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Saint Apollonia was one of the virgins martyred in Alexandria (Egypt) in the third century, A.D. during the religious persecution of Christians. In this small plate on copper, the Bolognese painter captures the moment when two henchmen torture the saint, who is tied to a post, by extracting her teeth with large pliers. That explains why this tool (sometimes including teeth) is her customary attrib
This companion work to the Martyrdom of Saint Apollonia (P214) illustrates the subsequent episode, when, after violently pulling out her teeth, her torturers light a bonfire and threaten to burn her alive unless she exactly repeats their impious utterances. Instead, Apollonia prefers to throw herself onto the fire. Here, we see the moment when, in a state of ecstasy, with arms crossed over her bos
Sebastian was a Roman soldier who suffered martyrdom for his Christian faith during the reign of Diocletian and Maximian at the end of the third century. He was made a patron saint of the city of Rome and his cult became popular throughout Europe as he was invoked in times of plague. Sebastian is usually shown bound to a tree and shot with arrows in what turned out to be a first failed attempt at
