Spanish school of the XVII century.

Spanish school of the XVII century.
"Saint Barbara".
Oil on copper.
Presents restorations in the frame.
Measurements: 22 x 17 cm; 32,5 x 27,5 cm (frame).

We recognize Saint Barbara by her characteristic attributes, here represented: the tower in which she was enclosed, the crown and the palm of martyrdom. Daughter of the satrap Dioscurus, she was imprisoned in a tower to keep her from Christian proselytism. However, Barbara received the teachings of a priest who pretended to be a doctor, and to express her faith in the Trinity, she pierced a third opening in the wall. She managed to flee but was captured by her father, and when she refused to abjure Christianity and marry a pagan she was handed over to the judge Marcian, who tortured her in various ways. She was stretched on a rack and flogged, torn with iron combs, rolled on fragments of pottery and burned with red-hot irons, and finally the executioners tore out her breasts with pincers. Finally, her father beheaded her. The patronages of Saint Barbara are very broad; she was considered a protector against lightning because her father, after killing her, was struck by lightning. Her name also used to be inscribed on church bells, which were rung during storms. Her attributes are the palm of martyrdom and the crown, for her royal origin, and the tower with three windows. It can also appear accompanied by a peacock feather, a chalice topped with a host, a cannon or a cannonball, since it became the patron saint of artillerymen in the fifteenth century to protect against lightning and bad death.