Saint Agnes

Massimo Stanzione's Saint Agnes (1635) is a devotional image of the young Roman martyr Agnes, who according to tradition was executed for refusing to marry a pagan suitor and for maintaining her Christian faith. Agnes was among the most venerated of the early Roman martyrs, and her image — typically young, serene, and accompanied by a lamb (her name resembling the Latin 'agnus') — was produced in enormous numbers for Counter-Reformation devotional practice. Stanzione, the leading Neapolitan painter of the generation between Caravaggio's sojourn in the city and the dominance of Luca Giordano, brought a distinctive quality of lyrical grace to sacred subjects.

Stanzione employs a warm, soft palette characteristic of his approach to sacred figures — golden flesh tones, rich drapery in saturated blues and reds, a gentle directional light that models the figure without harsh contrast. His Agnes has the quality of idealized, serene beauty he applied to devotional figures generally. The lamb, if included, is rendered with careful naturalism.