodosius" by Peter Paul Rubens*. It shows Ambrose facing down the Roman Emperor, Theodosius, after he massacred a bunch of women and children in Macedonia. St. Ambrose denied the emperor entry to the cathedral at Milan and refused to lift the emperor's excommunication until he made public penance. This might not be a bad policy to adopt with some of our more "ardent Catholic" politicians. . .
Ruben's disciple, Anthony Van Dyck, painted an almost identical painting to this one. It's this copy that I now have a matted and framed print of, thanks to Cory. I would have included it in the post, but the best version I could find had a digital watermark.
*not to be confused with Pee Wee Herman
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