18th century FRENCH COLLECTION Saint Fiacre of Brie or Meaux in a garland of flowers Gouache. (Old restorations, rectangular leaf enlarged to an oval). 24 x 19 cm Saint Fiacre, a 6th-century Irish hermit and miracle-worker, retired to Breuil-en-Brie near Meaux, where he died in 670. Because Ireland was called "Scotia Minor" (Little Scotland) in the Middle Ages, he is considered to have come from the Royal House of Scotland. As a land-clearing monk, he obtained from Saint Faron de Meaux a plot of land marked out by a miraculous ditch, traced with the tip of his spade. He pushes a crown and a scepter under his feet, in allusion to his alleged royal origin. Popular in Brittany in the 16th century, he is often depicted as a Breton peasant wearing puffed-up braids and a wide-brimmed hat, while maintaining his spade as a distinctive attribute. He is sometimes associated with Saint Faron de Meaux and confused with Saint Isidore le Laboureur. Saint Fiacre is a complex figure in the hagiographic tradition. According to Réau Louis, Iconographie de l'art chrétien, Tome 3, Volume 1, 1988, p. 495.