Zurbarán, Francisco de (1598-1664) Santa Águeda (Saint Agatha) c.1635–1640 Oil on canvas, 129 × 61 cm Musée Fabre, Montpellier The prefect Quintianus wants to marry the beautiful and noble Sicilian Agathe; having dedicated her life to Christ, she refuses. So he makes…
Ribera, Jusepe de (1591-1652) San Sebastiano curato da Sant’Irene (St Sebastian Cured by St Irene) 1628 Oil on canvas, 156.5 x 188 cm Hermitage Museum, Saint Petersburg Jusepe de Ribera lived the greater part of his life in Naples, which at…
Gentileschi, Artemisia (1593-c.1653) Autoritratto come Santa Caterina d’Alessandria (Self Portrait as Saint Catherine of Alexandria) c.1615–1617 Oil on canvas, 71.4 × 69 cm National Gallery, London Artemisia Gentileschi, the most celebrated female artist of the seventeenth century, appears in the guise…
Gentile da Fabriano (c.1370-1427) Lapidazione di Santo Stefano (Stoning of Saint Stephen) after 1425 Tempera and gold on panel, 16.5 × 27 cm Kunsthistorisches Museum, Vienna
Zurbarán, Francisco de (1598-1664) Santa Casilda (Saint Casilda) c.1630–1635 Oil on canvas, 171 x 107 cm Museo Thyssen-Bornemisza, Madrid Images of saints depicted alone, holding their attributes and looking out of the picture space were among the most popular compositions within…
Mantegna, Andrea (c.1431-1506) San Sebastiano (Saint Sebastian) 4th quarter of the 15th century Tempera on canvas, 255 x 140 cm Musée du Louvre, Paris Composition surrounded by a trompe-l’oeil porphyry border. Probably arrived in Aigueperse (Auvergne) on the occasion of the marriage…
Parmigianino (1503-1540) Santa Barbara (Saint Barbara) 1522 Oil on panel, 48 x 39 cm Museo del Prado, Madrid A portrait of Saint Barbara in profile on a black background. In her hands, she holds a tower, which was her symbol. A…
Pinturicchio (c.1454-1513) San Bartolomeo (Saint Bartholomew) c.1497 Tempera on wood panel, 59.6 x 51 cm Princeton University Art Museum, Princeton Flayed and crucified for spreading Christ’s word through Armenia and India, the apostle Bartholomew was represented horrifically, holding his own skin,…
Rubens, Peter Paul (1577-1640) The Crowning of Saint Catherine 1631 or 1633 Oil on canvas, 265.7 x 214.3 cm Toledo Museum of Art, Toledo Rubens painted this magnificent painting as an altarpiece for the Church of the Augustinians in Mechelen (Malines),…
Burne-Jones, Edward (1833-1898) Saint Barbara 1866–1870 Egg tempera with oil glazes (?) and shell gold over charcoal and graphite on paper; mounted to canvas, 95.3 x 41.3 cm National Gallery of Art, Washington