Carlo Dolci
, Italian, 1616-1686
Title
Saint AgnesDatec.1670
MediumOil on canvas
Dimensions
64 x 53 cm
Credit LinePurchased, 1951
Object numberNGI.1229
DescriptionSt Agnes was one of the early Christian martyrs venerated by the Church. According to legend, she was only 13 years old when a Roman governor arrested her for refusing to offer a sacrifice to the idols. She was then submitted to a series of tortures but still she did not renounce her faith. Next, she was paraded naked in a brothel but miraculously she managed not to lose her innocence. Enraged by her spiritual strength, the governor finally ordered that she be put to death by the sword. In this image the saint delicately holds a lamb in her arms. The Latin word for lamb is agnus, from which the name of Agnes derives; but the lamb is also a symbol of Christ and therefore her embrace signifies her faith in God. Dolci spent nearly all his life in Florence. His works have frequently, but unjustly, been accused of excessive sentimentality. In reality he was a gifted artist but perhaps his fervent religiosity limited the variety of his subjects.
March 2016
ProvenanceLord Baltimore; Sir Richard Glyn, Bt., from whom acquired by C. Marshall Spink, London; purchased, C. Marshall Spink, London, 1951 Label TextAccording to legend, Saint Agnes was martyred, when she was thirteen years old, for refusing to worship pagan gods. Her name is derived from the Greek word agnos (pure), but also sounds like the Latin word agnus (lamb). Here she is shown cradling a lamb, her emblem and also a symbol of Christ. Dolci was a successful painter in his native Florence. While he is primarily known for this type of devout half-length, single-figure paintings of saints, he was also a skilled portrait painter. Dolci’s daughter, Agnese Dolci (d.1686), was a copyist in her father’s workshop.