The Maccabees
Antonio Ciseri · 1863
Oil on canvas
Florence, Italy - Chiesa di Santa Felicità
LDA · XXII · MMXXV
Source
Book · La Pittura di Storia dell’Ottocento Italiano di Fortunato Bellonzi · Fratelli Fabbri Editori · 1967 · p. 72
Ciseri depicts the martyrdom of the Maccabean brothers, a subject drawn from the Second Book of Maccabees and frequently treated in 19th-century historical painting for its themes of sacrifice and religious steadfastness. The composition centres on the surviving mother figure, whose raised arms form a vertical axis linking the foreground bodies to the temple structure above. Her upward gaze avoids theatrical grief and instead aligns with biblical models of spiritual endurance rather than emotional collapse. The arrangement of the bodies follows an academic convention in which fallen figures form a diagonal visual pathway, guiding attention toward the central devotee. The contrast between richly rendered flesh and the architecture of the sacrificial setting reflects Ciseri’s use of realism to reinforce moral and devotional narratives.
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Detail
Mother’s raised arms - the vertical gesture follows biblical iconography of spiritual submission rather than lamentation, positioning the figure as an intermediary between earthly suffering and divine authority.
Detail
Leopard pelt - the animal skin references both royal power and ritual violence in ancient imagery, signalling that the dead youths are framed as sacrificial victims rather than casualties of battle.
Detail
Child at the mother’s side - the placement of the youngest victim closest to the central figure follows a biblical visual hierarchy in which innocence intensifies the moral authority of the martyr; the upward tilt of the child’s head toward the mother reinforces her role as the conduit to the divine and underscores the generational continuity of faith within the narrative of sacrifice.
