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Martyrdom of Saint Martina

A work made of etching on cream laid paper.
CC0 Public Domain Designation

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  • A work made of etching on cream laid paper.

Date:

c. 1665

Artist:

Antonio Gherardi
Italian, 1644-1702

About this artwork

A talented painter and stucco decorator, Antonio Gherardi made relatively few prints. Among the first works of his career was a six-part etching series narrating the martyrdom of Saint Martina. In this fourth scene, Martina, after her refusal to worship the pagan gods, is tortured with iron rods that eventually will inflict 118 wounds to her flesh. After continued torture, which included a bath in hot oil, she was beheaded. Her wounds were said to have bled milk, leading to her canonization as the patron saint of nursing mothers.

Status

Currently Off View

Department

Prints and Drawings

Artist

Antonio Gherardi, (Il Reatino)

Title

Martyrdom of Saint Martina

Place

Italy (Artist's nationality:)

Date  Dates are not always precisely known, but the Art Institute strives to present this information as consistently and legibly as possible. Dates may be represented as a range that spans decades, centuries, dynasties, or periods and may include qualifiers such as c. (circa) or BCE.

1660–1670

Medium

Etching on cream laid paper

Dimensions

Plate: 23.3 × 33.2 cm (9 3/16 × 13 1/8 in.); Sheet: 26.8 × 37.3 cm (10 9/16 × 14 11/16 in.)

Credit Line

Mrs. George B. Young Fund

Reference Number

1990.155

IIIF Manifest  The International Image Interoperability Framework (IIIF) represents a set of open standards that enables rich access to digital media from libraries, archives, museums, and other cultural institutions around the world.

Learn more.

https://api.artic.edu/api/v1/artworks/76348/manifest.json

Extended information about this artwork

Object information is a work in progress and may be updated as new research findings emerge. To help improve this record, please email . Information about image downloads and licensing is available here.

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