This painting is part of the group: The Dal Pozzo Sacraments
On loan from the Duke of Rutland's Trustees, Belvoir Castle, Grantham, Lincolnshire, © The Duke of Rutland's Trustees, Belvoir Castle, Grantham, Lincs.
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A priest anoints the head of a child. The paschal candle held by his companion indicates that it is Easter eve. The architecture is based on that of Sant'Atanasio dei Greci in Rome. This 16th-century church was built for the city's Byzantine community soon after the patriarch of Constantinople had adopted Catholicism's enumeration of the seven sacraments.
This is one of a series of paintings illustrating the sacraments painted for Poussin's Roman patron, Cassiano dal Pozzo.
Other paintings in this group: The Dal Pozzo Sacraments
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