St. Dominic founded the Order of Preachers (the "Dominicans") initially to preach against Albigensianism in Southern France and Italy. From there the order spread widely, especially in Spain, where it emphasized preaching to Moslems in the newly conquered territories. From Spain it also spread to the Americas, again emphasizing preaching and conversion.
Because of the wide reach of the order, images of St. Dominic are very common in Latin countries. Usually you will be able to identify them easily by these attributes:
Dog with Torch
According
to the Golden Legend St. Dominic's mother while pregnant dreamed
that she would give birth to a dog who would hold a torch in its mouth
and would "burn the world." It has been suggested that the dog
represents a pun on Dominicanus,
the word for a Dominican friar, and domini
canis, "dog of the Lord." At any rate, a dog is often shown at
the saint's feet holding a torch in its mouth, as at left.
Star on Forehead
The
Legend also relates that when St. Dominic was a baby his godmother saw a star on
his forehead during the baptism, so another common attribute is a star
either on the forehead or above the head (example).
Rosary
In
the above example St. Dominic also
carries a rosary,
which a legend starting in the 15th century claimed
had been given him by the Virgin Mary.
Lilies
Yet
another attribute is a lily or stalk of lilies, referring to St.
Dominic's notable chastity
(example).
Book and Staff
Finally,
we
often see St. Dominic with a book and a staff (example), a reference to a
vision recounted in the Golden
Legend in which Peter and Paul give him these items and urge him
to take them into the world and preach. (In the sculpture at left, the
position of the outstretched right hand seems to suggest that
originally it held a staff.)
A given image may use any combination of these six attributes, in addition to the saint's tonsure and black-and-white Dominican habit. Sometimes, when the context has established who the figure is, the habit and tonsure may be the only attributes.
St. Dominic was also renowned as a contemplative. One image emphasizing this aspect of his life is Fra Angelico's painting of St. Dominic embracing the cross in a manner suggestive of Mary Magdalene's.
Feast day: August 4 or 8
At left, sculpture in Santiago de Compostela, Spain
Other images:
14th-century
altarpiece
Painting in Trastevere, Rome
Crivelli painting,
15th century
Mateis painting, 18th centuryHagiography:
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