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The fourth-century saint Margaret of Antioch was cast out by her father, a pagan priest, when she converted to Christianity. She was left to fend for herself tending sheep. She’s dressed as a wealthy shepherdess, with a lambskin jacket over her picturesque costume and a straw hat fashionably cocked on her head. Zurbarán shows her holding a crook and a prayer book, with a colourful saddlebag – of a type made by peasant weavers – over one arm. The saint seems oblivious to the snarling dragon – Satan in disguise – at her feet; she gazes directly towards us with a sober, determined expression. According to the Golden Legend, a medieval compilation of saints' biographies, the beast devoured her. She burst from its belly unharmed and later assumed the role of patron saint of childbirth.