Sanctus Blasius Episcopus

18th century
On parchment, 6.1 x 7.9 inches (15.5 x 20 cm.)

Familiar Blaise attributes here include the mitre, crozier, and candle. The martyr's palm, lower right, is very unusual in Blaise images, as is the sword. Nor is it common for the crozier to lie on the floor.

From the clouds at the top of the composition a triangle representing God sends rays toward the saint. These may represent God's words to Blaise on the eve of his arrest, revealing that he is about to "drink from the cup" of martyrdom. As befits this eucharistic metaphor, Blaise stands at a sort of altar while hearing this revelation.

The chained man in the background is St. Eustratius, to whose prison cell St. Blaise brought the eucharistic host on the eve of Eustratius' martyrdom. Lying before him is the boy who had a fish bone stuck in his throat.

View this image in full resolution
Read more about images of St. Blaise.

Source: this page at Wikimedia Commons.