Lucas Cranach the Elder
This painting was originally part of a multipaneled altarpiece with wings that could be closed to cover the central panel. As the backs of the wings could sometimes be seen, they were also decorated; that’s where these figures of Saints Genevieve and Apollonia once appeared (the other wing features Saints Christina and Ottilia). This altarpiece was one of the first commissions Lucas Cranach the Elder, a German Renaissance painter and printmaker, made for the electors of Saxony. It was almost certainly displayed in the electors’ chapel in the castle at Wittenberg.
Saint Genevieve, born in the 5th century, is the patron saint of Paris. She was a nun and helped protect the city from attack from the Huns and the Franks. Here, she holds the candle that miraculously relit after the devil blew it out while she was praying alone one night. Saint Apollonia was a virgin martyr who lived in the 2nd century. She was tortured during an uprising in Alexandria: her teeth were pulled out and she was told she would be burnt to death unless she renounced her Christian faith. She refused and threw herself into the flames. Considered the patron saint of dentists and dental problems, she is often depicted with the pair of pliers used to extract her teeth.
P.S. Saint Genevieve was a true badass woman. Read more stories of strong women depicted in art history.
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