Martyrdom of Saint Ursula

Bernhard Strigel's Martyrdom of Saint Ursula presents the legendary mass martyrdom of the British princess and her eleven thousand virgin companions who were killed by the Huns at Cologne while returning from their pilgrimage to Rome. The Ursula legend was among the most elaborate hagiographic tales of the medieval period, and the saint's cult was promoted through networks of confraternities dedicated to her memory. Strigel's treatment gives the mass martyrdom the formal dignity of court art while conveying the emotional content of collective sacrifice, the numerous falling figures creating a scene of sacred violence that was intended to inspire devotion rather than horror.

The devotional composition is rendered with attention to the expressive and contemplative qualities that served the painting's function as an aid to prayer and meditation.