Embarcation of St Ursula

Claude

1641, oil on canvas.

According to legend Saint Ursula was a British princess who made a pilgrimage to Rome with 11,000 virgin companions. She returned with them to Cologne, where they were all martyred. St Ursula is shown here, in yellow and holding a flag with her emblem, watching her companions embark on the return voyage. The girls carry bows and arrows, the instruments of their martyrdom. The building at the left is based on the Tempietto di San Pietro in Montorio, Rome. The canvas was painted in 1641 for Fausto Poli, who was made a cardinal by Pope Urban VIII in 1643.

The National Gallery, founded in 1824, is situated in Trafalgar Square London. The entire collection of over 2,300 paintings dating from mid-13th century to 1900 belongs to the nation.

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