The Translation of Saint Rita of Cascia, Nicolas Poussin
Saint Rita had wished to become a nun, but submitted to her parents' will and married; after the violent death of her cruel husband, she was miraculously transported to the Augustinian convent of Cascia, near Spoleto. She was canonised in 1900. The townappears to be Spoleto and is almost unique in Poussin's oeuvre for its plausible topography. X-rays reveal that the panel was first painted with the figure of a reclining nymph, and was cut down before being reused for the present composition.
