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A finely dressed young woman gazes assuredly out at the viewer. The distinct shape of her nose, the turn of her mouth and her faintly dimpled chin reveal that this is a portrait, though the sitter’s identity is unknown. She is shown in the guise of Saint Agnes, with the saint’s attributes of a lamb (a symbol of her chaste innocence and her Christian devotion) and a sword (the instrument of her martyrdom). Agnes was a beautiful young girl from a wealthy Roman family, sentenced to death after spurning her suitors and pledging devotion to her Christian faith. Her condemners tried to burn her at the stake; when this failed to kill her, she was stabbed or beheaded. Agnes was patron saint of young girls and virgins, and the sitter may have shared her name.
Title
Portrait of a Woman as Saint Agnes
Date
about 1680
Medium
Oil on silver
Measurements
H 18.3 x W 14.4 cm
Accession number
NG1011
Acquisition method
Wynn Ellis Bequest, 1876
Work type
Painting
The National Gallery, London
Trafalgar Square, London, Greater London WC2N 5DN England
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