What do the colours in this painting make you feel?
What about the expression on the man’s face?
What do the man’s hands tell us?
What else do you notice?
© Farmington Trust: Caroline Pitcathley
St. John Ogilvie
Look more closely at the eyes.
What emotion do you see?
© Farmington Trust: Caroline Pitcathley
Vocabulary
• Calvinist – a form of Christianity which was first
promoted by John Calvin (1509-1564), one of the
leaders of the Protestant reformation
• Martyr 1. one who suffers for the sake of principle
2. one who voluntarily suffers death as the
penalty for refusing to renounce their
religion
3. die as a martyr; "Saint John Ogilvie was
martyred"
© Farmington Trust: Caroline Pitcathley
John Ogilvie
• Saint John Ogilvie was the son of a Scottish
nobleman
• He was brought up as a Calvinist
• He was educated in Europe
• He decided to become a Catholic because he
was impressed by the faith of the martyrs
• He was ordained a priest in 1610
© Farmington Trust: Caroline Pitcathley
John Ogilvie’s Ministry
•Saint John Ogilvie came as a priest
to Scotland in 1613
•His ministry lasted only 13 months
•He was betrayed, arrested and
imprisoned
•On March 10, 1615 he was
interrogated, tortured and hanged for
the charge of denying the king's
supremacy in matters of religion
•Pope Paul VI canonized Ogilvie in
1976
© Farmington Trust: Caroline Pitcathley
•Peter Howson painted this picture
of Saint John Ogilvie for display in
Glasgow Cathedral.
•Saint John Ogilvie was martyred at
Glasgow Cross, only a short
distance from the Cathedral.
• The painting was commissioned
by the Bishops of Scotland.
•It took the artist two years to
complete the work.
•You can see a film clip of the artist
at work on:
http://www.bbc.co.uk/learningzon
e/clips/figurative-painting-thedevelopment-of-peter-howson-sst-john-ogilviecommission/11622.html
© Farmington Trust: Caroline Pitcathley