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Portrait of a Woman as Saint Agnes

Image credit: The National Gallery, London

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A finely dressed young woman gazes assuredly out at the viewer. The distinct shape of her nose, the turn of her mouth and her faintly dimpled chin reveal that this is a portrait, though the sitter’s identity is unknown. She is shown in the guise of Saint Agnes, with the saint’s attributes of a lamb (a symbol of her chaste innocence and her Christian devotion) and a sword (the instrument of her martyrdom). Agnes was a beautiful young girl from a wealthy Roman family, sentenced to death after spurning her suitors and pledging devotion to her Christian faith. Her condemners tried to burn her at the stake; when this failed to kill her, she was stabbed or beheaded. Agnes was patron saint of young girls and virgins, and the sitter may have shared her name.

The National Gallery, London

London

Title

Portrait of a Woman as Saint Agnes

Date

about 1680

Medium

Oil on silver

Measurements

H 18.3 x W 14.4 cm

Accession number

NG1011

Acquisition method

Wynn Ellis Bequest, 1876

Work type

Painting

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The National Gallery, London

Trafalgar Square, London, Greater London WC2N 5DN England

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