James Griesinger of Ulm, Bl.
JAMES GRIESINGER OF ULM, BL.
Dominican artist also known as James (Jakob) of Ulm; b. Ulm, Germany, 1407; d. Bologna, Oct. 11, 1491. He went to Rome when 24, served in the army of Alphonse of Aragon, and then became steward to a wealthy Italian jurist. When 34, he became a Dominican lay brother at Bologna. There he turned his talents to glass painting, an art he must have acquired before entering the Order. Manuscripts tell of his holiness but not of his artistic activities. Proof of his artistry is found in the works of his pupils, especially Fra Anastasio of Como and Fra Ambrogino of Soncino, and in S. Petronio in Bologna. Soon after his death the people of Bologna invoked him as the patron of glass painters and glaziers. In 1825, leo xii officially confirmed his cult.
Feast: Oct. 11.
Bibliography: Acta Sanctorum Oct. 5:790–803. i. taurisano, Catalogus hagiographicus ordinis praedictorum (Rome 1918) 46–47. j. l. baudot and l. chaussin, Vies des saints et des bienheueux selon l'ordre du calendrier avec l'historique des fêtes (Paris 1935–56) 10:368–372. j. wilms, Lay Brother, Artist and Saint, tr. m. fulgence (London 1957).
[l. m. schier]