Saint Agapitus of Praeneste in the Arena; (interior) The Beheading of Saint Agapitus of Praeneste

Art Historical Context

This striking double-sided panel, created by an anonymous Swiss painter around 1500–1505, vividly captures the martyrdom of Saint Agapitus Praeneste, a 3rd-century Roman youth venerated for his faith. The exterior depicts the saint miraculously protected in the arena by lions and bears fierce beasts that refuse to harm him, symbolizing divine intervention. Flipping it reveals the interior scene of his beheading, a dramatic climax to his ordeal under Emperor Antoninus Pius. Such narrative pairings were common in late Gothic and early Renaissance religious art from Switzerland, designed for alta...