St. Peter Healing St. Agatha in Prison
St. Peter Healing St. Agatha in Prison, c.1634-35 Oil on slate with gold paint, backed by slate.
Jacques Stella
French, 1596-1637.
St. Peter, center, tends to the injured St. Agatha, seen at left. According to a 13th-century account, after St. Agatha refused to yield to the sexual overtures of a Sicilian official, he imprisoned her and ordered her breasts to be cut off. Peter, accompanied by an angel, gained entry to her cell and healed her.
Agatha exudes her own spiritual light, since Peter's body does not throw shadows across body, which would be expected given the location of the burning torch. The most dazzling section in this painting is the drapery on the angel, portrayed in a series of liquid strokes of gold paint. This approach animates the fabric and heightens the impression of divine presence. The artist does not simply rely on his brush to define the delicacy of the drapery. He has enhanced and energized the folds by pressing his own fingerprints onto the stone.
St. Louis Art Museum
Paintings on Stone: Science and the Sacred, 1530-1800
St. Peter Healing St. Agatha in Prison
St. Peter Healing St. Agatha in Prison, c.1634-35 Oil on slate with gold paint, backed by slate.
Jacques Stella
French, 1596-1637.
St. Peter, center, tends to the injured St. Agatha, seen at left. According to a 13th-century account, after St. Agatha refused to yield to the sexual overtures of a Sicilian official, he imprisoned her and ordered her breasts to be cut off. Peter, accompanied by an angel, gained entry to her cell and healed her.
Agatha exudes her own spiritual light, since Peter's body does not throw shadows across body, which would be expected given the location of the burning torch. The most dazzling section in this painting is the drapery on the angel, portrayed in a series of liquid strokes of gold paint. This approach animates the fabric and heightens the impression of divine presence. The artist does not simply rely on his brush to define the delicacy of the drapery. He has enhanced and energized the folds by pressing his own fingerprints onto the stone.
St. Louis Art Museum
Paintings on Stone: Science and the Sacred, 1530-1800