BOTTICELLI, Sandro
(b. 1445, Firenze, d. 1510, Firenze)

Three Miracles of St Zenobius

1500-05
Tempera on panel, 65 x 139,5 cm
National Gallery, London

St Zenobius saves two men who are possessed by devils. After praying for them in front of the cross, he blesses them, and little devils disappear out of their mouths. According to legend, this occurred inside a church, and Botticelli depicts it as a chapel. Its walls are open, so that the observer can see what is happening. In front of a house entrance, he is restoring to life the child of a pilgrim to Rome. On the right he is healing a blind man who is kneeling before the bishop with his little dog.