St Agatha Healed by St Peter

The subject of St Agatha Healed by St Peter, at Lamport Hall in Northamptonshire, draws on the legendary account of the early Christian martyr Agatha of Sicily, whose torture included the cutting off of her breasts — a narrative that afforded painters opportunities to depict female suffering and miraculous divine intervention. The healing by St Peter reversed the mutilation, and the scene of miraculous restoration belongs to a tradition of post-martyrdom miracle imagery. Honthorst's treatment, in his later style, uses the night-scene convention to dramatic effect: candlelight or divine illumination creating the chiaroscuro appropriate to a miraculous healing. Lamport Hall, a Northamptonshire country house with an important collection assembled over centuries, holds the work as part of its paintings collection, which spans British and continental European art.

Oil on canvas. The composition centres on the physical contact between Peter and Agatha — his hands healing her wounds — with the miraculous light functioning as both narrative and compositional device. Honthorst's management of the light source, real or supernatural, models the figures with the dramatic shadow play of his best religious compositions.