Female Saints Modeled to Young Women through Paintings

    The Catholic tradition has a history of revering the saints as role models for the members of the church. The saints are defined by a life well-lived for Christ and much of the time that includes martyrdom. A common theme among the female saints that are held up as role models is the fact that they are virgins as well as martyrs. Their sexual purity as well as their willingness to suffer for the sake of Christ made them exemplary in their faith. These aspects were meant to inspire young women and help them shape their own personal faith, as well as encourage them to be steadfast in their convictions.

    The Catholic Church utilized art as a way to hold up certain saints as examples to different groups of people. This exhibition will explore the iconography of the female saints that were held up as examples to the young women of the Catholic Church: Saint Catherine of Alexandria, Saint Agatha, Saint Barbara, Saint Cecilia, and Saint Lucy. The iconography of these saints includes crowns, a tower, breasts on a platter, and eyes on a platter. This iconography allows the viewer to accurately identify what saints are being depicted, and furthermore, what the painting is trying to communicate.

Virgin and Child with Saint Catherine of Alexandria

Anthony van Dyck

1630

Oil on canvas

43 x 35 3/4 inches

Metropolitan Museum of Art 60.71.5

The iconography of this painting suggests that the saint pictured is Saint Catherine of Alexandria. One of the attributes that she is commonly seen with is a crown, and here she has a crown of pearls. She is also holding the martyr's palm frond which helps identify her. Saint Catherine was held up as an example because of her ability to defend her faith before philosophers, her mystic marriage with Christ, and the power of her prayers in persecution.

Martyrdom of Saint Agatha in an Initial D

Sano di Pietro

1470-73

Tempera and gold on parchment

10 3/8 x 10 1/8 inches

Metropolitan Museum of Art 1975.1.2488

The iconography of this painting indicates that the saint depicted here is Saint Agatha. The gold halo is typical iconography for holiness and is used to represent Jesus, His disciples, and other saints. Saint Agatha had her breasts removed with pincers because she rejected Quintanius' offer of marriage. She is revered as a saint and held up to young women because of her refusal to marry a pagan man on account of her religious convictions, even when it meant enduring torture and certain death.

Virgin and Child with Saints Catherine of Alexandria and Barbara

Hans Memling

Early 1480s

 Oil on wood

26 7/8 x 28 7/8 inches

Metropolitan Museum of Art 14.40.634

There are two female saints in this painting, Saint Catherine (on the left) and Saint Barbara (on the right). The iconography of Saint Catherine that helps the viewer identify her is once again the crown, as we saw in the first painting, and the fact that the infant Christ is placing a wedding right on her finger, symbolizing her mystic marriage. Saint Barbara is identified by the tower behind her, where her pagan father kept her. We have discussed why Saint Catherine was an example to young women because she was a strong woman of faith despite the fact that her father was pagan. Many Christian parents have chosen to name their daughters after Saint Barbara.

Madonna and Child Enthroned with Saints

Raphael

1504

Oil and gold on wood

67 7/8 x 67 7/8 inches 

Metropolitan Museum of Art 16.30ab

In this painting, we will focus on the female saint directly to the right of Madonna. Literature commonly suggests that she is Saint Cecilia, although others have been suggested. The iconography that suggests she is Saint Cecilia is her coronet of flowers, her golden halo, and her martyr's palm frond. Saint Cecilia was held up as an example because she converted her husband to faith in Christ and then they were both executed for it. This was a model for young women because Cecilia's piousness converted her husband and they stood firm in their faith until death.

Saint Lucy

Garofalo

1535-1540

Oil on wood

440 x 630 cm

Musei Capitolini

The iconography in this painting that suggests this is Saint Lucy is the martyr's palm frond and the pair of eyes on the platter. The eyes are a common attribute of Saint Lucy because she was credited with giving sight to the blind. Lucy is characterized by her willingness to give her wealth to the poor and the fact that she was greatly persecuted for her faith. Her fiancé ordered her to be taken to a brothel, but she stood firm in her faith through the power of the Holy Spirit even in the face of execution.