Carpaccio's Saint Ursula Cycle in The Accademia in Venice

Carpaccio painted this cycle of paintings in the last decade of the 1400’s, where he recounts the tale from the Golden Legend of Ursula, a mythic princess and Christian martyr of the 4th century.
Saint Ursula was the daughter of the Christian king of Brittany, who was betrothed to a pagan prince of Britain in exchange for his conversion to Christianity.
The Arrival of the Ambassadors
The ambassadors arrive at the left of this tripart plan. The central scene portrays the meeting between the king of Brittany and the ambassadors from Britain, offering the prince’s marriage proposal. On the right, Ursula gives her conditions of the betrothal to her father, who looks quite unhappy, Her nurse sits below. The architecture reflects that of Venice in the quattrocento. There were no buildings like this in Brittany or fourth century Italy for that matter.
The Departure of the Ambassadors
Here the ambassadors depart with the news of The King of Britain’s acceptance of the match as a scribe writes a letter to that effect. Notice the colorful decorative architecture, whose perspective seems to go on forever.
The Return of the Ambassadors
On their return to Britain, the ambassadors inform the king, who is seated on his throne in a pavilion, of Ursula’s conditions for her marriage to Ethirius.
The Meeting of Ursula and the Prince
Here Ursula meets her prince. On the left side of this two part construction we see a city in Britain, with its castles whereas the right depicts an imaginary Breton city of Venetian design. Ethirius, the prince, bidding farewell, shakes hands with his father. He meets Ursula of the right side. Further to the right the couple kneel before Ursula’s father. Behind is the procession of 11,000 virgins WHO start to board boats.
Meeting of the Pilgrims with the Pope
After meeting the prince, Ursula makes a pilgrimage to Rome. You can clearly make out Castle St. Angelo in the background. She travels with her ten handmaidens. She and each of them bring along one thousand virgins.
How many ships this must have taken is anyone’s guess since Columbus only brought 90 men on his three ships bound for America.
The Saint's Dream
The scene in this perfect cube mimics the annunciation. This lovely room is subdivided into geometrical shapes. While Ursula sleeps, an angel enters the room bringing the news of her upcoming martyrdom, carrying its symbol-a palm leaf.
Arrival of the Pilgrims in Cologne
Here the pilgrims, accompanied by the Pope, arrive at Cologne. The city, however, has been overrun by Attila The Hun, who is seen in the foreground as he is informed of her arrival. Carpaccio was very fond of dogs and featured them in numerous paintings.
The Martyrdom and the Funeral of St. Ursula
Here on the left is the martyrdom of St. Ursula and her following of 11,000 virgins; on the right, her funeral. This scene is reminiscent of the massacre of the innocents. Ursula is shot in the head by one of the Huns, who were also the main enemy of Venice at the time of this painting.
The Glory of St. Ursula
Ursula is shown in the presence of God, over the symbol of martyrdom, a bundle of palms, surrounded by her companions.
The nature of Ursula's story and the legendary status of her character has caused her role in the history to be downplayed significantly. Saint Ursula's feast day in the Catholic tradition is October 21st but she was officially removed from the general calendar of saints in 1969.