I’m slightly puzzled by this painting, although I’m frequently puzzled by many things so I don’t let that surprise me. It’s evidently St. Christopher, but the cathedral gives no other information about the artwork other than referencing the saint himself and how he looks after travellers. There can be few more noble things than looking after travellers and pilgrims, so he’s quite high on my list of favourite saints. I’m not sure whether you’re supposed to have a list of favourite saints, perhaps there’s another blog post there one day….
It’s not a subtle little piece, but it’s in remarkably good condition for something which is dated 1665 in the top right hand corner. This meant I assumed that it was a modern painting which replaced an earlier artwork that was damaged during the Second World War. However, there are mentions online that this is the original and so I’m puzzled as to why the cathedral in its guide doesn’t want to make more reference to it.
It seems to me that this is the original painting which shows him carrying travellers along a dangerous river, but it seems that some sort of restoration is likely. But maybe that’s just out of hope that it somehow survived the Second World War, I think it’s one of the highlights of the cathedral.