3-098-354 - Heritage Art/Heritage Images

Meeting of Saint Bruno with the Count of Sicily and Calabria, 1626. Encounter between Roger I and Saint Bruno during a hunt. Roger's vibrant and dynamic figure contrasts sharply with the simplicity of Bruno's. This painting also highlights another archetypal aspect of the Carthusian way of life: silence. Roger was hunting with his dogs near the place where Bruno and his disciples had retreated. Suddenly, the dogs stopped and fell silent, as did the hunters. During the encounter between the saint and the Count, Bruno was the only one who spoke, declaring that neither he nor his congregation needed anything, while the rest of the monks remained silent. In accordance with their rule, the Carthusians only communicated at certain times throughout the week; the rest of the time they lived in silence. For as their customs stated: 'our principal interest and vocation is to dedicate ourselves to the silence and solitude of the cell'. The Carthusian monk's spirituality and way of life impressed the Count, who became a patron of the founder of the Carthusian order. One of a series celebrating the founding of the Carthusian Order by Saint Bruno of Cologne (1035-1101) and its principal members, depicting various episodes from Carthusian history and tradition.