Saint Barbara

The Master of Becerril depicted Saint Barbara around 1520. Barbara, the legendary maiden martyred by her own father for her Christian faith, was one of the Fourteen Holy Helpers and a protectress against sudden death. The painting is in the Museo del Prado. The tempera-on-panel medium required a carefully gessoed surface and was painted in fine, precise layers, yielding a luminous, jewel-like surface of great durability.

The saint is depicted with her traditional attribute of a tower. The Hispano-Flemish style characteristic of Castilian painting is evident in the precise rendering.