Saint Ambrose barring Theodosius from Milan Cathedral explained

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Medium:Oil on canvas

Saint Ambrose barring Theodosius from Milan Cathedral is a painting of by Anthony van Dyck in the National Gallery, in London.

It draws heavily on a 1618 treatment of the same subject by Peter Paul Rubens, on which van Dyck had worked as a studio assistant. In van Dyck's version, Theodosius is beardless, the architectural background is more defined, a spear and a halberd are added on the left-hand side and a dog in the bottom-left.

The painting depicts the Roman emperor Theodosius I and his entourage being barred from Milan Cathedral by its archbishop Saint Ambrose, as punishment for the Massacre of Thessalonica.

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