Label
St. Francis de Sales, patron saint of writers, was profoundly influenced by the Jesuits. He studied humanities and philosophy for a decade at the Jesuit College of Clermont in Paris, France. This is one of only a handful of portraits of De Sales painted from life. Portrayed in half length, De Sales rests his hand on his magnum opus, the Treatise on the Love of God (1616). The city of Annecy, where De Sales served as bishop, is visible in the background. The portrait hung in a classroom at Old Saint Joseph’s. It offered students a model of the Jesuit ideal of eloquentia perfecta (perfect eloquence in speech and writing).Label Type
Credit LineLabel
On loan from Old St. Joseph's Church