Scenes from the Life of Saint Ursula. Saint Ursula's Dream

The Dream of St. Ursula is a single painting in Vittore Carpaccio’s series called the St. Ursula Cycle. Carpaccio was a Venetian native who most likely learned under Gentile Bellini who heavily influenced the way he created works for various scuole, which were charitable organizations that were dedicated to particular saints. He is best known for his narrative cycles that lined the meeting halls of the scuole. This entire collection, particularly, was commissioned and funded by the Scuola piccolo and chronicles the life of St. Ursula from her engagement to her martyrdom.

In this particular image, Carpaccio depicts St. Ursula laying in her bed dreaming of her martyrdom as an angel visits her through the door. A few features to note are the fact that she is by herself in the scene, except for the angel, and there are numerous tight walls, shutters, and windows with no view outside. These features coalesce to make the room seem cloistered and closed off from the world. This pictorial staging echoes Carpaccio’s style of situating male activity in a public space and female activity in a private space. It is also reflective of the societal norm that respectable women confine and govern the home. The gender differences noted in this work are indicative of the gender differences that govern the urban landscape of Venice.

• “Carpaccio, Vittore.” Benezit Dictionary of Artists, 2011, doi:10.1093/benz/9780199773787.article.b00032555.
• Vittore Carpaccio. 1495. Scenes from the Life of Saint Ursula. Saint Ursula's Dream. painting. Place: Gallerie dell'Accademia di Venezia. https://library.artstor.org/asset/SCALA_ARCHIVES_1039488911.
• Rodini, Elizabeth. "The Politics of Marriage in Carpaccio's St. Ursula Cycle." Early Modern Women 8 (2013): 85-117. Accessed September 6, 2020. http://www.jstor.org/stable/23617847.
• Mason, S., 2000. Carpaccio: Major Pictorial Cycles. Milano: Skira.