St. Casimir

St. Casimir (1670) Carlo Dolci

March 4th is the feast day of Saint Casimir, a 15th century prince of the Kingdom of Poland and the Grand Duchy of Lithuania. Known for his piety, devotion to God, and generosity towards the sick and poor, Casimir led a life of humility and virtue despite his royal status. He died at age 25 most likely of tuberculosis. Casimir is the patron saint of Lithuanian Youth, Lithuania and Poland. Casimir's body is in a sarcophagus in the Vilnius Cathedral in Lithuania.

St. Casimir (1670) by Carlo Dolci, an Italian Baroque painter from Florence. Dolci is known for his work painting for the powerful Medici family. St. Casimir is shown solemnly awaiting God's instructions is draped in fine garments to show his status, but his skin is pale to portray his illness. This painting is housed in Palazzo Pitti.

Three Handed St. Casimir(c1560) by an unknown artist. (Please tell me if you know who painted
this.) This is not a Baroque painting but I included it because it shows St. Casimir with three hands, which is thought to show his extreme kindness to the poor and needy. Another interesting aspect of the painting is that he is wearing the Gediminas cap, which it turned out is not named after the delicious vodka. Gediminas is the founder of Vilnius and his cap was worn by the Lithuanian monarchy until 1569.