4231 - The Martyrdom of Saint Barbara

The Martyrdom of Saint Barbara In the foreground, Saint Barbara, held by her hair by her executioner, gazing up at the heavens, the executioner, wearing a turban, is brandishing his sabre; to the right, a man is pointing at an idol; to the left, in the background, is the Tower of Saint Barbara; from the heavens, two cherubs with a wreath and the Holy Grail receiving them; according to the saint’s story, Barbara was the daughter of the ruler of Nicomedia and was imprisoned in a tower by her father; she was baptised in the tower without her father’s knowledge, after she confessed this to her father, she was forced to flee, but was recaptured and beheaded by her father in a fit of rage; the three windows in the tower symbolise the Holy Trinity; a large-scale Rococo panel painting, oil on canvas, South German, 18th century, unsigned, canvas lined, lined canvas bearing the stamp ‘Viktoria Malleinen München’, restored in the past, signs of age, sumptuous gilt frame with a scrolled pediment, showing minimal wear, inner dimensions 97 x 57 cm.