Veronica's Veil

Today I was at MFAH (the Museum of Fine Arts Houston) and saw two works of a subject I've not seen before now. The subject is the veil of Saint Veronica. Like many works of art, this religious subject comes from the Catholic faith. And, as I'm not Catholic, I usually end up doing some research to learn the story behind the art. I was viewing the special exhibt MFAH is currently hosting from the Prado, and I was able to find out the story of Veronica's veil from the audioguide.

The Veil of Veronica by Domenico Fetti posted at Wikipedia

Although this is not recorded in Biblical accounts, Catholic tradition shares that, while Jesus was on his way to the cross, a lady gave Him her veil to wipe the sweat from His brow. When He returned it, the image of His face was miraculously on it. Some accounts say it was folded in thirds and so there were three images of His face. Those images became Holy relics for the Catholic church.

Veronica Holding Her Veil by Hans Memling at Wikipeda

As I left the Prado special exhibit, the first painting I saw was another work of the Veil of Veronica! I love learning something new... and then recognizing it in a new format! I don't remember who either piece was by, but I found a couple of images online of other works on this subject.